SQL LIKE Operator: Pattern Matching Guide
In SQL, the LIKE operator is used in the WHERE clause for conducting fuzzy matches. It is typically used in conjunction with wildcards to find data with specific patterns.
Wildcards can take on various forms such as:
- %: denotes zero or more characters.
- _: denotes a single character
For example, you can use the following statement to find all records with names starting with the letter A:
SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE name LIKE 'A%';
Similarly, you can also use wildcards to search for all records that contain the letter “an” in the name.
SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE name LIKE '%an%';
In general, the LIKE statement provides a flexible way to perform fuzzy matching in order to retrieve data from a database that meets a specific pattern.
