title: Filter MYSQL where multiple fields can match URL PARAMETER. IN, LIKE or REGEXP?
body: <p>i've created a page that displays all of the table results in a list, but if you select a category name, then it filters those results to all rows that match the category name in the URL(using friendly URL's) in either the <code>category_1</code> field or the <code>category_2</code> field. here's what i have now:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$colname_rs_categories = "-1";
  if (isset($_GET['cat'])) {
      $colname_rs_categories = $_GET['cat'];
  }
  mysql_select_db($database_neonnettle, $neonnettle);
  
  $query_rs_categories = sprintf("
       SELECT videos_id, 
           DATE_FORMAT(date,'%%D %%M %%Y @ %%l.%%i  %%p')date, 
           thumb, 
           title, 
           sub_title 
       FROM VIDEOS_view 
       WHERE %s IN (category_1, category_2) 
       ORDER BY videos_id DESC", 
       GetSQLValueString($colname_rs_categories, "text")
  );
  
  $query_limit_rs_categories = sprintf("%s LIMIT %d, %d", $query_rs_categories, $startRow_rs_categories, $maxRows_rs_categories);
  $rs_categories = mysql_query($query_limit_rs_categories, $neonnettle) or die(mysql_error());
  $row_rs_categories = mysql_fetch_assoc($rs_categories);
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Now this has worked great up to a point. for example: if the users selects the category <code>"Pop"</code>, then the URL will be <code>www.example.com/pop</code> and it will list all the results that match either <code>category_1</code> and/or <code>category_2</code> with <code>"Pop"</code>.</p>
  
  <p>The problem that i have is that if the category name is <code>"Pop Music"</code>, then the URL will be <code>www.example.com/pop-music</code> and this will then stop the results from being filtered as it no longer sees a match.</p>
  
  <p>I have been experimenting with <code>LIKE</code> and <code>REGEXP</code> but i've had no luck. I was thinking something like this (but not this as it doesn't work):</p>
  
  <pre><code>WHERE (category_1 REGEXP '%s' OR category_2 REGEXP '%s')
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Any suggestions?</p>