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MySQL Wildcards
Wildcards in MySQL are special characters used in conjunction with the LIKE operator to perform pattern-matching searches in strings.
1. % Wildcard
The % wildcard represents zero or more characters.
Example:
SELECT * FROM products WHERE name LIKE 'App%';This query will retrieve all products whose name starts with “App”.
2. _ Wildcard
The _ wildcard represents a single character.
Example:
SELECT * FROM customers WHERE phone LIKE '12345_';This query will retrieve customers whose phone number starts with “12345” followed by one character.
3. [character_list] Wildcard
The [character_list] wildcard matches any single character within the specified list or range.
Example:
SELECT * FROM products WHERE name LIKE '[BM]acbook';This query will retrieve products whose name starts with either “B” or “M” followed by “acbook” (e.g., “Backbook” or “Macbook”).
Using wildcards in MySQL allows for flexible and powerful pattern-matching searches in database queries.