3 out of 6 rated this helpful - Rate this topic

LIKE Operator

The LIKE operator determines whether or not a character string matches a specified pattern. The specified pattern can contain exactly the characters to match, or it can contain meta characters. The following table lists the meta characters.

CharacterDescription
[ ]Any one character within the specified range ([a=f]) or set ([abcdef]).
^Any one character not within the range ([^a=f]) or set ([^abcdef].)
%Any string of 0 (zero) or more characters. The following example finds all instances where "Win" is found anywhere in the class name: SELECT * FROM meta_class WHERE __Class LIKE "%Win%"
_ (underscore)Any one character. Any literal underscore used in the query string must be escaped by placing it inside [] (square brackets).

 

Because the underscore is a meta character, if the query target has an underscore, the "[]" escape characters must surround it. For example, you can query for all the classes that have a double underscore in the name.

To locate all classes with a double underscore in the name, you must escape both underscores with [] (square brackets), for example:

SELECT * FROM meta_class WHERE __CLASS LIKE "%[_][_]%"

Windows 2000:  The LIKE operator is not available.

Related topics

WQL Operators

 

 

Send comments about this topic to Microsoft

Build date: 3/9/2012

Did you find this helpful?
(1500 characters remaining)
Community Content Add
Annotations FAQ