The LIKE operator is used to search for a specified pattern within text values. It is commonly used with wildcard characters such as % and _. The percent sign (%) represents zero or more characters, while the underscore (_) generally represents a single character.
Business data often requires partial text searches. Analysts may need to find customers whose names start with a particular letter, products containing a specific word, or email addresses from a particular domain.
If you want to find employees whose names start with the letter 'A', you can use LIKE with the pattern 'A%'.
SELECT
EmployeeName
FROM Employees
WHERE EmployeeName LIKE 'A%';LIKE is used for customer searches, employee searches, product analysis, address filtering, data-quality checks, and text-based reporting.
- LIKE searches for text patterns.
- % represents zero or more characters.
- _ generally represents one character.
- LIKE is commonly used with WHERE.
- LIKE is useful for partial text searches.
What is LIKE used for in SQL?
LIKE is used to search text values based on a specified pattern.
What does % mean in a LIKE pattern?
% represents zero or more characters in a LIKE pattern.