Question

____________________________________ is used to search for a specific pattern in a column.

• A. Between operator
• B. In operator
• C. Like operator
• D. Null operator

Hint:

Use LIKE with % and __ wildcards to perform flexible string pattern searches in SQL.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding pattern matching.
In SQL, the LIKE operator, in conjunction with wildcards, is employed for searching specific patterns within text data.
Step 2: Wildcards with LIKE.
- The '%' wildcard matches zero, one, or multiple characters.
- The '\_\_' wildcard matches precisely one character.

Step 3: Example.
\begin{verbatim}SELECT name FROM students WHERE name LIKE 'A%';\end{verbatim} This query retrieves all names that commence with the letter 'A'.
Step 4: Eliminate incorrect options.
- Option 1: The BETWEEN operator is used for range checks, not pattern matching.
- Option 2: The IN operator is used for checking against a list of specific values, not patterns.
- Option 4: The NULL operator is used to test for NULL values.

Final Answer: \[\boxed{\text{LIKE operator}}\]