SQL wildcards underscore ( _ )
Underscore Operator
The underscore character ( _ ) represents a single character to match a pattern from a word or string. More than one ( _ ) underscore characters can be used to match a pattern of multiple characters.
Example
Sample table: customer+-----------+-------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+-------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+--------------+------------+ |CUST_CODE | CUST_NAME | CUST_CITY | WORKING_AREA | CUST_COUNTRY | GRADE | OPENING_AMT | RECEIVE_AMT | PAYMENT_AMT |OUTSTANDING_AMT| PHONE_NO | AGENT_CODE | +-----------+-------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+-------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+--------------+------------+ | C00013 | Holmes | London | London | UK | 2 | 6000.00 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 4000.00 | BBBBBBB | A003 | | C00001 | Micheal | New York | New York | USA | 2 | 3000.00 | 5000.00 | 2000.00 | 6000.00 | CCCCCCC | A008 | | C00020 | Albert | New York | New York | USA | 3 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | 6000.00 | BBBBSBB | A008 | | C00025 | Ravindran | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 4000.00 | 8000.00 | AVAVAVA | A011 | | C00024 | Cook | London | London | UK | 2 | 4000.00 | 9000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | FSDDSDF | A006 | | C00015 | Stuart | London | London | UK | 1 | 6000.00 | 8000.00 | 3000.00 | 11000.00 | GFSGERS | A003 | | C00002 | Bolt | New York | New York | USA | 3 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 3000.00 | DDNRDRH | A008 | | C00018 | Fleming | Brisban | Brisban | Australia | 2 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 5000.00 | NHBGVFC | A005 | | C00021 | Jacks | Brisban | Brisban | Australia | 1 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | WERTGDF | A005 | | C00019 | Yearannaidu | Chennai | Chennai | India | 1 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 8000.00 | ZZZZBFV | A010 | | C00005 | Sasikant | Mumbai | Mumbai | India | 1 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 147-25896312 | A002 | | C00007 | Ramanathan | Chennai | Chennai | India | 1 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 9000.00 | 9000.00 | GHRDWSD | A010 | | C00022 | Avinash | Mumbai | Mumbai | India | 2 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 9000.00 | 9000.00 | 113-12345678 | A002 | | C00004 | Winston | Brisban | Brisban | Australia | 1 | 5000.00 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | AAAAAAA | A005 | | C00023 | Karl | London | London | UK | 0 | 4000.00 | 6000.00 | 7000.00 | 3000.00 | AAAABAA | A006 | | C00006 | Shilton | Torento | Torento | Canada | 1 | 10000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | 11000.00 | DDDDDDD | A004 | | C00010 | Charles | Hampshair | Hampshair | UK | 3 | 6000.00 | 4000.00 | 5000.00 | 5000.00 | MMMMMMM | A009 | | C00017 | Srinivas | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 8000.00 | 4000.00 | 3000.00 | 9000.00 | AAAAAAB | A007 | | C00012 | Steven | San Jose | San Jose | USA | 1 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 3000.00 | KRFYGJK | A012 | | C00008 | Karolina | Torento | Torento | Canada | 1 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 5000.00 | HJKORED | A004 | | C00003 | Martin | Torento | Torento | Canada | 2 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 8000.00 | MJYURFD | A004 | | C00009 | Ramesh | Mumbai | Mumbai | India | 3 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 3000.00 | 12000.00 | Phone No | A002 | | C00014 | Rangarappa | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 8000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 12000.00 | AAAATGF | A001 | | C00016 | Venkatpati | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 8000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 12000.00 | JRTVFDD | A007 | | C00011 | Sundariya | Chennai | Chennai | India | 3 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | PPHGRTS | A010 | +-----------+-------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+-------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+--------------+------------+
To get 'cust_code', 'cust_name', 'cust_city' and 'cust_country' from the table 'customer' with following conditions -
1. the 'cust_name' must initiated with the letter 'R',
2. the third letter of 'cust_name' must be 'm',
3. and the second letter of 'cust_name' may be any,
the following sql statement can be used :
SELECT cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country
-- Selecting specific columns: cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country
FROM customer
-- From the table named "customer"
WHERE cust_name LIKE 'R_m%';
-- Where the value in the column cust_name starts with 'R', followed by any single character ('_'), and then followed by 'm' and any number of characters after that
Explanation:
- SELECT cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country: This specifies that we want to retrieve specific columns (cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country) from the table.
- FROM customer: This indicates the table from which we want to retrieve the data. In this case, the table is named "customer".
- WHERE cust_name LIKE 'R_m%': This is a conditional clause that filters the rows returned by the query. It specifies that only rows where the value in the column cust_name starts with 'R', followed by any single character ('_'), and then followed by 'm' and any number of characters after that should be included in the result set. The '_' symbol is a wildcard that matches any single character, and the % symbol is a wildcard that matches any sequence of characters.
