In SQL I (sadly) often have to use "LIKE" conditions due to databases that violate nearly every rule of normalization. I can't change that right now. But that's irrelevant to the question.
Further, I often use conditions like WHERE something in (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21) for better readability and flexibility of my SQL statements.
Is there any possible way to combine these two things without writing complicated sub-selects?
I want something as easy as WHERE something LIKE ('bla%', '%foo%', 'batz%') instead of this:
WHERE something LIKE 'bla%'
OR something LIKE '%foo%'
OR something LIKE 'batz%'
I'm working with SQl Server and Oracle here but I'm interested if this is possible in any RDBMS at all.
There is no combination of LIKE & IN in SQL, much less in TSQL (SQL Server) or PLSQL (Oracle). Part of the reason for that is because Full Text Search (FTS) is the recommended alternative.
Both Oracle and SQL Server FTS implementations support the CONTAINS keyword, but the syntax is still slightly different:
Oracle:
WHERE CONTAINS(t.something, 'bla OR foo OR batz', 1) > 0
SQL Server:
WHERE CONTAINS(t.something, '"bla*" OR "foo*" OR "batz*"')
The column you are querying must be full-text indexed.
Reference:
Building Full-Text Search Applications with Oracle Text
Understanding SQL Server Full-Text
If you want to make your statement easily readable, then you can use REGEXP_LIKE (available from Oracle version 10 onwards).
An example table:
SQL> create table mytable (something)
2 as
3 select 'blabla' from dual union all
4 select 'notbla' from dual union all
5 select 'ofooof' from dual union all
6 select 'ofofof' from dual union all
7 select 'batzzz' from dual
8 /
Table created.
The original syntax:
SQL> select something
2 from mytable
3 where something like 'bla%'
4 or something like '%foo%'
5 or something like 'batz%'
6 /
SOMETH
------
blabla
ofooof
batzzz
3 rows selected.
And a simple looking query with REGEXP_LIKE
SQL> select something
2 from mytable
3 where regexp_like (something,'^bla|foo|^batz')
4 /
SOMETH
------
blabla
ofooof
batzzz
3 rows selected.
BUT ...
I would not recommend it myself due to the not-so-good performance. I'd stick with the several LIKE predicates. So the examples were just for fun.
you're stuck with the
WHERE something LIKE 'bla%'
OR something LIKE '%foo%'
OR something LIKE 'batz%'
unless you populate a temp table (include the wild cards in with the data) and join like this:
FROM YourTable y
INNER JOIN YourTempTable t On y.something LIKE t.something
try it out (using SQL Server syntax):
declare #x table (x varchar(10))
declare #y table (y varchar(10))
insert #x values ('abcdefg')
insert #x values ('abc')
insert #x values ('mnop')
insert #y values ('%abc%')
insert #y values ('%b%')
select distinct *
FROM #x x
WHERE x.x LIKE '%abc%'
or x.x LIKE '%b%'
select distinct x.*
FROM #x x
INNER JOIN #y y On x.x LIKE y.y
OUTPUT:
x
----------
abcdefg
abc
(2 row(s) affected)
x
----------
abc
abcdefg
(2 row(s) affected)
With PostgreSQL there is the ANY or ALL form:
WHERE col LIKE ANY( subselect )
or
WHERE col LIKE ALL( subselect )
where the subselect returns exactly one column of data.
Another solution, should work on any RDBMS:
WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1
FROM (SELECT 'bla%' pattern FROM dual UNION ALL
SELECT '%foo%' FROM dual UNION ALL
SELECT 'batz%' FROM dual)
WHERE something LIKE pattern)
The inner select can be replaced by another source of patterns like a table (or a view) in this way:
WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1
FROM table_of_patterns t
WHERE something LIKE t.pattern)
table_of_patterns should contain at least a column pattern, and can be populated like this:
INSERT INTO table_of_patterns(pattern) VALUES ('bla%');
INSERT INTO table_of_patterns(pattern) VALUES ('%foo%');
INSERT INTO table_of_patterns(pattern) VALUES ('batz%');
I would suggest using a TableValue user function if you'd like to encapsulate the Inner Join or temp table techniques shown above. This would allow it to read a bit more clearly.
