Wildcard, '%', within ColdFusion cfscript query LIKE statement? - sql

Question

Is it possible to use a wildcard in a SQL LIKE statement within a ColdFusion cfscript query?
An example that doesn't work:
local.q = new Query();
local.q.setDatasource(variables.dsn);
local.q.addParam(name='lastname', value='%' & arguments.lastname, cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar");
local.qString = 'SELECT name FROM users WHERE lastname LIKE :lastname';
local.q.setSQL(local.qString);
local.result = local.q.execute().getResult();
I also tried these, which didn't work:
local.qString = 'SELECT name FROM users WHERE lastname LIKE %:lastname';
local.qString = "SELECT name FROM users WHERE lastname LIKE '%:lastname'";
UPDATE:
I am using MS SQL Server 2008.
The query works fine within SQL Server Mgmt Studio... I think it has something to do with how to format the query within cfscript tags?

Answer 1

Yes, it is possible. You're setting it in the param, which is correct. I'm not sure why it's not working with you.
I did the following and it worked.
var qryArgsCol = {};
qryArgsCol.datasource = variables.datasource;
qryArgsCol.SQL = "
SELECT ID
FROM Users
WHERE LastName LIKE :searchStringParam
";
var qryGetID = new query(argumentCollection=qryArgsCol);
qryGetID.addParam(name="searchStringParam", value="%" & searchString, cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar");
qryGetIDResult = qryGetID.execute().getResult();

Answer 2

There's a response here from Adam Cameron, which was apparently deleted by an overzealous mod.
Rather than repeat what he says, I've just copied and pasted (with emphasis added to the key parts):
Just to clarify that the syntax you tried in your first example does work. That is the correct approach here. To clarify / explain:
The <cfquery> version of the example you have would be along the lines of:
<cfqueryparam value="%foo">
So in the function version, the param would be ? or :paramName and the value of the param would continue to be "%foo".
The % is part of the param value, not the SQL string.
So given that "doesn't work" for you, it would help if you posted the error, or whatever it is that causes you to think it's not working (what your expectation is, and what the actual results are). Then we can deal with the actual cause of your problem, which is not what you think it is, I think.
Does the query work fine as a <cfquery>?

Answer 3

Depending on the dbms used, that single and double quotes may be interpreted when the sql statement is run. What dbms are you using? Your statement now doesn't select for the value in the variable, but for any user whose lastname is "lastname". It should be something like:
lastname like '%#lastname#'

Answer 4

Just remember that you ultimately need to see what CF gives the DB server. In this instance, you can try this mockup to get close and find the same error in SSMS by messing with the quotes/value in the param declaration:
declare #param1 varchar(max) = '%Eisenlohr';
SELECT name FROM users WHERE lastname LIKE #param1

Answer 5

I just ran into the same problem as the original poster where it "wasn't working" and I didn't get any results from the query of queries.
The problem for me is that the wildcard search is case-sensitive.
local.q = new Query();
local.q.setDatasource(variables.dsn);
local.q.addParam(name='lastname', value='%' & LCase(arguments.lastname), cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar");
local.qString = 'SELECT name FROM users WHERE LOWER(lastname) LIKE :lastname';
local.q.setSQL(local.qString);
local.result = local.q.execute().getResult();
So what I did was made sure the incoming argument was lower case and made sure the comparing field in the SQL was lower case as well and it worked.

Answer 6

Use like this.
local.q = new Query();
local.q.setDatasource(variables.dsn);
local.q.addParam(name="lastname", cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar",value='%ARGUMENTS.lastname' );
local.qString = 'SELECT name FROM users WHERE lastname LIKE :lastname';
local.q.setSQL(local.qString);
local.result = local.q.execute().getResult();

Answer 7

I would suggest using the CFQuery tag instead of attempting to run queries within CFScript. Unless you REALLY know what you are doing. I say this because the CFQuery tag has some built-in functionality that not only makes building queries easier for you but may also protect you from unforeseen attacks (the SQL injection type). For example, when using CFQuery it will automatically escape single-quotes for you so that inserting things like 'well isn't that a mess' will not blow up on you. You also have the benefit of being able to use the CFQueryParam tag to further battle against SQL injection attacks. While you may be able to use the CFQueryParam functionality within CFScript it is not as straight forward (at least not for me).
See this blog post from Ben Nadel talking about some of this.
So in CFQuery tags your query would look something like this:
<cfquery name="myQuery" datasource="#variables.dsn#">
SELECT name
FROM users
WHERE lastname LIKE <cfqueryparam cfsqltype="cf_sql_varchar" value="%:#arguments.lastname#" maxlength="256" />
</cfquery>