How to use like in mysql

The LIKE operator is used for pattern matching in MySQL. It uses wildcards to match character sequences, including: %: matches zero or more characters. _: Matches a single character. [ ]: Matches any characters listed within square brackets.

Usage of LIKE operator in MySQL

The LIKE operator is used for pattern matching in MySQL. It allows you to find values ​​that match a specific pattern, which can contain wildcard characters.

Wildcard:

• %: Matches zero or more characters.
• _: Matches a single character.
• [list]: Matches any characters listed within square brackets.

Syntax:

<code class="sql">SELECT column_name
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name LIKE 'pattern';</code>

Example:

Find all names starting with "John":

<code class="sql">SELECT name
FROM customers
WHERE name LIKE 'John%';</code>

Find all names containing the letter "a":

<code class="sql">SELECT name
FROM customers
WHERE name LIKE '%a%';</code>

Find all names starting with "John" and ending with "son":

<code class="sql">SELECT name
FROM customers
WHERE name LIKE 'John%son';</code>

Tips:

• The wildcard characters % and _ can be used anywhere in the pattern.
• You can use square brackets [ ] to create character ranges. For example, '[a-z]' matches any lowercase letter.
• The LIKE operator is case-sensitive unless the BINARY keyword is used. For example, 'John%' matches "John", but 'john%' does not.
• If the pattern contains wildcard characters, the wildcard characters should be escaped to prevent them from being interpreted as text. For example, '\%' matches "%" itself.

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