title: How to read a text file into a variable?
body: <p>In MySQL, using the <code>LOAD DATA</code> command, I know that I can <strong><em>load</em></strong> a text file into some table, but what I want is to load the file content into a <code>text</code> variable.</p>
  
  <p>For example, how can I customize this loading code so that it will set a variable (<code>productsXml</code>) rather than a table:</p>
  
  <pre><code>DECLARE productsXml text;
  LOAD DATA INFILE 'products.txt'
  INTO TABLE `database_name`.`table_name` -- I would like to set the productsXml
  </code></pre>