SQL wildcards can substitute for one or more characters when searching for data in a database.

SQL wildcards must be used with the SQL LIKE operator.

With SQL, the following wildcards can be used:

Wildcard Description

% A substitute for zero or more characters

_ A substitute for exactly one character

[charlist] Any single character in charlist

[^charlist]

or

[!charlist]

Any single character not in charlist

SQL Wildcard Examples

We have the following "Persons" table:

P_Id LastName FirstName Address City

1 Hansen Ola Timoteivn 10 Sandnes

2 Svendson Tove Borgvn 23 Sandnes

3 Pettersen Kari Storgt 20 Stavanger

Using the % Wildcard

Now we want to select the persons living in a city that starts with "sa" from the "Persons" table.

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons

WHERE City LIKE 'sa%'

The result-set will look like this:

P_Id LastName FirstName Address City

1 Hansen Ola Timoteivn 10 Sandnes

2 Svendson Tove Borgvn 23 Sandnes

Next, we want to select the persons living in a city that contains the pattern "nes" from the "Persons"
table.

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons

WHERE City LIKE '%nes%'

The result-set will look like this:

P_Id LastName FirstName Address City

1 Hansen Ola Timoteivn 10 Sandnes

2 Svendson Tove Borgvn 23 Sandnes

Using the _ Wildcard

Now we want to select the persons with a first name that starts with any character, followed by "la"
from the "Persons" table.

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons

WHERE FirstName LIKE '_la'

The result-set will look like this:

P_Id LastName FirstName Address City

1 Hansen Ola Timoteivn 10 Sandnes

Next, we want to select the persons with a last name that starts with "S", followed by any character,
followed by "end", followed by any character, followed by "on" from the "Persons" table.

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons

WHERE LastName LIKE 'S_end_on'

The result-set will look like this:

P_Id LastName FirstName Address City

2 Svendson Tove Borgvn 23 Sandnes

Using the [charlist] Wildcard

Now we want to select the persons with a last name that starts with "b" or "s" or "p" from the "Persons"
table.

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons

WHERE LastName LIKE '[bsp]%'

The result-set will look like this:

P_Id LastName FirstName Address City

2 Svendson Tove Borgvn 23 Sandnes

3 Pettersen Kari Storgt 20 Stavanger

Next, we want to select the persons with a last name that do not start with "b" or "s" or "p" from the
"Persons" table.

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons

WHERE LastName LIKE '[!bsp]%'

The result-set will look like this:

P_Id LastName FirstName Address City

1 Hansen Ola Timoteivn 10 Sandnes

« Previous Next Chapter »

Altova® XMLSpy® - The industry's leading XML editor!

Altova XMLSpy

Whether you're new to XML or already an advanced user, the user-friendly views and powerful entry
helpers, wizards, and debuggers in XMLSpy are designed to meet your XML and Web development
needs from start to finish. New features in Version 2010!

* XML editor

* Graphical XML Schema / DTD editors

* XSLT 1.0/2.0 editor, debugger, profiler

* XQuery editor, debugger, profiler

* XBRL validator, taxonomy editor, taxonomy wizard

* Support for Office Open XML (OOXML)

* Graphical WSDL 1.1/2.0 editor & SOAP debugger

* JSON editing & conversion

* Java, C#, C++ code generation

* 32-bit and 64-bit versions

* And much more!

Download a free trial today!

Altova XMLSpy

W3Schools Certification

W3Schools' Online Certification Program

The perfect solution for professionals who need to balance work, family, and career building.

More than 5000 certificates already issued!

The HTML Certificate documents your knowledge of HTML, XHTML, and CSS.

The JavaScript Certificate documents your knowledge of JavaScript and HTML DOM.

The XML Certificate documents your knowledge of XML, XML DOM and XSLT.

The ASP Certificate documents your knowledge of ASP, SQL, and ADO.

The PHP Certificate documents your knowledge of PHP and SQL (MySQL).

WEB HOSTING

Best Web Hosting

PHP MySQL Hosting

Top 10 Web Hosting

UK Reseller Hosting

Web Hosting

FREE Web Hosting

Top Web Hosting

$0 Doteasy Web Hosting

WEB BUILDING

Download XML Editor

FREE Flash Website

FREE Web Templates

SEO Company

US Web Design Schools

W3SCHOOLS EXAMS

Get Certified in:

HTML, CSS, JavaScript, XML, PHP, and ASP

W3SCHOOLS BOOKS

New Books:

HTML, CSS

JavaScript, and Ajax

STATISTICS

Browser Statistics

Browser OS

Browser Display

SHARE THIS PAGE

Share with »
W3Schools.com HOME | TOP | PRINT | FORUM | ABOUT

W3Schools is for training only. We do not warrant the correctness of its content. The risk from using it
lies entirely with the user.

While using this site, you agree to have read and accepted our terms of use and privacy policy.

Copyright 1999-2010 by