After using the split function defined at: http://www.logiclabz.com/sql-server/split-function-in-sql-server-to-break-comma-separated-strings-into-table.aspx
we can write the following based on a table I created called "Fish" (int id, varchar(50) Name)
SELECT Fish.* from Fish
JOIN dbo.Split('%ass,%e%',',') as Splits
on Name like Splits.items //items is the name of the output column from the split function.
Outputs
1 Bass
2 Pike
7 Angler
8 Walleye
I'm working with SQl Server and Oracle here but I'm interested if this is possible in any RDBMS at all.
Teradata supports LIKE ALL/ANY syntax:
ALL every string in the list.
ANY any string in the list.
┌──────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┐
│ THIS expression … │ IS equivalent to this expression … │
├──────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ x LIKE ALL ('A%','%B','%C%') │ x LIKE 'A%' │
│ │ AND x LIKE '%B' │
│ │ AND x LIKE '%C%' │
│ │ │
│ x LIKE ANY ('A%','%B','%C%') │ x LIKE 'A%' │
│ │ OR x LIKE '%B' │
│ │ OR x LIKE '%C%' │
└──────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘
EDIT:
jOOQ version 3.12.0 supports that syntax:
Add synthetic [NOT] LIKE ANY and [NOT] LIKE ALL operators
A lot of times, SQL users would like to be able to combine LIKE and IN predicates, as in:
SELECT *
FROM customer
WHERE last_name [ NOT ] LIKE ANY ('A%', 'E%') [ ESCAPE '!' ]
The workaround is to manually expand the predicate to the equivalent
SELECT *
FROM customer
WHERE last_name LIKE 'A%'
OR last_name LIKE 'E%'
jOOQ could support such a synthetic predicate out of the box.
PostgreSQL LIKE/ILIKE ANY (ARRAY[]):
SELECT *
FROM t
WHERE c LIKE ANY (ARRAY['A%', '%B']);
SELECT *
FROM t
WHERE c LIKE ANY ('{"Do%", "%at"}');
db<>fiddle demo
Snowflake also supports LIKE ANY/LIKE ALL matching:
LIKE ANY/ALL
Allows case-sensitive matching of strings based on comparison with one or more patterns.
<subject> LIKE ANY (<pattern1> [, <pattern2> ... ] ) [ ESCAPE <escape_char> ]
Example:
SELECT *
FROM like_example
WHERE subject LIKE ANY ('%Jo%oe%','T%e')
-- WHERE subject LIKE ALL ('%Jo%oe%','J%e')
Use an inner join instead:
SELECT ...
FROM SomeTable
JOIN
(SELECT 'bla%' AS Pattern
UNION ALL SELECT '%foo%'
UNION ALL SELECT 'batz%'
UNION ALL SELECT 'abc'
) AS Patterns
ON SomeTable.SomeColumn LIKE Patterns.Pattern
One approach would be to store the conditions in a temp table (or table variable in SQL Server) and join to that like this:
SELECT t.SomeField
FROM YourTable t
JOIN #TempTableWithConditions c ON t.something LIKE c.ConditionValue
I have a simple solution, that works in postgresql at least, using like any followed by the list of regex. Here is an example, looking at identifying some antibiotics in a list:
select *
from database.table
where lower(drug_name) like any ('{%cillin%,%cyclin%,%xacin%,%mycine%,%cephal%}')
u can even try this
Function
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[fn_Split](#text varchar(8000), #delimiter varchar(20))
RETURNS #Strings TABLE
(
position int IDENTITY PRIMARY KEY,
value varchar(8000)
)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #index int
SET #index = -1
WHILE (LEN(#text) > 0)
BEGIN
SET #index = CHARINDEX(#delimiter , #text)
IF (#index = 0) AND (LEN(#text) > 0)
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #Strings VALUES (#text)
BREAK
END
IF (#index > 1)
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #Strings VALUES (LEFT(#text, #index - 1))
SET #text = RIGHT(#text, (LEN(#text) - #index))
END
ELSE
SET #text = RIGHT(#text, (LEN(#text) - #index))
END
RETURN
END
Query
select * from my_table inner join (select value from fn_split('ABC,MOP',','))
as split_table on my_table.column_name like '%'+split_table.value+'%';