Output:
CUST_CODE CUST_NAME CUST_CITY CUST_COUNTRY ---------- -------------------- --------------- ------------------- C00007 Ramanathan Chennai India C00009 Ramesh Mumbai India
Relational Algebra Expression:
Relational Algebra Tree:
Sql wildcards underscore ( _ ) multiple characters
Sample table: customer+-----------+-------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+-------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+--------------+------------+ |CUST_CODE | CUST_NAME | CUST_CITY | WORKING_AREA | CUST_COUNTRY | GRADE | OPENING_AMT | RECEIVE_AMT | PAYMENT_AMT |OUTSTANDING_AMT| PHONE_NO | AGENT_CODE | +-----------+-------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+-------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+--------------+------------+ | C00013 | Holmes | London | London | UK | 2 | 6000.00 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 4000.00 | BBBBBBB | A003 | | C00001 | Micheal | New York | New York | USA | 2 | 3000.00 | 5000.00 | 2000.00 | 6000.00 | CCCCCCC | A008 | | C00020 | Albert | New York | New York | USA | 3 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | 6000.00 | BBBBSBB | A008 | | C00025 | Ravindran | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 4000.00 | 8000.00 | AVAVAVA | A011 | | C00024 | Cook | London | London | UK | 2 | 4000.00 | 9000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | FSDDSDF | A006 | | C00015 | Stuart | London | London | UK | 1 | 6000.00 | 8000.00 | 3000.00 | 11000.00 | GFSGERS | A003 | | C00002 | Bolt | New York | New York | USA | 3 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 3000.00 | DDNRDRH | A008 | | C00018 | Fleming | Brisban | Brisban | Australia | 2 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 5000.00 | NHBGVFC | A005 | | C00021 | Jacks | Brisban | Brisban | Australia | 1 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | WERTGDF | A005 | | C00019 | Yearannaidu | Chennai | Chennai | India | 1 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 8000.00 | ZZZZBFV | A010 | | C00005 | Sasikant | Mumbai | Mumbai | India | 1 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 147-25896312 | A002 | | C00007 | Ramanathan | Chennai | Chennai | India | 1 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 9000.00 | 9000.00 | GHRDWSD | A010 | | C00022 | Avinash | Mumbai | Mumbai | India | 2 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 9000.00 | 9000.00 | 113-12345678 | A002 | | C00004 | Winston | Brisban | Brisban | Australia | 1 | 5000.00 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | AAAAAAA | A005 | | C00023 | Karl | London | London | UK | 0 | 4000.00 | 6000.00 | 7000.00 | 3000.00 | AAAABAA | A006 | | C00006 | Shilton | Torento | Torento | Canada | 1 | 10000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | 11000.00 | DDDDDDD | A004 | | C00010 | Charles | Hampshair | Hampshair | UK | 3 | 6000.00 | 4000.00 | 5000.00 | 5000.00 | MMMMMMM | A009 | | C00017 | Srinivas | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 8000.00 | 4000.00 | 3000.00 | 9000.00 | AAAAAAB | A007 | | C00012 | Steven | San Jose | San Jose | USA | 1 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 3000.00 | KRFYGJK | A012 | | C00008 | Karolina | Torento | Torento | Canada | 1 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 5000.00 | HJKORED | A004 | | C00003 | Martin | Torento | Torento | Canada | 2 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 8000.00 | MJYURFD | A004 | | C00009 | Ramesh | Mumbai | Mumbai | India | 3 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 3000.00 | 12000.00 | Phone No | A002 | | C00014 | Rangarappa | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 8000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 12000.00 | AAAATGF | A001 | | C00016 | Venkatpati | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 8000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 12000.00 | JRTVFDD | A007 | | C00011 | Sundariya | Chennai | Chennai | India | 3 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | PPHGRTS | A010 | +-----------+-------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+-------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+--------------+------------+
To get 'cust_code', 'cust_name', 'cust_city' and 'cust_country' from the table 'customer' with following conditions -
1. the first three letters of 'cust_name' may be any letter
2. the forth letter of 'cust_name' must be 'l'
3. and the the rest may be any
the following sql statement can be used :
SELECT cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country
-- Selecting specific columns: cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country
FROM customer
-- From the table named "customer"
WHERE cust_name LIKE '___l%';
-- Where the value in the column cust_name starts with any three characters ('___'), followed by 'l' and any number of characters after that
Explanation:
- SELECT cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country: This specifies that we want to retrieve specific columns (cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country) from the table.
- FROM customer: This indicates the table from which we want to retrieve the data. In this case, the table is named "customer".
- WHERE cust_name LIKE '___l%': This is a conditional clause that filters the rows returned by the query. It specifies that only rows where the value in the column cust_name starts with any three characters ('___'), followed by 'l' and any number of characters after that should be included in the result set. The '___' symbol represents any three characters, and the 'l' specifies that the next character must be 'l'.
