SQL CONTAINS Function Explained

The CONTAINS function in SQL is used to search for a particular string within a specific column. It returns a boolean value indicating whether the searched string exists in the specified column. The CONTAINS function is typically used in conjunction with a WHERE clause to filter rows that meet specific criteria.

The CONTAINS function is commonly used for full-text searches, especially when searching within columns containing a large amount of text data. It can quickly determine if a certain string appears within the text, rather than just matching the entire string. The CONTAINS function can also accept multiple search criteria and return rows that meet one or more of the criteria.

The syntax for using the CONTAINS function is as follows:

CONTAINS(column, search_string)

In this case, column refers to the column to search, and search_string refers to the string to search for.