Starting with 2016, SQL Server includes a STRING_SPLIT function. I'm using SQL Server v17.4 and I got this to work for me:
DECLARE #dashboard nvarchar(50)
SET #dashboard = 'P1%,P7%'
SELECT * from Project p
JOIN STRING_SPLIT(#dashboard, ',') AS sp ON p.ProjectNumber LIKE sp.value
May be you think the combination like this:
SELECT *
FROM table t INNER JOIN
(
SELECT * FROM (VALUES('bla'),('foo'),('batz')) AS list(col)
) l ON t.column LIKE '%'+l.Col+'%'
If you have defined full text index for your target table then you may use this alternative:
SELECT *
FROM table t
WHERE CONTAINS(t.column, '"bla*" OR "foo*" OR "batz*"')
I was also wondering for something like that. I just tested using a combination of SUBSTRING and IN and it is an effective solution for this kind of problem. Try the below query :
Select * from TB_YOUR T1 Where SUBSTRING(T1.Something, 1,3) IN ('bla', 'foo', 'batz')
In Oracle you can use a collection in the following way:
WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1
FROM TABLE(ku$_vcnt('bla%', '%foo%', 'batz%'))
WHERE something LIKE column_value)
Here I have used a predefined collection type ku$_vcnt, but you can declare your own one like this:
CREATE TYPE my_collection AS TABLE OF VARCHAR2(4000);
I may have a solution for this, although it will only work in SQL Server 2008 as far as I know. I discovered that you can use the row-constructor described in https://stackoverflow.com/a/7285095/894974 to join a 'fictional' table using a like clause.
It sounds more complex then it is, look:
SELECT [name]
,[userID]
,[name]
,[town]
,[email]
FROM usr
join (values ('hotmail'),('gmail'),('live')) as myTable(myColumn) on email like '%'+myTable.myColumn+'%'
This will result in all users with an e-mail adres like the ones provided in the list.
Hope it's of use to anyone. The problem had been bothering me a while.
For Sql Server you can resort to Dynamic SQL.
Most of the time in such situations you have the parameter of IN clause based on some data from database.
The example below is a little "forced", but this can match various real cases found in legacy databases.
Suppose you have table Persons where person names are stored in a single field PersonName as FirstName + ' ' + LastName.
You need to select all persons from a list of first names, stored in field NameToSelect in table NamesToSelect, plus some additional criteria (like filtered on gender, birth date, etc)
You can do it as follows
-- #gender is nchar(1), #birthDate is date
declare
#sql nvarchar(MAX),
#subWhere nvarchar(MAX)
#params nvarchar(MAX)
-- prepare the where sub-clause to cover LIKE IN (...)
-- it will actually generate where clause PersonName Like 'param1%' or PersonName Like 'param2%' or ...
set #subWhere = STUFF(
(
SELECT ' OR PersonName like ''' + [NameToSelect] + '%'''
FROM [NamesToSelect] t FOR XML PATH('')
), 1, 4, '')
-- create the dynamic SQL
set #sql ='select
PersonName
,Gender
,BirstDate -- and other field here
from [Persons]
where
Gender = #gender
AND BirthDate = #birthDate
AND (' + #subWhere + ')'
set #params = ' #gender nchar(1),
#birthDate Date'
EXECUTE sp_executesql #sql, #params,
#gender,
#birthDate
If you are using MySQL the closest you can get is full-text search:
Full-Text Search, MySQL Documentation
This works for comma separated values
DECLARE #ARC_CHECKNUM VARCHAR(MAX)
SET #ARC_CHECKNUM = 'ABC,135,MED,ASFSDFSF,AXX'
SELECT ' AND (a.arc_checknum LIKE ''%' + REPLACE(#arc_checknum,',','%'' OR a.arc_checknum LIKE ''%') + '%'')''
Evaluates to:
AND (a.arc_checknum LIKE '%ABC%' OR a.arc_checknum LIKE '%135%' OR a.arc_checknum LIKE '%MED%' OR a.arc_checknum LIKE '%ASFSDFSF%' OR a.arc_checknum LIKE '%AXX%')
If you want it to use indexes, you must omit the first '%' character.
