First Guide to SQL Anywhere Studio
PART 3. Basic SQL
CHAPTER 12. Selecting Data from Database Tables
Another useful way to look for things is to search for a pattern. In SQL, the word LIKE is used to search for patterns. The use of LIKE can be explained by example.
Type the following:
SELECT emp_lname, emp_fname FROM employee WHERE emp_lname LIKE 'br%'
emp_lname |
emp_fname |
---|---|
Breault |
Robert |
Braun |
Jane |
The % in the search condition indicates that any number of other characters may follow the letters BR.
Type the following:
SELECT emp_lname, emp_fname FROM employee WHERE emp_lname LIKE 'BR%T%'
emp_lname |
emp_fname |
---|---|
Breault |
Robert |
The first % sign matches the string eaul, while the second % sign matches the empty string (no characters).
Another special character that can be used with LIKE is the _ (underscore) character, which matches exactly one character.
The pattern BR_U% matches all names starting with BR and having U as the fourth letter. In Braun the _ matches the letter A and the % matches N.