Re: Messy Messy SQL

> It would be easy to get the values if they
> were all like the first format, because I could
> use 'substr(A.zips,1,5) = '55514''

The substr() would still cause the index to not be used.

But if they were all in this format you could eliminate the leading % wildcard character, and as you mention this would allow use of the index.

-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
-- 
Author: Greg Moore
  INET: sqlgreg_at_pacbell.net

Fat City Network Services    -- (858) 538-5051  FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California        -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from).  You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).