In Oracle RBDMS you can achieve this behavior using REGEXP_LIKE function.
The following code will test if the string three is present in the list expression one|two|three|four|five (in which the pipe "|" symbol means OR logic operation).
SELECT 'Success !!!' result
FROM dual
WHERE REGEXP_LIKE('three', 'one|two|three|four|five');
RESULT
---------------------------------
Success !!!
1 row selected.
Preceding expression is equivalent to:
three=one OR three=two OR three=three OR three=four OR three=five
So it will succeed.
On the other hand, the following test will fail.
SELECT 'Success !!!' result
FROM dual
WHERE REGEXP_LIKE('ten', 'one|two|three|four|five');
no rows selected
There are several functions related to regular expressions (REGEXP_*) available in Oracle since 10g version. If you are an Oracle developer and interested this topic this should be a good beginning Using Regular Expressions with Oracle Database.
No answer like this:
SELECT * FROM table WHERE something LIKE ('bla% %foo% batz%')
In oracle no problem.
In Teradata you can use LIKE ANY ('%ABC%','%PQR%','%XYZ%'). Below is an example which has produced the same results for me
--===========
-- CHECK ONE
--===========
SELECT *
FROM Random_Table A
WHERE (Lower(A.TRAN_1_DSC) LIKE ('%american%express%centurion%bank%')
OR Lower(A.TRAN_1_DSC) LIKE ('%bofi%federal%bank%')
OR Lower(A.TRAN_1_DSC) LIKE ('%american%express%bank%fsb%'))
;
--===========
-- CHECK TWO
--===========
SELECT *
FROM Random_Table A
WHERE Lower(A.TRAN_1_DSC) LIKE ANY
('%american%express%centurion%bank%',
'%bofi%federal%bank%',
'%american%express%bank%fsb%')
Sorry for dredging up an old post, but it has a lot of views. I faced a similar problem this week and came up with this pattern:
declare #example table ( sampletext varchar( 50 ) );
insert #example values
( 'The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.' ),
( 'Ask not what your country can do for you.' ),
( 'Cupcakes are the new hotness.' );
declare #filter table ( searchtext varchar( 50 ) );
insert #filter values
( 'lazy' ),
( 'hotness' ),
( 'cupcakes' );
-- Expect to get rows 1 and 3, but no duplication from Cupcakes and Hotness
select *
from #example e
where exists ( select * from #filter f where e.sampletext like '%' + searchtext + '%' )
Exists() works a little better than join, IMO, because it just tests each record in the set, but doesn't cause duplication if there are multiple matches.
This is possible in Postgres using like or ilike and any or all with array. This is an example that worked for me using Postgres 9:
select id, name from tb_organisation where name ilike any (array['%wembley%', '%south%']);
And this prints out:
id | name
-----+------------------------
433 | South Tampa Center
613 | South Pole
365 | Bromley South
796 | Wembley Special Events
202 | Southall
111 | Wembley Inner Space
In T-SQL, this option works but it is not very fast:
CREATE FUNCTION FN_LIKE_IN (#PROC NVARCHAR(MAX), #ITENS NVARCHAR(MAX)) RETURNS NVARCHAR(MAX) AS BEGIN
--Search an item with LIKE inside a list delimited by "," Vathaire 11/06/2019
DECLARE #ITEM NVARCHAR(MAX)
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #ITENS) > 0 BEGIN
SET #ITEM = LEFT(#ITENS, CHARINDEX(',', #ITENS) - 1)
--IF #ITEM LIKE #PROC
IF #PROC LIKE #ITEM
RETURN #PROC --#ITEM --1
ELSE
SET #ITENS = STUFF(#ITENS, 1, LEN(#ITEM) + 1, '')
END
IF #PROC LIKE #ITENS RETURN #PROC --#ITEM --1
RETURN NULL --0
END
Query:
SELECT * FROM SYS.PROCEDURES
WHERE DBO.FN_LIKE_IN(NAME, 'PRC%,SP%') IS NOT NULL
you can do this dynamically for a large number of elements, at the expense of performance, but it works.
