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❮ Sqlite Alias Sqlite Syntax ❯

SQLite LIKE Clause

The LIKE operator in SQLite is used to match text values against a pattern specified with wildcard characters. If the search expression matches the pattern expression, the LIKE operator returns true (1). There are two wildcard characters used with the LIKE operator:

The percentage sign (%) represents zero, one, or multiple numbers or characters. The underscore (_) represents a single number or character. These symbols can be used in combination.

Syntax

The basic syntax for % and _ is as follows:

SELECT column_list 
FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE 'XXXX%'

or 

SELECT column_list 
FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE '%XXXX%'

or

SELECT column_list 
FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE 'XXXX_'

or

SELECT column_list 
FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE '_XXXX'

or

SELECT column_list 
FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE '_XXXX_'

You can combine conditions using the AND or OR operators. Here, XXXX can be any numeric or string value.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate different uses of the LIKE clause with '%' and '_' operators:

Statement Description
WHERE SALARY LIKE '200%' Finds any values that start with 200
WHERE SALARY LIKE '%200%' Finds any values that have 200 in any position
WHERE SALARY LIKE '_00%' Finds any values that have 00 in the second and third positions
WHERE SALARY LIKE '2_%_%' Finds any values that start with 2 and are at least 3 characters in length
WHERE SALARY LIKE '%2' Finds any values that end with 2
WHERE SALARY LIKE '_2%3' Finds any values that have 2 in the second position and end with 3
WHERE SALARY LIKE '2___3' Finds any values that are 5 characters long, start with 2, and end with 3

Let's take a practical example. Suppose the COMPANY table has the following records:

ID          NAME        AGE         ADDRESS     SALARY
----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
1           Paul        32          California  20000.0
2           Allen       25          Texas       15000.0
3           Teddy       23          Norway      20000.0
4           Mark        25          Rich-Mond   65000.0
5           David       27          Texas       85000.0
6           Kim         22          South-Hall  45000.0
7           James       24          Houston     10000.0

The following example shows all records from the COMPANY table where AGE starts with 2:

sqlite> SELECT * FROM COMPANY WHERE AGE LIKE '2%';

This will produce the following result:

ID          NAME        AGE         ADDRESS     SALARY
----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
2           Allen       25          Texas       15000.0
3           Teddy       23          Norway      20000.0
4           Mark        25          Rich-Mond   65000.0
5           David       27          Texas       85000.0

6 Kim 22 South-Hall 45000.0 7 James 24 Houston 10000.0

Below is an example that shows all records in the COMPANY table where the ADDRESS text contains a hyphen (-):

sqlite> SELECT * FROM COMPANY WHERE ADDRESS LIKE '%-%';

This will produce the following result:

ID          NAME        AGE         ADDRESS     SALARY
----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
4           Mark        25          Rich-Mond   65000.0
6           Kim         22          South-Hall  45000.0
❮ Sqlite Alias Sqlite Syntax ❯