# SQL Wildcards

### SQL Wildcard Characters

A wildcard character is used to substitute any other character(s) in a string.

Wildcard characters are used with the SQL LIKE operator. The LIKE operator is used in a WHERE clause to search for a specified pattern in a column. 

There are two wildcards used in conjunction with the LIKE operator:

* % - The percent sign represents zero, one, or multiple characters
* \_ - The underscore represents a single character

Here are some examples showing different LIKE operators with '%' and '\_' wildcards:

![](https://826093633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LS8lPNzCGPR5-DLbGXv%2F-LSfCE8eh_j38ey-3kGP%2F-LSfCndIaVJ5hKmNAoQq%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=dad2861d-8f68-46c1-a869-09433ec67e34)

### Demo Database

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table :

![](https://826093633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LS8lPNzCGPR5-DLbGXv%2F-LSfCE8eh_j38ey-3kGP%2F-LSfCy0j0FhiWd2DgPtN%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=78c66a7c-21ec-4631-a94b-a20a7ce1c9ae)

### Using the % Wildcard

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "ber":

#### Example

```sql
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE 'ber%';
```

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City containing the pattern "es": 

#### Example

```sql
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE '%es%';
```

### Using the \_ Wildcard

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with any character, followed by "erlin":

#### Example

```sql
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE '_erlin';
```

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "L", followed by any character, followed by "n", followed by any character, followed by "on":

#### Example

```
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE 'L_n_on';
```

### Using the \[charlist] Wildcard

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "b", "s", or "p":

#### Example

```sql
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE '[bsp]%';
```

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "a", "b", or "c":

#### Example

```sql
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE '[a-c]%';
```

### Using the \[!charlist] Wildcard

The two following SQL statements select all customers with a City NOT starting with "b", "s", or "p":

#### Example

```sql
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE '[!bsp]%';
```

Or:

#### Example

```sql
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City NOT LIKE '[bsp]%';
```


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