Can I change "ft_min_word_len" on shared hosting?

Question

I have MySQL on shared hosting. Is there any way how to change value of ft_min_word_len without administrator access?

I found one workaround, where every word that has less than 4 characters is supplemented with _ or some other char, and the same is done with every searched keyword that is less than 4 characters.

Is there any better, or cleaner way to make Fulltext search work for short words?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, ft_min_word_len is a global system variable and cannot be set dynamically: see MySQL's online docs. Changing it would mean rebuilding every FULLTEXT index around, btw, so you can see why they don't want non-admins to mess with it.

I fear your workaround (or something entirely equivalent) is the only way to solve the problem in your situation. Sorry! (But, compliments for thinking of it!).