Output:
CUST_CODE CUST_NAME CUST_CITY CUST_COUNTRY ---------- -------------------- --------------- ------------------ C00023 Karl London UK C00006 Shilton Torento Canada
Relational Algebra Expression:
Relational Algebra Tree:
Sql wildcards underscore ( _ ) for specific length
Sample table: customer+-----------+-------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+-------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+--------------+------------+ |CUST_CODE | CUST_NAME | CUST_CITY | WORKING_AREA | CUST_COUNTRY | GRADE | OPENING_AMT | RECEIVE_AMT | PAYMENT_AMT |OUTSTANDING_AMT| PHONE_NO | AGENT_CODE | +-----------+-------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+-------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+--------------+------------+ | C00013 | Holmes | London | London | UK | 2 | 6000.00 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 4000.00 | BBBBBBB | A003 | | C00001 | Micheal | New York | New York | USA | 2 | 3000.00 | 5000.00 | 2000.00 | 6000.00 | CCCCCCC | A008 | | C00020 | Albert | New York | New York | USA | 3 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | 6000.00 | BBBBSBB | A008 | | C00025 | Ravindran | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 4000.00 | 8000.00 | AVAVAVA | A011 | | C00024 | Cook | London | London | UK | 2 | 4000.00 | 9000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | FSDDSDF | A006 | | C00015 | Stuart | London | London | UK | 1 | 6000.00 | 8000.00 | 3000.00 | 11000.00 | GFSGERS | A003 | | C00002 | Bolt | New York | New York | USA | 3 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 3000.00 | DDNRDRH | A008 | | C00018 | Fleming | Brisban | Brisban | Australia | 2 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 5000.00 | NHBGVFC | A005 | | C00021 | Jacks | Brisban | Brisban | Australia | 1 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | WERTGDF | A005 | | C00019 | Yearannaidu | Chennai | Chennai | India | 1 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 8000.00 | ZZZZBFV | A010 | | C00005 | Sasikant | Mumbai | Mumbai | India | 1 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 147-25896312 | A002 | | C00007 | Ramanathan | Chennai | Chennai | India | 1 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 9000.00 | 9000.00 | GHRDWSD | A010 | | C00022 | Avinash | Mumbai | Mumbai | India | 2 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 9000.00 | 9000.00 | 113-12345678 | A002 | | C00004 | Winston | Brisban | Brisban | Australia | 1 | 5000.00 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | AAAAAAA | A005 | | C00023 | Karl | London | London | UK | 0 | 4000.00 | 6000.00 | 7000.00 | 3000.00 | AAAABAA | A006 | | C00006 | Shilton | Torento | Torento | Canada | 1 | 10000.00 | 7000.00 | 6000.00 | 11000.00 | DDDDDDD | A004 | | C00010 | Charles | Hampshair | Hampshair | UK | 3 | 6000.00 | 4000.00 | 5000.00 | 5000.00 | MMMMMMM | A009 | | C00017 | Srinivas | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 8000.00 | 4000.00 | 3000.00 | 9000.00 | AAAAAAB | A007 | | C00012 | Steven | San Jose | San Jose | USA | 1 | 5000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 3000.00 | KRFYGJK | A012 | | C00008 | Karolina | Torento | Torento | Canada | 1 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 9000.00 | 5000.00 | HJKORED | A004 | | C00003 | Martin | Torento | Torento | Canada | 2 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 7000.00 | 8000.00 | MJYURFD | A004 | | C00009 | Ramesh | Mumbai | Mumbai | India | 3 | 8000.00 | 7000.00 | 3000.00 | 12000.00 | Phone No | A002 | | C00014 | Rangarappa | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 8000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 12000.00 | AAAATGF | A001 | | C00016 | Venkatpati | Bangalore | Bangalore | India | 2 | 8000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 12000.00 | JRTVFDD | A007 | | C00011 | Sundariya | Chennai | Chennai | India | 3 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | 7000.00 | 11000.00 | PPHGRTS | A010 | +-----------+-------------+-------------+--------------+--------------+-------+-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+--------------+------------+
To get 'cust_code', 'cust_name', 'cust_city' and 'cust_country' from the table 'customer' with following conditions -
1. the first three letters of 'cust_name' may be any letter
2. the forth letter of 'cust_name' must be 'l'
3. and the the string must be a length of 4 letters
the following sql statement can be used :
SELECT cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country
-- Selecting specific columns: cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country
FROM customer
-- From the table named "customer"
WHERE cust_name LIKE '___l';
-- Where the value in the column cust_name starts with any three characters ('___'), followed by 'l' and nothing else
Explanation:
- SELECT cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country: This specifies that we want to retrieve specific columns (cust_code, cust_name, cust_city, cust_country) from the table.
- FROM customer: This indicates the table from which we want to retrieve the data. In this case, the table is named "customer".
- WHERE cust_name LIKE '___l': This is a conditional clause that filters the rows returned by the query. It specifies that only rows where the value in the column cust_name starts with any three characters ('___'), followed by 'l' and nothing else should be included in the result set. The '___' symbol represents any three characters, and the 'l' specifies that the next character must be 'l'.
Output:
CUST_CODE CUST_NAME CUST_CITY CUST_COUNTRY ---------- -------------------- --------------- -------------------- C00023 Karl London UK
Relational Algebra Expression:
Relational Algebra Tree:
Check out our 1000+ SQL Exercises with solution and explanation to improve your skills.
It will be nice if you may share this link in any developer community or anywhere else, from where other developers may find this content. Thanks.
https://w3resource.com/sql/wildcards-like-operator/wildcards-underscore.php
- Weekly Trends and Language Statistics
- Weekly Trends and Language Statistics