LIKE Keyword

The LIKE keyword is used in the where clause to match the specified pattern in the column.

There are two wildcard characters that are used with a like clause.

  1. % - Represent Zero, One Or More Characters.
  2. _ - Represent only one character.

Syntax

SQL
SELECT * FROM <TABLE_NAME>
WHERE <COLUMN_NAME> LIKE <'SPECIFIED_PATTERN>';

Example 1: Using % Wildcard

SQL
SELECT * FROM Employee WHERE Emp_Name LIKE 'A%';

It returns all records whose emp names start with 'A' or 'a'.

SQL
SELECT * FROM Employee WHERE Emp_Name LIKE '%A';

It returns all records whose emp names end with 'A' or 'a'.

SQL
SELECT * FROM Employee WHERE Emp_Name LIKE 'M%A';

It returns only records whose emp names start with 'M' or 'm' and end with 'A' or 'a'.

Example 2: Using _ Wildcard

SQL
SELECT * FROM Employee WHERE Emp_Name LIKE '_ISHA'

It returns only records whose emp name starts with any character and immediately after ends with 'ISHA', for example, MISHA, NISHA, etc.

SQL
SELECT * FROM Employee WHERE Emp_Name LIKE 'MILA_'

It returns only records whose emp name starts with 'MILA' and immediately after ending with any character, for example, MILAN, MILAP, etc.

Example 3: Using % and _ Wildcard

SQL
SELECT * FROM Employee WHERE Emp_Name LIKE '%S_'

It returns only records whose emp name starts with any character or any number of characters, but whose second last character is a compulsory 'S' and ends with any character.

Example 4: No any wildcard

SQL
SELECT * FROM Employee WHERE Emp_Name LIKE 'UDAY'

It returns only records whose emp name should be 'UDAY'.

Summary

The LIKE keyword is used in the where clause to match the specified pattern in the column.