SQL Server datetime LIKE select?

Question

in MySQL

select * from record where register_date like \'2009-10-10%\'

What is the syntax in SQL Server?

Answer 1

There is a very flaky coverage of the LIKE operator for dates in SQL Server. It only works using American date format. As an example you could try:

... WHERE register_date LIKE 'oct 10 2009%'

I've tested this in SQL Server 2005 and it works, but you'll really need to try different combinations. Odd things I have noticed are:

• You only seem to get all or nothing for different sub fields within the date, for instance, if you search for 'apr 2%' you only get anything in the 20th's - it omits 2nd's.

• Using a single underscore '_' to represent a single (wildcard) character does not wholly work, for instance, WHERE mydate LIKE 'oct _ 2010%' will not return all dates before the 10th - it returns nothing at all, in fact!

• The format is rigid American: 'mmm dd yyyy hh:mm'

I have found it difficult to nail down a process for LIKEing seconds, so if anyone wants to take this a bit further, be my guest!

Hope this helps.