[SOLVED] Convert JSON array in MySQL to rows

Convert JSON array in MySQL to rows

UPDATE: This is now possible in MySQL 8 via the JSON_TABLE function: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/json-table-functions.html

I'm loving the new JSON functions in MySQL 5.7, but running into a block trying to merge values from JSON into a normal table structure.

Grabbing JSON, manipulating and extracting arrays from it etc. is simple. JSON_EXTRACT all the way. But what about the inverse, going from a JSON array to rows? Perhaps I am dense on the existing MySQL JSON functionality, but I haven't been able to figure that one out.

For example, say I have a JSON array and want to insert a row for each element in the array with its value? The only way I have found is to write a bunch of JSON_EXTRACT(... '$[0]') JSON_EXTRACT(... '$[1]') etc and union them together.

Or, say I have a JSON array and want to GROUP_CONCAT() it to a single comma separated string?

In other words, I know I can do this:

SET @j = '[1, 2, 3]';
SELECT GROUP_CONCAT(JSON_EXTRACT(@j, CONCAT('$[', x.n, ']'))) AS val
  FROM   
  (    
    SELECT 0 AS n    
    UNION    
    SELECT 1 AS n    
    UNION    
    SELECT 2 AS n    
    UNION    
    SELECT 3 AS n    
    UNION    
    SELECT 4 AS n    
    UNION    
    SELECT 5 AS n    
  ) x
WHERE x.n < JSON_LENGTH(@j);

But that hurts my eyes. And my heart.

How can I do something like:

SET @j = '[1, 2, 3]';
SELECT GROUP_CONCAT(JSON_EXTRACT(@j, '$[ * ]'))

... and have it concatenate together the values in the array vs. the JSON array itself?

I guess what I'm looking for here is some sort of JSON_SPLIT along the lines of:

SET @j = '[1, 2, 3]';

SELECT GROUP_CONCAT(val)
FROM
  JSON_SPLIT(JSON_EXTRACT(@j, '$[ * ]'), '$')

If MySQL had a proper STRING_SPLIT(val, 'separator') table returning function, I could hack it (escaping be damned), but that's not available either.

Solution

Here's how to do this with JSON_TABLE in MySQL 8+:

SELECT *
     FROM
       JSON_TABLE(
         '[5, 6, 7]',
         "$[*]"
         COLUMNS(
           Value INT PATH "$"
         )
       ) data;

You can also use this as a general string split function which MySQL otherwise lacks (similar to PG's regexp_split_to_table or MSSQL's STRING_SPLIT) by taking a delimited string and turning it into a JSON string:

set @delimited = 'a,b,c';

SELECT *
     FROM
       JSON_TABLE(
         CONCAT('["', REPLACE(@delimited, ',', '", "'), '"]'),
         "$[*]"
         COLUMNS(
           Value varchar(50) PATH "$"
         )
       ) data;