Does CONTAINS allow leading wildcards in searches?

The correct answer is that CONTAINS does not allow leading wildcards in searches. This means that when you are using the CONTAINS function in a search query, you cannot begin the search term with a wildcard character, such as the asterisk (*). Leading wildcards inhibit the ability of the search engine to effectively index and retrieve results because it prevents the engine from determining the starting point of the term being searched for within the dataset.

For instance, if you search for *keyword, the search engine doesn't know where to begin looking for the term "keyword" in the indexed data, which can lead to performance issues or incomplete results. Therefore, it is a best practice to avoid leading wildcards to ensure efficient and accurate searches.

Other options suggest that leading wildcards might be permissible under certain conditions or settings, but that is not the case with the CONTAINS function. It is essential for users to understand the constraints of search functions to optimize their queries and retrieve relevant data effectively.