select first n lines of a text field

[stasJohn]

Just wondering if there is a way to do this using mysql.

I want to only grab the first 3 lines of a field. A line being any number of characters ending with an endline (\n).

For instance, the following entry is in a field...
This is a sentence.
No, don't go in there.
80's music is definetly a guilty pleasure.
This is not a sentence.
Hi.

I would only want to retrieve...
This is a sentence.
No, don't go in there.
80's music is definetly a guilty pleasure.


MySQL has a left function, but that returns n characters.

Thanks in advance

 

[TonyGroves]

You could use:
[tt]
SUBSTRING_INDEX(fieldname,'\n',3)
[/tt]

 

[stasJohn]

ah very nice. Thanks.