SQL Wildcards
A wildcard character can be used to substitute for any other character(s) in a string.
SQL Wildcard Characters
In SQL, wildcard characters are used with the SQL LIKE operator.
SQL wildcards are used to search for data within a table.
With SQL, the wildcards are:
| Wildcard | Description |
|---|---|
| % | A substitute for zero or more characters |
| _ | A substitute for a single character |
| [charlist] | Sets and ranges of characters to match |
| [^charlist] or [!charlist] |
Matches only a character NOT specified within the brackets |
Demo Database
In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database.
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:
| CustomerID | CustomerName | ContactName | Address | City | PostalCode | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Alfreds Futterkiste | Maria Anders | Obere Str. 57 | Berlin | 12209 | Germany |
| 2 | Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados | Ana Trujillo | Avda. de la Constitución 2222 | México D.F. | 05021 | Mexico |
| 3 | Antonio Moreno Taquería | Antonio Moreno | Mataderos 2312 | México D.F. | 05023 | Mexico |
| 4 |
Around the Horn | Thomas Hardy | 120 Hanover Sq. | London | WA1 1DP | UK |
| 5 | Berglunds snabbköp | Christina Berglund | Berguvsvägen 8 | Luleå | S-958 22 | Sweden |
Using the SQL % Wildcard
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "ber":
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City containing the pattern "es":
Using the SQL _ Wildcard
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with any character, followed by "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":
Using the SQL [charlist] Wildcard
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "b", "s", or "p":
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "a", "b", or "c":
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City NOT starting with "b", "s", or "p":
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City LIKE '[!bsp]%';
or
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City NOT LIKE '[bsp]%';
Try it yourself »