In computing and programming, the asterisk (*) and question mark (?) are wildcard characters that represent other characters. They are often used in file searches and data manipulation.

Asterisk (*)

• Matches any number of characters

Question mark (?)

• Matches a single character in a specific position

Examples

• wh* would match what, white, where, why
• wh*t* would match what and white
• wh*t would match what
• wh? would match why

🕘 Last Updated: 2025-02-03