Search text in fields in every table of a MySQL database

Question

I want to search in all fields from all tables of a MySQL database a given string, possibly using syntax as:

SELECT * FROM * WHERE * LIKE '%stuff%' 

Is it possible to do something like this?

Answer 1

You could do an SQLDump of the database (and its data) then search that file.

Answer 2

If you have phpMyAdmin installed use its 'Search' feature.

• Select your DB
• Be sure you do have a DB selected (i.e. not a table, otherwise you'll get a completely different search dialog)
• Click 'Search' tab
• Choose the search term you want
• Choose the tables to search

I have used this on up to 250 table/10GB databases (on a fast server) and the response time is nothing short of amazing.