SQLite - LIKE Clause

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SQLite LIKE operator is used to match text values against a pattern using wildcards. If the search expression can be matched to the pattern expression, the LIKE operator will return true, which is 1. There are two wildcards used in conjunction with the LIKE operator −

  • The percent sign (%)
  • The underscore (_)

The percent sign represents zero, one, or multiple numbers or characters. The underscore represents a single number or character. These symbols can be used in combinations.

Syntax

Following is the basic syntax of % and _.

SELECT FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE 'XXXX%'
or 
SELECT FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE '%XXXX%'
or
SELECT FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE 'XXXX_'
or
SELECT FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE '_XXXX'
or
SELECT FROM table_name
WHERE column LIKE '_XXXX_'

You can combine N number of conditions using AND or OR operators. Here, XXXX could be any numeric or string value.

Example

Following table lists a number of examples showing WHERE part having different LIKE clause with '%' and '_' operators.

Sr.No. Statement & Description
1

WHERE SALARY LIKE '200%'

Finds any values that start with 200
2

WHERE SALARY LIKE '%200%'

Finds any values that have 200 in any position
3

WHERE SALARY LIKE '_00%'

Finds any values that have 00 in the second and third positions
4

WHERE SALARY LIKE '2_%_%'

Finds any values that start with 2 and are at least 3 characters in length
5

WHERE SALARY LIKE '%2'

Finds any values that end with 2
6

WHERE SALARY LIKE '_2%3'

Finds any values that has a 2 in the second position and ends with a 3
7

WHERE SALARY LIKE '2___3'

Finds any values in a five-digit number that starts with 2 and ends with 3

Let us take a real example, consider COMPANY table with 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

Following is an example, which will display all the records from 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

Following is an example, which will display all the records from COMPANY table where ADDRESS will have a hyphen (-) inside the text.

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
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