SQL LIKE Operator

SQL LIKE Operator Referance

The LIKE operator is used to search for a specified pattern in a column.

SQL LIKE Syntax

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name LIKE pattern;

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The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with the letter “s”:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE ‘s%’;

Tip: The “%” sign is used to define wildcards (missing letters) both before and after the pattern. You will learn more about wildcards in the next chapter.

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The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City ending with the letter “s”:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE ‘%s’;

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The following SQL statement selects all customers with a Country containing the pattern “land”:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country LIKE ‘%land%’;

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Using the NOT keyword allows you to select records that does NOT match the pattern.
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a Country NOT containing the pattern “land”:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country NOT LIKE ‘%land%’;