๐ŸƒWildcard Character

Wildcard Characters in SQL Server

Symbol
Description
Example

%

Represents zero or more characters

bl% finds bl, black, blue, and blob

_

Represents a single character

h_t finds hot, hat, and hit

[]

Represents any single character within the brackets

h[oa]t finds hot and hat, but not hit

^

Represents any character not in the brackets

h[^oa]t finds hit, but not hot and hat

-

Represents any single character within the specified range

c[a-b]t finds cat and cbt

Here are some examples showing different LIKE operators with '%' and '_' wildcards:

LIKE Operator
Description

WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a%'

Finds any values that starts with "a"

WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%a'

Finds any values that ends with "a"

WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%or%'

Finds any values that have "or" in any position

WHERE CustomerName LIKE '_r%'

Finds any values that have "r" in the second position

WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a__%'

Finds any values that starts with "a" and are at least 3 characters in length

WHERE ContactName LIKE 'a%o'

Finds any values that starts with "a" and ends with "o"

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