[Hey:
If you're really in a hurry, skip to the next page, and see <(@)>,
but you might miss some fun(ny, perhaps even useful?) stuff!]
I just accidentally discovered [!much to my surprise!] that...
The underscore "_" character is the SQL SELECT standard "wildcard"
to match "any single character in the specified position", e.g.,
select node_name from nodes where node_name like '_A_'
[lists all nodes w/ names 3 characters long w/ 'A' in the middle.
[Probably] we all[ready] know [or have discovered] that...
The percent "%" character is the SQL SELECT standard "wildcard"
to match "zero or more characters" [but NOT a NULL string!]
select node_name from nodes where node_name like '%-%'
[lists all nodes w/ hyphenated names, and also bizarre names
like '-', '+-', '1-0', '.-.', '...---...' (morse code!), etc.]
Now, what I really want is a list of nodes w/ names including
a literal underscore "_" character so I first tried...
select node_name from nodes where node_name like '%_%'
[which seems to be exactly equivalent to...]
select node_name from nodes where node_name like '%'
[Both list all existing nodes (because node_name can't be null!)]
Then I borrowed an Oracle DBA's SQL ref.manual and found...
The backslash "/" character is the SQL SELECT standard "escape" used
preceding a wildcard to match that (following) character literally.
<(@)> So, I tried again...
tsm: TST>select node_name from nodes where node_name like '%\_%'
ANR2034E SELECT: No match found using this criteria.
ANS8001I Return code 11.
tsm: TST>select node_name from nodes where node_name like '%_OB'
NODE_NAME
------------------
xxxxxx_OB
yyyyy-OB
zzzzz_OB
aaa_OB
bbbb_OB
ccccOB
tsm: TST> [names partially changed to protect the innocent]
!!!What to do??? [Please, don't say there's no escape!]
ITSM 5.2.3.0 w/ AIX 5.2
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