SQL Like
The SQL LIKE Operator
In a WHERE clause, the LIKE operator is used to look for a given pattern in a column.
The LIKE operator is frequently combined with one of two wildcards:
- Â The percent sign % represents zero, one, or multiple characters
- Â The underscore sign _ represents one, single character
You will learn more about wildcards in the next chapter.
Example
Select all customers that starts with the letter “a”:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a%';
Syntax
SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
WHERE columnN LIKE pattern;
Demo Database
| CustomerID | CustomerName | ContactName | Address | City | PostalCode | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Alfreds Futterkiste | Maria Anders | Obere Str. 57 | Berlin | 12209 | Germany |
| 2 | Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados | Ana Trujillo | Avda. de la Constitución 2222 | México D.F. | 05021 | Mexico |
| 3 | Antonio Moreno TaquerÃa | Antonio Moreno | Mataderos 2312 | México D.F. | 05023 | Mexico |
| 4 |
Around the Horn | Thomas Hardy | 120 Hanover Sq. | London | WA1 1DP | UK |
| 5 | Berglunds snabbköp | Christina Berglund | Berguvsvägen 8 | Luleå | S-958 22 | Sweden |
The _ Wildcard
A single character is represented by the wildcard _.
Any character or number will do, but each _ only stands for a single character.
Example
Return all customers from a city that starts with ‘L’ followed by one wildcard character, then ‘nd’ and then two wildcard characters:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE city LIKE 'L_nd__';
The % Wildcard
The % wildcard represents any number of characters, even zero characters.
Example
Return all customers from a city that contains the letter ‘L’:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE city LIKE '%L%';
Starts With
Add the % at the end of the letter or phrase to retrieve records that begin with that particular letter or phrase.
Example
Return all customers that starts with ‘La’:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'La%';
Tip: You can also combine any number of conditions using AND or OR operators.
Example
Return all customers that starts with ‘a’ or starts with ‘b’:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a%' OR CustomerName LIKE 'b%';
Ends With
Put the % at the start of the letter or phrase to retrieve records that finish with that particular letter or word.
Example
Return all customers that ends with ‘a’:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%a';
Tip: You can also combine “starts with” and “ends with”:
Example
Return all customers that starts with “b” and ends with “s”:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'b%s';
Contains
Add the % before and after the letter or phrase to return records that contain that particular letter or phrase.
Example
Return all customers that contains the phrase ‘or’
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%or%';
Combine Wildcards
Any wildcard can be used in conjunction with other wildcards, such as % and _.
Example
Return all customers that starts with “a” and are at least 3 characters in length:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a__%';
Example
Return all customers that have “r” in the second position:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE '_r%';
Without Wildcard
In the event that no wildcard is used, the phrase must exactly match in order to provide a result.
Example
Return all customers from Spain:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country LIKE 'Spain';
