SQL LIKE Operator

The LIKE operator is used in a WHERE clause to search for a specified pattern in a column.

The LIKE operator is used to search for a specified pattern in a column.

SQL LIKE Syntax

SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name WHERE column_name LIKE pattern

LIKE Operator Example

The "Persons" table:

Id	LastName	FirstName	Address	City
1	Navis	Anto	Madras	TVL
2	Ji	Bala	Bombay	TVL
3	Christopher	Franklin	America	KK

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

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons WHERE City LIKE 's%'

The "%" sign can be used to define wildcards (missing letters in the pattern) both before and after the pattern.

The result-set will look like this:

Id	LastName	FirstName	Address	City
1	Navis	Anto	Madras	TVL
2	Ji	Bala	Bombay	TVL
3	Christopher	Franklin	America	KK

Next, we want to select the persons living in a city that ends with an "s" from the "Persons" table.

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons WHERE City LIKE '%s'

The result-set will look like this:

Id	LastName	FirstName	Address	City
1	Navis	Anto	Madras	TVL
2	Ji	Bala	Bombay	TVL

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

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons WHERE City LIKE '%tav%'

The result-set will look like this:

Id	LastName	FirstName	Address	City
3	Christopher	Franklin	America	KK

It is also possible to select the persons living in a city that does NOT contain the pattern "tav" from the "Persons" table, by using the NOT keyword.

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM Persons WHERE City NOT LIKE '%tav%'

The result-set will look like this:

Id	LastName	FirstName	Address	City
1	Navis	Anto	Madras	TVL
2	Ji	Bala	Bombay	TVL