Is there an analogous generate_series function in MySQL?

Question

I am wondering if there is a function in MySQL like generate_series which usually takes in a starting integer value, an ending one and an increment and returns a array of all the values including and between the start and the end. If there is no such function how would one go about declaring it in MySQL?

Answer 1

This is too long for a comment.

There is no such function. MySQL does not support user-defined functions that return tables, so you cannot define your own. In v8+, you can use a recursive CTE to generate numbers.

However, the simplest method is probably to define your own numbers table. Another alternative is to use any-old big table and do something like:

select (@rn := @rn + 1) as num
from bigtable t cross join
     (select @rn := 0) params
limit 100;  -- however many numbers you want

Of course, bigtable has to have enough rows for the numbers you want to generate.