LIKE

SQL LIKE Keyword

The LIKE operator is used in a WHERE clause to search for a specified pattern in a column. It is commonly used with the following wildcards:

• % – represents zero, one, or multiple characters
• _ – represents a single character

SQL LIKE Syntax

SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name LIKE pattern;

SELECT column1, column2, ...

FROM table_name

WHERE column_name LIKE pattern;

SQL LIKE Patient Names Starting with “A” Example

This query selects all patients whose first_name starts with the letter “A”.

SELECT patient_id, first_name
FROM Patients
WHERE first_name LIKE 'A%';

SELECT patient_id, first_name

FROM Patients

WHERE first_name LIKE 'A%';

SQL LIKE Patient Names Ending with “a” Example

This query selects all patients whose first_name ends with the letter “a”.

SELECT patient_id, first_name
FROM Patients
WHERE first_name LIKE '%a';

SELECT patient_id, first_name

FROM Patients

WHERE first_name LIKE '%a';

SQL LIKE Doctor Specialties Containing “gen” Example

This query selects all doctors whose specialty contains the substring “gen” if there is any.

SELECT doctor_id, specialty
FROM Doctors
WHERE specialty LIKE '%gen%';

SELECT doctor_id, specialty

FROM Doctors

WHERE specialty LIKE '%gen%';

SQL LIKE Patient Names with Pattern “J__n%” Example

This query selects all patients whose first names start with “J”, followed by any two characters, and then any number of characters.

SELECT patient_id, first_name
FROM Patients
WHERE first_name LIKE 'J__%';

SELECT patient_id, first_name

FROM Patients

WHERE first_name LIKE 'J__%';

SQL LIKE Labs