Bill wrote:
> The SQL database servers I have worked with cannot use and index for a
> SELECT of the form
>
> SELECT * FROM ATABLE
> WHERE AFIELD LIKE ?
>
> because there is no way to know the location of the wild card until the
> parameter value is known. InterBase and Firebird allow
>
> SELECT * FROM ATABLE
> WHERE AFIELD STARTING WITH ?
>
> which is equivalent to LIKE 'ABC%' and will use an index on AFIELD. Is
> there a similar syntax in PostgreSQL?
One workaround might be to rewrite the query using some string function
(substring, position, or write your own) and index over that function.