yes Norman, I also thought like you.. cause when we say '%' then its any character where as null is not a character..if we want to include null then we use generally nvl(col_name, value) in query clause.. The '%%' yes, I am carrying this germ in my mind.. I mean is it an interface dependent thing..eg..say if we want to use wild character in sql query like wise is '%' a wild character for this particular interface.. thanks and take care..subodh On 7 October 2011 13:22, Norman Dunbar <oracle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Morning Grant, > > > Maybe I'm mis-interpreting things, but wouldn't LIKE '%' actually be > semantically equivalent to IS NOT NULL. That is, for something to be LIKE > "anything", it must therefore be known (or more specifically knowable) in > order to evaluate its "likeness". > Yes, to all intents and purposes, they are equivalent. I haven't checked > if the CBO considers them to be the same though! > > > The %% thing is however, new and interesting to me :) > It had me foxed as well. I'd never seen it until this came up, and I > thought it was a special format of the wildcard - I admit that at first > I thought it was a way of specifying the percent sign - why would they > be looking for a string like '%' came to mind! ;-) > > > > Cheers, > Norm. > > -- > Norman Dunbar > Dunbar IT Consultants Ltd > > Registered address: > Thorpe House > 61 Richardshaw Lane > Pudsey > West Yorkshire > United Kingdom > LS28 7EL > > Company Number: 05132767 > -- > //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l > > > -- ============================== DO NOT FORGET TO SMILE TODAY ============================== -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l