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T-SQL - LIKE Clause
The MS SQL Server LIKE clause is used to compare a value to similar values using wildcard operators. There are two wildcards used in conjunction with the LIKE operator −
- The percent sign (%)
- The underscore (_)
The percent sign represents zero, one, or multiple characters. The underscore represents a single number or character. The symbols can be used in combinations.
Syntax
Following is the basic syntax of % and _.
SELECT *\column-list FROM table_name WHERE column LIKE 'XXXX%' or SELECT *\column-list FROM table_name WHERE column LIKE '%XXXX%' or SELECT *\column-list FROM table_name WHERE column LIKE 'XXXX_' or SELECT *\column-list FROM table_name WHERE column LIKE '_XXXX' or SELECT *\column-list FROM table_name WHERE column LIKE '_XXXX_'
You can combine N number of conditions using AND or OR operators. XXXX could be any numeric or string value.
Example
Following are a number of examples showing WHERE part having different LIKE clause with '%' and '_' operators.
Sr.No | Statement & Description |
---|---|
1 |
WHERE SALARY LIKE '200%' Finds any values that start with 200 |
2 |
WHERE SALARY LIKE '%200%' Finds any values that have 200 in any position |
3 |
WHERE SALARY LIKE '_00%' Finds any values that have 00 in the second and third positions |
4 |
WHERE SALARY LIKE '2_%_%' Finds any values that start with 2 and are at least 3 characters in length |
5 |
WHERE SALARY LIKE '%2' Finds any values that end with 2 |
6 |
WHERE SALARY LIKE '_2%3' Finds any values that have a 2 in the second position and end with a 3 |
7 |
WHERE SALARY LIKE '2___3' Finds any values in a five-digit number that start with 2 and end with 3 |
Consider the CUSTOMERS table having the following records.
ID NAME AGE ADDRESS SALARY 1 Ramesh 32 Ahmedabad 2000.00 2 Khilan 25 Delhi 1500.00 3 kaushik 23 Kota 2000.00 4 Chaitali 25 Mumbai 6500.00 5 Hardik 27 Bhopal 8500.00 6 Komal 22 MP 4500.00 7 Muffy 24 Indore 10000.00
Following command is an example, which will display all the records from CUSTOMERS table where SALARY starts with 200.
SELECT * FROM CUSTOMERS WHERE SALARY LIKE '200%';
The above command will produce the following output.
ID NAME AGE ADDRESS SALARY 1 Ramesh 32 Ahmedabad 2000.00 3 kaushik 23 Kota 2000.00