Question with like operator

Question

create table mytestc(x varchar2(10));
insert into mytestc values ('18t');
insert into mytestc values ('4t;8t');
commit;
How do I give a select so I can select all the rows where 8t is present
select * from mytestc where x like '%8t%'
gives 18t in result set

Answer 1

Hi,
user650888 wrote:
create table mytestc(x varchar2(10));
insert into mytestc values ('18t');
insert into mytestc values ('4t;8t');
commit;Thanks for posting the CREATE TABLE and INSERT statements; that's very helpful.
Don't forget to post the results you want from that data, an explanation of how you get those results from that data, and the version of Oracle you're using.
How do I give a select so I can select all the rows where 8t is present
select * from mytestc where x like '%8t%'
gives 18t in result setThat's right; '8t' is present in '18t'. That's what you said you wanted. If you would post your desired results and an explanation, then people could help you more.
Did you mean to say that '8t' has to be a complete item in the ;-delimited list, not a subset of some other string, like '18t' or '8td'?
In other words, do you mean that you only want to count '8t' as a match when the character before it is a ';' (or when it is at the beginning of x) qnd the character immediately after it is also ';' (or it comes at the end of x)?
If so:
WHERE     INSTR ( ';' || x || ';'
           , ';8t;'
           )          > 0The exxpression above will be more efficient than the (otherwise) equivalent:
WHERE     ';' || x || ';'     LIKE '%;8t;%'This is called the "mother is in chemotherapy" problem.
Edited by: Frank Kulash on May 24, 2011 4:39 PM