Matching text string on first letter in SQL query

Question

SAMPLE CODE:

Dim sql As String = "SELECT * FROM " + tblName + " WHERE needsTranslation = 'True' AND dataText LIKE " & "'" & alpha & "%" & "'" & " ORDER BY dataText;"
da = New SqlDataAdapter(sql, strConnection)

OP: I would like to create a SQL query that returns all records when the first letter of a string matches my variable. I am coding this in an ASP.net code behind page in vb.net.

SELECT * FROM " + tblName + " WHERE textData = ' & alpha & "

In this exmample textData is a string of text and alpha is a single letter a through z or A through Z.

I don't need the criteria to be case sensitive, but I do need only the first letter of textData to match alpha.

I have tested the LIKE comparator and it does not return all records that begin with alpha.

What is the best way to do this? Any and all help will be appreciated.

thanks again,

Answer 1

The LIKE operator is what you'd want to use, but you have to use the % wildcard character like so:

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE textData LIKE 'a%'

Answer 2

SQL has sub-string operator SUBSTR() or SUBSTRING()

select * from tableName where substr( textData ) in ( 'A', 'B', 'C', ... );