LIKE

Result = Expression [ NOT ] LIKE Pattern AS Boolean

Returns TRUE if the Expression string matches the Pattern string.

If NOT is specified, the test is inverted.

The pattern is not case sensitive, and it can contain the following generic characters:

Generic character Matches
* Any number of any character.
? Any single character.
[abc] Any character between the brackets.
[x-y] Any character in the interval.
[^x-y] Any character not in the interval.
space Any number of spaces or characters with an ASCII code lower than 32.
{aaa,bbb,...} One of the strings between the curly brackets. The strings are separated by commas.
\x The character x, even if it is a generic character. Use this for matching a generic character.

Examples

PRINT "Gambas" LIKE "G*" 
True

PRINT "Gambas" LIKE "?[Aa]*" 
True

PRINT "Gambas" LIKE "G[^Aa]*" 
False

PRINT "Gambas" Not Like "M{$,onsanto,afia}" 
True

You must double the backslash character, otherwise \* will be interpreted by the compiler as a special character like \n, \t, ...

Or you can use this pattern string: LIKE "G[Aa][*]"

PRINT "Gambas" LIKE "G[Aa]\\*" 
False

LIKE only deals with ASCII strings. If you need to match UTF-8 strings, use the gb.pcre component.

See also