DECLARE #val nvarchar(256),
#list nvarchar(max) = 'one,two,three,ten,five';
CREATE table #table (FIRST_NAME nvarchar(512), LAST_NAME nvarchar(512));
CREATE table #student (FIRST_NAME nvarchar(512), LAST_NAME nvarchar(512), EMAIL
nvarchar(512));
INSERT INTO #student (FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME, EMAIL)
SELECT 'TEST', ' redOne' ,'test.redOne#toto.com' UNION ALL
SELECT 'student', ' student' ,'student#toto.com' UNION ALL
SELECT 'student', ' two' ,'student.two#toto.com' UNION ALL
SELECT 'hello', ' ONE TWO THREE' ,'student.two#toto.com'
DECLARE check_cursor CURSOR FOR select value from STRING_SPLIT(#list,',')
OPEN check_cursor
FETCH NEXT FROM check_cursor INTO #val
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
PRINT #val
IF EXISTS (select * from #student where REPLACE(FIRST_NAME, ' ','')
like '%' + #val + '%' OR REPLACE(LAST_NAME, ' ','') like '%' + #val + '%')
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #table (FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME )
SELECT TOP 1 FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME VALUE from #student where
REPLACE(FIRST_NAME, ' ','') like '%' + #val + '%' OR REPLACE(LAST_NAME, ' ','')
like '%' + #val + '%'
END;
FETCH NEXT FROM check_cursor INTO #val
END
CLOSE check_cursor;
DEALLOCATE check_cursor;
SELECT * FROM #table;
DROP TABLE #table;
DROP TABLE #student;
use cursor in SQL SERVER and execute for every value:
table sample:
create table Gastos_ConciliacionExcluida(IdRegistro int identity(1,1), MascaraTexto nvarchar(50), Activa bit default 1, Primary key (IDRegistro))
insert into Gastos_ConciliacionExcluida(MascaraTexto) Values ('%Reembolso%')
alter procedure SP_Gastos_ConciliacionExcluidaProcesar
as
declare cur cursor for select MascaraTexto From Gastos_ConciliacionExcluida where Activa=1
declare #Txt nvarchar(50)
open cur
fetch next from cur into #Txt
while ##Fetch_Status = 0
begin
update Gastos_BancoRegistro set PresumibleNoConciliable = 1
where Concepto like #txt
fetch next from cur into #Txt
end
close cur
deallocate cur
do this
WHERE something + '%' in ('bla', 'foo', 'batz')
OR '%' + something + '%' in ('tra', 'la', 'la')
or
WHERE something + '%' in (select col from table where ....)
I will try to demonstrate what I am trying to achieve. This is an oversimplified example for my case.
Suppose I have a table contains two columns
ID YEAR
--- ----
1 2017
2 2018
and I have a search term 2017 / 1
What I want to do is something like this
select * from table where 'YEAR / ID' LIKE '%searchterm%'
Is this possible ?
Thanks in advance.
In my opinion the most effective way is:
Firstly divide String x = "2017 / 1" to two int values int year = 2017, int id = 1. I don't know what kind of programing language you are using but all of programing languages have special functions to make it easily (between all values you have '/').
Then use this query:
Select *
from table
where year = 2017
and id = 1
Use Below query, I have considered your search text format as 2017 / 1.
