Difference Between PatIndex and CharIndex

The CHARINDEX and PATINDEX functions return the starting position of a pattern you specify. PATINDEX can use wildcard characters, but CHARINDEX cannot.

These functions take two parameters:

·     The pattern whose position you want. With PATINDEX, the pattern is a literal string that can contain wildcard characters. With CHARINDEX, the pattern is a literal string without wildcard characters.

·         A string-valued expression, generally a column name, searched for the specified pattern.

SELECT CHARINDEX('JA','VIJAY')

O/P :- 3

SELECT PATINDEX('%GMAIL%','VIJAYK0286@GMAIL.COM')

O/P :- 12

SELECT PATINDEX('%GM__L%','VIJAYK0286@GMAIL.COM')

O/P :- 12