C# & SQL Server CE : treat words after defined symbols (+ or &) as a seperate word in search

I'm working on a simple translation application based on C# & SQL Server CE 3.5

I have a search textbox that searches certain columns in database through textBox1.Text with normal SQL query [SELECT.. LIKE '% %']

What I want to achieve : I want to search for all the words after certain symbols (+ for example) in all locations in database , so they don't need to be written in the full context (word after word as they exist in database)

In other words : I want to split words after certain symbols , so that the program search for each word independently (search the word before symbol and each word after symbol separately)

Example: If I tried to search for the value "burden of proof" , I've to write it in the previous context, but for the user this will not apply. So I want him to put a symbol in-between the two words he is willing to search for (namely he should search for "burden+proof")

Picture 1 : https://i.sstatic.net/qBJTV.jpg , Picture 2 : https://i.sstatic.net/CYl0w.jpg

Edit - my search button code :

sqlcmd = new SqlCeCommand
                ("SELECT * FROM T1 WHERE EnglishWord like '%" + textBox1.Text + "%' OR EnglishDesc like '%" + textBox1.Text + "%' OR ArabicWord like '%" + textBox1.Text + "%' OR ArabicDesc like '%" + textBox1.Text + "%' ", sqlcon);

            try
            {
                listView1.Items.Clear();
                sqldr = sqlcmd.ExecuteReader();

                while (sqldr.Read())
                {

                    ListViewItem item = new ListViewItem(sqldr["ID"].ToString());
                    item.SubItems.Add(sqldr["EnglishWord"].ToString());
                    item.SubItems.Add(sqldr["EnglishDesc"].ToString());
                    item.SubItems.Add(sqldr["ArabicDesc"].ToString());
                    item.SubItems.Add(sqldr["ArabicWord"].ToString());
                    item.SubItems.Add(sqldr["Subject"].ToString());

                    listView1.Items.Add(item);
                }
                listView1.Enabled = true;
                label7.Text = listView1.Items.Count.ToString();
            }
            catch (SqlCeException ex)
            {
                MessageBox.Show("Error: " + ex.Message, "Something wrong");
            }

Solution

Answer by : Richard Deeming @ CodeProject

Assuming you want to find all records where each word appears in at least one of the four columns, something like this should work:

sqlcmd = sqlcon.CreateCommand();

string[] words = textBox1.Text.Split(new[] { '+' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
StringBuilder query = new StringBuilder("SELECT * FROM T1 WHERE 1 = 1");

for (int index = 0; index < words.Length; index++)
{
    string wordToFind = words[index];
    string parameterName = "@word" + index;
    sqlcmd.Parameters.AddWithValue(parameterName, "%" + wordToFind + "%");
    query.AppendFormat(" AND (EnglishWord Like {0} OR EnglishDesc Like {0} OR ArabicWord Like {0} OR ArabicDesc Like {0})", parameterName);
}

sqlcmd.CommandText = query.ToString();

This will also fix the SQL Injection[^] vulnerability in your code.

If the user searches for burden+proof, the resulting query will look something like this:

SELECT
    *
FROM
    T1
WHERE
    1 = 1
And
    (
        EnglishWord Like @word0 
    Or 
        EnglishDesc Like @word0 
    Or 
        ArabicWord Like @word0 
    Or 
        ArabicDesc Like @word0
    )
And
    (
        EnglishWord Like @word1 
    Or 
        EnglishDesc Like @word1 
    Or 
        ArabicWord Like @word1 
    Or 
        ArabicDesc Like @word1
    )

/*
Parameters:
- @word0 = '%burden%'
- @word1 = '%proof%'
*/