- The LIKE operator is used in a WHERE clause to search for a specified pattern in a column.
- The LIKE operator is used to search for a specified pattern in a column.
- SQL LIKE Syntax:
LIKE Operator Example
The “Persons” table:
Now we want to select the persons living in a city that starts with “s” from the table above. We use the following SELECT statement:
SELECT * FROM Persons WHERE City LIKE ‘s%’The “%” sign can be used to define wildcards (missing letters in the pattern) both before and after the pattern. The result-set will look like this:
Next, we want to select the persons living in a city that ends with an “s” from the “Persons” table. We use the following SELECT statement:
SELECT * FROM Persons WHERE City LIKE ‘%s’The result-set will look like this:
P_Id LastName FirstName Address City
1 Hansen Ola Timoteivn 10 Sandnes
2 Svendson Tove Borgvn 23 Sandnes
Next, we want to select the persons living in a city that contains the pattern “tav” from the “Persons” table. We use the following SELECT statement:
SELECT * FROM Persons WHERE City LIKE ‘%tav%’The result-set will look like this:
P_Id LastName FirstName Address City
3 Pettersen Kari Storgt 20 Stavanger
It is also possible to select the persons living in a city that NOT contains the pattern “tav” from the “Persons” table, by using the NOT keyword. We use the following SELECT statement:
SELECT * FROM Persons WHERE City NOT LIKE ‘%tav%’The result-set will look like this:
