What role does the % symbol play in the SQL query for the PLZ search function?
The % symbol in an SQL query is a wildcard character that represents zero or more characters. In the context of a PLZ search function, using the % symbol allows for searching for postal codes that match a certain pattern, such as all postal codes starting with a specific set of numbers. To implement this in a PHP code snippet, you can use the % symbol in conjunction with the LIKE operator in the SQL query.
// Assuming $plz is the variable containing the postal code pattern to search for
$plz = '12345';
// SQL query to search for postal codes starting with the specified pattern
$sql = "SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE plz_column LIKE '$plz%'";