SQLServer - Select bool if column begins with a string

Question

I would like to select a boolean of whether or not a column begins with a certain string.

SELECT (name LIKE 'foo%') AS isFoo FROM bar;

Is there a way to do this without using an inline CASE?

Answer 1

No

There is neither implicit boolean CAST in SQL Server nor a boolean type

SELECT CAST(CASE WHEN name LIKE 'foo%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END AS bit) AS isFoo
FROM bar;

Answer 2

You might not even need the cast depending on your usage:

SELECT CAST(PATINDEX('foo%'), name) AS bit) FROM bar

This will return 1 if the col starts with the text otherwise 0. No CASE involved.