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Version: 7.0

LIKE operator

The LIKE operator creates a property that implements string comparison with a pattern. For full-text search, use the separate MATCH operator.

Syntax​

searchExpr LIKE compareExpr

Description​

The LIKE operator creates a property that returns TRUE if the specified string matches the given pattern. The pattern can include the following wildcard characters:

  • % (percent sign) - replaces any number of characters, including zero characters. This wildcard is used when the exact content or number of characters in a part of the string is unknown.
  • _ (underscore) - replaces exactly one character. It is used when the exact location of a single character is required, but the character itself can be anything.

To include the % or _ characters in the pattern as regular characters, they must be escaped using the backslash \ character. Remember, when specifying the pattern using a string literal, to represent the backslash itself, it needs to be doubled: \\.

The case sensitivity of LIKE is determined by the class of searchExpr. For case-insensitive string classes (ISTRING, BPISTRING, TEXT, RICHTEXT, HTMLTEXT), the operator performs a case-insensitive comparison.

Parameters​

  • searchExpr

    Expression whose value determines the string being compared.

    The value of the expression must belong to one of the string classes.

  • compareExpr

    Expression whose value determines the pattern.

    The value of the expression must belong to one of the string classes.

Examples​

isReportDocument(Document doc) = name(doc) LIKE '%report%'; // checks if the name contains the word 'report'
isPhoneNumber(STRING str) = str LIKE '(___) ___-____'; // checks if the phone number matches the format

startsWith(STRING str, STRING prefix) = str LIKE prefix + '%'; // checks the beginning of the string
contains(STRING content, STRING str) = content LIKE '%' + str + '%'; // checks if the string contains the substring
containsNew(STRING content, STRING str) = content LIKE '%${str}%'; // same as above, but with string interpolation

escapingExample(STRING str) = str LIKE '__\\%'; // Escaping example. Checks for a two-digit percentage.