1.8 Retrieving data that contains a specific character string (LIKE predicate)

Use the LIKE predicate to retrieve data that contains a specific character string. The specification format of the LIKE predicate is as follows.

Specification format

SELECT "column-name" FROM "table-name"
    WHERE "column-name" LIKE 'pattern-character-string'

column name:

Specify the column to use for narrowing down the retrieval.

Note

You can also specify expressions other than column names. For details about the syntax of the LIKE predicate, see 7.19.4 LIKE predicate.

LIKE 'pattern-character-string':

Specify the pattern character string to search for. The main pattern character strings (wildcards) are the following:

• %

  This denotes any character string of zero or more characters. If you specify 'ACT%', it will match the character strings such as ACT, ACTOR, and ACTION.

• _ (underscore)

  This denotes any single character. If you specify '_I_', it will match the character strings such as BIT, HIT, and KIT.

  Note

  • For details about the syntax of pattern character strings, see 7.19.4 LIKE predicate.

  • You can also specify ESCAPE in the LIKE predicate. For details, see 7.19.4 LIKE predicate.

Organization of this section

• 1.8.1 Example 1: Retrieve customers whose name begins with M

• 1.8.2 Example 2: Retrieve customers whose name does not begin with M

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