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mysqldatabaserandomwords

MySQL: Selecting random things starting with a X letter

I am using this database: http://www.4redpixels.com/uploads/words.sql

I want to select a random word starting with a X (unknown) letter. How can I do that?

Solution

  • Actually, the best way to get words that start with a particular letter is to use like:

    select w.word
from words w
where w.word like 'x%'
order by rand()
limit 1;

    This can take advantage of an index on words(word). In addition, if the list is really long, there are better ways to get a random row than just order by rand().