Examples of use of Asterisk
Of course, matching only single characters has limitations. An asterisk matches any number of characters, including an absence of any character. For example, the pattern:
{ABC*}
matches these strings:
{ABC123}
{ABC }
{ABC}
{ABC }
{ABC}
but not:
{AB} (This string is too short, missing the C)
{AB C} (3rd position of pattern is not a blank)
{AB C} (3rd position of pattern is not a blank)
You can also match against a variable number of characters at the beginning of a string.
The pattern:
{*ABC*}
matches these strings:
{XXABCYY}
{ABCYY}
{ABC}
{ABCYY}
{ABC}
but not:
{BCYYY} (No ABC anywhere)
{ABYYY}
{ABYYY}
The asterisk wildcard character cannot be embedded in a pattern, however. This pattern is not legal:
{AB*CD} (Embedded '*' wildcard)
Tip: For faster searching, add an asterisk to the end of your partial query. Example: cert*