A wildcarded string consists of a sequence of alternating wildcard specifiers and strings. The sequence can start with either a wildcard specifier or a string, and end with either a wildcard specifier or a string.
The wildcard specifier is denoted by the asterisk character (*) and means 0 or more occurrences of any character.
Wildcarded strings can be used to specify substring matches. Table 2-8 contains examples of wildcarded strings and their meaning.
Table 2-8 Examples of Wildcarded Strings
Wildcarded String |
Meaning |
---|---|
* |
Any string |
`tom' |
The string tom |
`harv'* |
Any string starting with harv |
*'ing' |
Any string ending with ing |
`a'*'b' |
Any string starting with a and ending with b |
`a*b' |
The string a*b |
`jo'*'ph'*'ne'*'er' |
Any string starting with jo, and containing the substring ph, and which contains the substring ne in the portion of the string following ph, and which ends with er |
%s* |
Any string starting with the supplied string |
`bix'*%s |
Any string starting with bix and ending with the supplied string |