The LIKE operator is used in a WHERE clause to search for a specified pattern in a column.
There are two wildcards used in conjunction with the LIKE operator:
The percent sign and the underscore can also be used in combinations!
Tip: You can also combine any number of conditions using AND or OR operators.
Here are some examples showing different LIKE operators with '%' and '_' wildcards:
LIKE Operator | Description |
---|---|
WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a%' | Finds any values that starts with "a" |
WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%a' | Finds any values that ends 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 starts with "a" and are at least 3 characters in length |
WHERE ContactName LIKE 'a%o' | Finds any values that starts with "a" and ends with "o" |
The IN operator allows you to specify multiple values in a WHERE clause.
The IN operator is a shorthand for multiple OR conditions.
or:
The BETWEEN operator selects values within a given range. The values can be numbers, text, or dates.
The BETWEEN operator is inclusive: begin and end values are included.