Matching text patterns with LIKE

= only matches text exactly. To match a pattern, use LIKE with two wildcards:

• % stands for any run of characters (including none)
• _ stands for exactly one character

SELECT name FROM student WHERE name LIKE 'S%';

'S%' means "starts with S". '%a%' means "contains an a". '_o%' means "an o as the second letter".

Lists and ranges: IN and BETWEEN

Two more handy tests:

• IN (…) matches any value in a list: WHERE form IN ('11A', '11C')
• BETWEEN low AND high matches a range, including both ends:

SELECT name, score FROM student WHERE score BETWEEN 70 AND 90;

Both are shorter than writing several ORs.

Common mistakes

• In LIKE, % matches any text: 'A%' means "starts with A".
• BETWEEN a AND b includes both ends.