SQL Wildcard Characters
A wildcard character is used to substitute one or more characters in a string.
Wildcard characters are used with the SQL LIKE operator. The LIKE operator is used in a WHERE clause to search for a specified pattern in a column.
Wildcard Characters in MS Access
| Symbol | Description | Example |
|---|
| * | Represents zero or more characters | bl* finds bl, black, blue, and blob |
| ? | Represents a single character | h?t finds hot, hat, and hit |
| [] | Represents any single character within the brackets | h[oa]t finds hot and hat, but not hit |
| ! | Represents any character not in the brackets | h[!oa]t finds hit, but not hot and hat |
| - | Represents a range of characters | c[a-b]t finds cat and cbt |
| # | Represents any single numeric character | 2#5 finds 205, 215, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 275, 285, and 295 |
Wildcard Characters in SQL Server
| Symbol | Description | Example |
|---|
| % | Represents zero or more characters | bl% finds bl, black, blue, and blob |
| _ | Represents a single character | h_t finds hot, hat, and hit |
| [] | Represents any single character within the brackets | h[oa]t finds hot and hat, but not hit |
| ^ | Represents any character not in the brackets | h[^oa]t finds hit, but not hot and hat |
| - | Represents a range of characters | c[a-b]t finds cat and cbt |
