Special characters in a LIKE pattern can match the wrong rows, because three symbols mean more than themselves. This post tests every common symbol on one small table. It shows how to search for a percent sign, an underscore and a bracket, and why a space in the pattern counts.
![Four LIKE wildcards with a real example each: percent matches Baker and Brooks for B percent, underscore finds Baker, Patel and Taylor for underscore a percent, [A-K] returns five names, and [^A-K] returns nine](https://blog.sqlauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/wildcard-basics-in-sql-server-how-like-patterns-work-cover.webp)
Wildcard Basics in SQL Server: How LIKE Patterns Work
Wildcard basics for SQL Server: how LIKE works with %, _, sets and ranges, shown on one small table of last names. It also covers the mistakes with equal signs and sets, case and accents in ranges, and matching a wildcard literally. Every result comes from SQL Server 2025.
Large IN Lists: When a Temp Table Beats Thousands of Values
Pasting thousands of IDs into an IN list works, until it does not. See where the time goes and how to keep the answer the same with a temp table.
SQL SERVER – The Difficult Interview Question – Moment of the Life – Day 31 of 31
The last day of my interview series is about the difficult interview question: acing an interview is sometimes about personality and reasoning, not only right answers.
SQL SERVER – Interview Questions and Answers – Guest Post by Jacob Sebastian – Day 30 of 31
SQL Server MVP Jacob Sebastian, author of The Art of XSD, adds his own interview questions and answers to the series in this guest post.
SQL SERVER – Interview Questions and Answers – Guest Post by Feodor Georgiev – Day 29 of 31
Feodor Georgiev’s guest post in my interview questions and answers series is part 2 of his take on job interviewing the right way and for the right reasons.
SQL SERVER – Interview Questions and Answers – Guest Post by Nakul Vachhrajani – Day 28 of 31
Nakul Vachhrajani’s guest post for my interview questions and answers series starts with what an interview really is and why we all face them.