SQL BETWEEN for text vs numeric values

Between is operating exactly the same way for numbers and for character strings. The two endpoints are included. This is part of the ANSI standard, so it is how all SQL dialects work.

The expression:

where num between 33 and 135

will match when num is 135. It will not match when number is 135.00001.

Similarly, the expression:

where food_name BETWEEN 'G' AND 'O'

will match 'O', but not any other string beginning with 'O'.

Once simple kludge is to use "~". This has the largest 7-bit ASCII value, so for English-language applications, it usually works well:

where food_name between 'G' and 'O~'

You can also do various other things. Here are two ideas:

where left(food_name, 1) between 'G' and 'O'
where food_name >= 'G' and food_name < 'P'

The important point, though, is that between works the same way regardless of data type.

Take the example of 'Orange' vs. 'O'. The string 'Orange' is clearly not equal to the string 'O', and as it is longer, it must be greater, not less than.

You could do 'Orange' < 'OZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ' though.