RLIKE¶

Tests if a string matches a given regular expression pattern.

RLIKE and LIKE are similar, but RLIKE uses POSIX regular expressions instead of the SQL patterns.

Syntax¶

string_expr [ NOT ] RLIKE string_test_expr

Arguments¶

Parameter	Description
`string_expr`	String to test
`string_test_expr`	Test pattern

Test patterns¶

Pattern	Description
`^`	Match the beginning of a string
`$`	Match the end of a string
`.`	Match any character (including whitespace such as carriage return and newline)
`*`	Match the preceding pattern zero or more times
`+`	Match the preceding pattern at least once
`?`	Match the preceding pattern once at most
`de\|abc`	Match either `de` or `abc`
`(abc)*`	Match zero or more instances of the sequence `abc`
`{2}`	Match the preceding pattern exactly two times
`{2,4}`	Match the preceding pattern between two and four times
`[a-dX]`, `[^a-dX]`	Matches any character that is (or is not when negated with `^`) either `a`, `b`, `c`, `d`, or `X`. The `-` character between two other characters forms a range that matches all characters from the first character to the second. For example, [0-9] matches any decimal digit. To include a literal `]` character, it must immediately follow the opening bracket [. To include a literal - character, it must be written first or last. Any character that does not have a defined special meaning inside a [] pair matches only itself.

Returns¶

TRUE if the test string matches the pattern, or FALSE otherwise.

Notes¶

The test pattern must be literal string. Column references or complex expressions are currently unsupported.
If the value is NULL, the result is NULL.

Examples¶

For these examples, assume a table named nba, with the following structure:

CREATE TABLE nba
(
   Name varchar(40),
   Team varchar(40),
   Number tinyint,
   Position varchar(2),
   Age tinyint,
   Height varchar(4),
   Weight real,
   College varchar(40),
   Salary float
 );

Here’s a peek at the table contents (Download nba.csv):

nba.csv¶
Name	Team	Number	Position	Age	Height	Weight	College	Salary
Avery Bradley	Boston Celtics	0.0	PG	25.0	6-2	180.0	Texas	7730337.0
Jae Crowder	Boston Celtics	99.0	SF	25.0	6-6	235.0	Marquette	6796117.0
John Holland	Boston Celtics	30.0	SG	27.0	6-5	205.0	Boston University
R.J. Hunter	Boston Celtics	28.0	SG	22.0	6-5	185.0	Georgia State	1148640.0
Jonas Jerebko	Boston Celtics	8.0	PF	29.0	6-10	231.0		5000000.0
Amir Johnson	Boston Celtics	90.0	PF	29.0	6-9	240.0		12000000.0
Jordan Mickey	Boston Celtics	55.0	PF	21.0	6-8	235.0	LSU	1170960.0
Kelly Olynyk	Boston Celtics	41.0	C	25.0	7-0	238.0	Gonzaga	2165160.0
Terry Rozier	Boston Celtics	12.0	PG	22.0	6-2	190.0	Louisville	1824360.0

Match the beginning of a string¶

This form is equivalent to ... LIKE "Portland%"

nba=> SELECT "Name","Age","Salary","Team" FROM nba WHERE "Team" RLIKE '^(Portland)+' LIMIT 5;
Name            | Age | Salary  | Team
----------------+-----+---------+-----------------------
Cliff Alexander |  20 |  525093 | Portland Trail Blazers
Al-Farouq Aminu |  25 | 8042895 | Portland Trail Blazers
Pat Connaughton |  23 |  625093 | Portland Trail Blazers
Allen Crabbe    |  24 |  947276 | Portland Trail Blazers
Ed Davis        |  27 | 6980802 | Portland Trail Blazers

Negate with `NOT`¶

nba=> SELECT "Name","Age","Salary","Team" FROM nba WHERE "Team" NOT RLIKE '^(Portland)+' LIMIT 5;
Name          | Age | Salary  | Team
--------------+-----+---------+---------------
Avery Bradley |  25 | 7730337 | Boston Celtics
Jae Crowder   |  25 | 6796117 | Boston Celtics
John Holland  |  27 |         | Boston Celtics
R.J. Hunter   |  22 | 1148640 | Boston Celtics
Jonas Jerebko |  29 | 5000000 | Boston Celtics

Match the middle of a string¶

nba=> SELECT "Name","Age","Salary","Team" FROM nba WHERE "Team" RLIKE '(zz)' LIMIT 5;
Name           | Age | Salary  | Team
---------------+-----+---------+------------------
Jordan Adams   |  21 | 1404600 | Memphis Grizzlies
Tony Allen     |  34 | 5158539 | Memphis Grizzlies
Chris Andersen |  37 | 5000000 | Memphis Grizzlies
Matt Barnes    |  36 | 3542500 | Memphis Grizzlies
Vince Carter   |  39 | 4088019 | Memphis Grizzlies

Find players with a Roman numeral suffix¶

Use $ to match only the end of the string

nba=> SELECT "Name","Age","Salary","Team" FROM nba WHERE "Name" RLIKE '[XCLVMI]$';
Name                | Age | Salary  | Team
--------------------+-----+---------+------------------
Glenn Robinson III  |  22 | 1100000 | Indiana Pacers
Johnny O'Bryant III |  23 |  845059 | Milwaukee Bucks
Frank Kaminsky III  |  23 | 2612520 | Charlotte Hornets

Find players with just one middle name¶

nba=> SELECT "Name","Age","Salary","Team" FROM nba WHERE "Name" RLIKE '^[a-zA-Z]+ [a-zA-Z]+ [a-zA-Z]+$';
Name                 | Age | Salary  | Team
---------------------+-----+---------+----------------------
James Michael McAdoo |  23 |  845059 | Golden State Warriors
Metta World Peace    |  36 |  947276 | Los Angeles Lakers
Glenn Robinson III   |  22 | 1100000 | Indiana Pacers
Frank Kaminsky III   |  23 | 2612520 | Charlotte Hornets