SolveWithSQL

SQL Beginner Challenge 15: Pattern Matching with LIKE

Difficulty: Beginner
Estimated time: 10–15 minutes
SQL concepts: LIKE, wildcard matching, text filtering
Goal: Find rows based on partial text matches.

The Scenario

A product manager asks:

“Can we find all products whose names contain the word ‘USB’?”

Exact matches won’t work here.
You need a way to filter text by pattern, not by the full value.

That’s what LIKE is for.

Database Table

`products`

column_name	type	description
product_id	INTEGER	Unique product ID
name	TEXT	Product name
category	TEXT	Product category
price	DECIMAL	Product price

Sample Data

product_id	name	category	price
101	Wireless Mouse	Accessories	24.99
102	Mechanical Keyboard	Accessories	89.00
103	USB-C Hub	Accessories	34.50
104	USB Flash Drive	Accessories	19.99
105	Laptop Stand	Workspace	39.99
106	Webcam	Accessories	59.99

Your Task

Write a SQL query that returns:

name
price

…but only for products whose name contains the text USB.

Expected Output

name	price
USB-C Hub	34.50
USB Flash Drive	19.99

Constraints

Use the LIKE operator
Use wildcard characters (%)
Do not use SELECT *

Hint (Optional)

The % symbol matches any number of characters.

Examples:

%USB% → contains “USB”
USB% → starts with “USB”
%USB → ends with “USB”

SELECT name, price FROM products WHERE name LIKE '%USB%';

Explanation

LIKE '%USB%' matches any product name that contains USB anywhere.
% before and after the text allows characters on both sides.
This is commonly used for:
- Search features
- Filtering names or descriptions
- Data exploration

Common Mistakes

Forgetting wildcards
WHERE name LIKE 'USB' -- ❌ exact match only
Assuming case sensitivity
- Behavior depends on the database (some are case-sensitive, some aren’t).
Using = instead of LIKE for partial matches

Optional Extension (Mini Bonus)

Try:

Find products whose names start with USB
Find products whose names end with Drive
Combine LIKE with AND or OR

Next Challenge

Beginner Challenge #16: Match Single Characters with _ (underscore wildcard)

🔗 View reference solution on GitHub
(After you’ve tried the challenge)

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