DECLARE #tblTest AS Table
(
Id INT,
YearNo INT
)
INSERT INTO #tblTest values (1,2017)
INSERT INTO #tblTest values (2,2018)
INSERT INTO #tblTest values (3,2017)
INSERT INTO #tblTest values (4,2018)
DECLARE #searchterm VARCHAR(50)='2017 / 1'
LEFT will give you string starting from left position to applied length.
RIGHT will give you string starting from right position to applied length
SELECT
*
FROM #tblTest
WHERE YearNo=LEFT(#searchterm,4)
AND Id = REPLACE(RIGHT(#searchterm,LEN(#searchterm)-(CHARINDEX('/',(REPLACE(#searchterm, ' ', ''))))),'/','')
If your database compatibility could be 130 then You can Try String_Split ref https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/functions/string-split-transact-sql
Sql most long awaited function (as msdn says)
Declare #tbl table (id int Identity(1,1), value nvarchar(5))
Insert into #tbl ([value]) SELECT value from STRING_SPLIT(#searchstring,'/')
Declare #id int
Select #id = cast(value as int) from #tbl where id=2 --will give 1
Declare #value int
Select #id = cast(value as int) from #tbl where id=1 --ill give 2017
-- —now use them in sql
select * from table where YEAR=#value and ID = #id
You are going to screw up the performance if you do anything like below
select * from table where 'YEAR / ID' LIKE '%searchterm%'
Best way is you can split your search and supply to respective col
Declare #Search varchar(15)='2017/1'
Declare #Year int = (select LEFT(#Search,CHARINDEX('/',#search)-1))
Declare #month int = (select Right(#Search,(len(#search) -CHARINDEX('/',#search))))
select * from #temp where id=#month and year=#Year
Try this code :
select * from table where YEAR + ' / ' + ID LIKE '%searchterm%'
this query will run, but it will perform very poor.
One of the fields in my database is a string containing multiple usernames separated by commas (ex: 'wasingej, doej, hamm, ..."). I want to do a query where a database entry (or multiple) is selected if a supplied username appears in the string containing multiple usernames.
How would I do this?
The best I could come up with is
CREATE TABLE supportContacts
(
id int identity primary key,
usernames varchar(255),
);
INSERT INTO supportContacts
(usernames)
VALUES
('Dan'),
('DAN,SCOTT'),
('Jordan,Michael,Dan'),
('Adam,Kelly,Daniel,Roger,Sue'),
('Crystal,Kari,Logan,Daniella'),
('Jon,Dan,Xerxes,Brian'),
('Samantha,Keylin,Dan')
;
SELECT * from supportContacts WHERE
usernames = 'Dan' or -- only dan
usernames LIKE 'Dan,%' or -- begins
usernames LIKE ',Dan,' or -- within
usernames LIKE '%,Dan' -- ends
It has the problem that it doesn't match on case - not an issue if your input isn't case sensitive anyway - but it is Better than Raging Bull's answer because it doesn't match the names within other names ( my fiddle shows this by not matching 'Daniella' or 'Daniel' )
http://sqlfiddle.com/#!6/72493/4
USING LIKE:
DECLARE #CONDITION VARCHAR(255)
SET #CONDITION = '%'' UNION SELECT * FROM TableName WHERE ColName LIKE ''%'
DECLARE #Unames VARCHAR(255) --List of username you pass from your program
SET #Unames = 'wasingej,doej,hamm' --Taking it as an example
DECLARE #FullQuery VARCHAR(255)
SET #FullQuery = 'SELECT *
FROM TableName
WHERE ColName LIKE ''%'+REPLACE(#Unames,',',#CONDITION)+'%''' --Replacing comma with #Condition
EXEC(#FullQuery)
At last, you can get your query in the variable #FullQuery like this:
SELECT * FROM TableName WHERE ColName LIKE '%wasingej%'
UNION
SELECT * FROM TableName WHERE ColName LIKE '%doej%'
UNION
SELECT * FROM TableName WHERE ColName LIKE '%hamm%'
See example in SQL Fiddle.
I want to compare the individual words from the user input to individual words from a column in my table.
