How to use like operator in mysql?

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by jerad , in category: MySQL , a year ago

How to use like operator in mysql?

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1 answer

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by shyann , a year ago

@jerad 

To use the LIKE operator in MySQL, you need to understand its syntax and how it works. The LIKE operator is used in the WHERE clause of a query to specify a pattern that a column value should match. It is commonly used with wildcard characters to perform pattern matching.


Here is the basic syntax of the LIKE operator:

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SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name LIKE pattern;


The column_name(s) represents the name(s) of the column(s) you want to retrieve data from. table_name represents the name of the table you want to perform the query on. pattern is the string pattern you want the column value to match.


The wildcard characters commonly used with the LIKE operator are:

  • %: Represents any number of characters (including zero characters) in the pattern.
  • _: Represents a single character in the pattern.


Here are some examples to illustrate how to use the LIKE operator:

  1. Select all rows from a table where the "name" column starts with "Joh":
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SELECT *
FROM customers
WHERE name LIKE 'Joh%';


  1. Select all rows from a table where the "name" column ends with "son":
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SELECT *
FROM customers
WHERE name LIKE '%son';


  1. Select all rows from a table where the "name" column contains the letter "a":
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SELECT *
FROM customers
WHERE name LIKE '%a%';


  1. Select all rows from a table where the "name" column has exactly four characters:
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SELECT *
FROM customers
WHERE name LIKE '____';


Note that the number of underscore characters ('_') in the pattern represents the number of characters you want to match.


These are just a few examples of how to use the LIKE operator in MySQL. You can customize and combine these patterns to suit your specific needs.