How to easily SQL Search and Replace database information from PhpMyAdmin. For example quickly change all occurrences of text throughout the entire content in a WordPress database - all with one update string or command. Using an SQL update query method is extremely helpful when you need to find and replace all occurrences of text in a database but do not wish to export the entire database just to make those changes. Database changes can be made instantly via an SQL query, all from within PhpMyAdmin.
What is SQL and MySQL?
SQL pronounced "sequel" is an abbreviation for (Structured Query Language). It is a programming language designed for managing domain specific data via relational databases. This data is held in a structured database management system.
SQL is used to create, modify, and retrieve data from databases. It is used to create tables and define the structure of a database, as well as to insert, update, and delete data from those tables. SQL is also used to query databases to extract specific information, and to create reports based on the data stored in a database. SQL is an essential tool for data analysts, database administrators, and anyone working with large amounts of data in a structured way.
There are several types of SQL databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server.
MySQL is the most popular open source relational database management system (RDBMS) that uses SQL (Structured Query Language) as its primary language. This type of content management system is useful for data driven websites such as WordPress and ecommerce platforms; sites where data does not remain static or fixed. MySQL was originally developed by MySQL AB. It was acquired by Sun Microsystems which later became a part of Oracle. Written in C/C++, it can be used on all major OSs including Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Though being open source software, you'll find it most prevalently used on Linux based servers.
Using PhpMyAdmin to SQL Search and Replace Content
To use phpmyadmin to SQL search and replace content in a table,
1.) Login to phpMyAdmin
2.) Select your database from the left side
3.) Click the SQL tab
4.) Enter the following in the run SQL Query text box (replacing tablename, tablefield, findstring and replacestring with your actual information:
UPDATE tablename SET tablefield = replace(tablefield,"findstring","replacestring");
5.) Click go to process the changes and update your SQL database
That's all there is to it. A quick and effective way to replace multiple text string SQL database content on the fly from phpMyAdmin.
Update WordPress Post Content with SQL Update Query
Here is an SQL example to bulk update WordPress post content:
UPDATE wp_posts SET post_content = replace(post_content,"coolstuff.com","lancelhoff.com")
This example would replace any and all occurrences of coolstuff.com with lancelhoff.com in the post_content field under table wp_posts