For example, consider these rows in my table:
ID Name
1 Jack Nicholson
2 Henry Jack Blueberry
3 Pontiac Riddleson Jack
Consider that the user's input is 'Pontiac Jack'. I want to assign weights/ranks for each match, so I can't use a blanket LIKE (WHERE Name LIKE #SearchString).
If Pontiac is present in any row, I want to award it 10 points. Each match for Jack gets another 10 points, etc. So row 3 would get 20 points, and rows 1 and 2 get 10.
I have split the user input into individual words, and stored them into a temporary table #SearchWords(Word).
But I can't figure out a way to have a SELECT statement that allows me to combine this. Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way?
Cheers,
WT
For SQL Server, try this:
SELECT Word, COUNT(Word) * 10 AS WordCount
FROM SourceTable
INNER JOIN SearchWords ON CHARINDEX(SearchWords.Word, SourceTable.Name) > 0
GROUP BY Word
What about this? (this is MySQL syntax, I think you only have to replace the CONCAT and do it with +)
SELECT names.id, count(searchwords.word) FROM names, searchwords WHERE names.name LIKE CONCAT('%', searchwords.word, '%') GROUP BY names.id
Then you would have a SQL result with the ID of the names-table and count of the words that match to that id.
You could do it via a common table expression that works out the weighting. For example:
--** Set up the example tables and data
DECLARE #Name TABLE (id INT IDENTITY, name VARCHAR(50));
DECLARE #SearchWords TABLE (word VARCHAR(50));
INSERT INTO #Name
(name)
VALUES ('Jack Nicholson')
,('Henry Jack Blueberry')
,('Pontiac Riddleson Jack')
,('Fred Bloggs');
INSERT INTO #SearchWords
(word)
VALUES ('Jack')
,('Pontiac');
--** Example SELECT with #Name selected and ordered by words in #SearchWords
WITH Order_CTE (weighting, id)
AS (
SELECT COUNT(*) AS weighting
, id
FROM #Name AS n
JOIN #SearchWords AS sw
ON n.name LIKE '%' + sw.word + '%'
GROUP BY id
)
SELECT n.name
, cte.weighting
FROM #Name AS n
JOIN Order_CTE AS cte
ON n.id = cte.id
ORDER BY cte.weighting DESC;
Using this technique, you can also apply a value to each search word if you wanted to. So you could make Jack more valueable than Pontiac. This would look something like this:
--** Set up the example tables and data
DECLARE #Name TABLE (id INT IDENTITY, name VARCHAR(50));
DECLARE #SearchWords TABLE (word VARCHAR(50), value INT);
INSERT INTO #Name
(name)
VALUES ('Jack Nicholson')
,('Henry Jack Blueberry')
,('Pontiac Riddleson Jack')
,('Fred Bloggs');
--** Set up search words with associated value
INSERT INTO #SearchWords
(word, value)
VALUES ('Jack',10)
,('Pontiac',20)
,('Bloggs',40);
--** Example SELECT with #Name selected and ordered by words and values in #SearchWords
WITH Order_CTE (weighting, id)
AS (
SELECT SUM(sw.value) AS weighting
, id
FROM #Name AS n
JOIN #SearchWords AS sw
ON n.name LIKE '%' + sw.word + '%'
GROUP BY id
)
SELECT n.name
, cte.weighting
FROM #Name AS n
JOIN Order_CTE AS cte
ON n.id = cte.id
ORDER BY cte.weighting DESC;
Seems to me that the best thing to do would be to maintain a separate table with all the individual words. Eg:
ID Word FK_ID
1 Jack 1
2 Nicholson 1
3 Henry 2
(etc)
This table would be kept up to date with triggers, and you'd have a non-clustered index on 'Word', 'FK_ID'. Then the SQL to produce your weightings would be simple and efficient.
How about something like this....
Select id, MAX(names.name), count(id)*10 from names
inner join #SearchWords as sw on
names.name like '%'+sw.word+'%'
group by id
assuming that table with names called "names".