he LIKEoperator is used in a WHEREclause to search for a specified pattern in a column.
There are two wildcards often used in conjunction with the LIKEoperator:
The percent sign (%) represents zero, one, or multiple characters
The underscore sign (_) represents one, single character
The percent sign and the underscore can also be used in combinations!
LIKE Syntax
SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
WHERE columnN LIKE pattern;
FROM table_name
WHERE columnN LIKE pattern;
Here are some examples showing different LIKEoperators with '%' and '_' wildcards:
| LIKE Operator | Description |
|---|---|
| WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a%' | Finds any values that start with "a" |
| WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%a' | Finds any values that end with "a" |
| WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%or%' | Finds any values that have "or" in any position |
| WHERE CustomerName LIKE '_r%' | Finds any values that have "r" in the second position |
| WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a_%' | Finds any values that start with "a" and are at least 2 characters in length |
| WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a__%' | Finds any values that start with "a" and are at least 3 characters in length |
| WHERE ContactName LIKE 'a%o' | Finds any values that start with "a" and ends with "o" |
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