Using Wildcard Characters in SQL Statements

 Last reviewed: April 29, 1996
Article ID: Q98434
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0
  • Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 2.0, 2.5, and 2.5a
  • Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5 and 2.5a

SUMMARY

To broaden the selections of a structured query language (SQL) statement, two wildcard characters, the percent sign (%) and the underscore (_), can be used.

The percent sign is analogous to the asterisk (*) wildcard character used with MS-DOS. The percent sign allows for the substitution of one or more characters in a field.

The underscore is similar to the MS-DOS wildcard question mark (?) character. The underscore allows for the substitution of a single character in an expression. Three examples showing the use of these characters in SQL statements are provided below. The examples use the CLIENTS.DBF file that is provided with FoxPro.

MORE INFORMATION

The following SELECT statement returns all the records from the CLIENTS.DBF file that contain an "N" as the first character in the STATE field. The SELECT statement lists the records from New York and New Jersey in a Browse window. 

   SELECT * FROM clients WHERE state LIKE "N_"
The following SELECT statement lists all the records that have an "X" or a "Y" as the last character in the STATE field. The output will include records from New York and Texas. 

   SELECT * FROM clients WHERE state LIKE "_Y" OR state LIKE "_X"
The following SELECT statement uses the percent sign and underscore to return all the records that have a CLIENT_ID number starting with "C" and that have a state abbreviation ending in "X". Note that the percent sign allows any string of characters to follow the "C". Conversely, the underscore allows the substitution of only a single character. 

   SELECT * FROM CLIENTS WHERE CLIENTS.CLIENT_ID LIKE "C%" ;
   AND CLIENTS.STATE LIKE "_X"
To do a string search similar to the one performed by the $ function, use a statement like: 

   SELECT * FROM CUSTOMER WHERE CUSTOMER.COMPANY LIKE "%X%"
This SELECT statement will find all companies with names that contain the letter "x".

REFERENCES

"Developer's Guide," version 2.0, page D7-9 "Developer's Guide," version 2.5, page D7-9

Additional reference words: VFoxWin 3.00 FoxDos FoxWin 2.00 2.50 2.50a
wild card select
search
KBCategory: kbprg
KBSubcategory: FxprgSql

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.

Last reviewed: April 29, 1996
© 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.