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MySQL | SUBSTR method

schedule Aug 12, 2023
Last updated
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MySQL
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MySQL's SUBSTR(~) method returns a substring from the input string starting at the specified position.

Syntax

SELECT SUBSTR(str, pos);
SELECT SUBSTR(str FROM pos);
SELECT SUBSTR(str, pos, len);
SELECT SUBSTR(str FROM pos FOR len);

Parameters

1. str | string

The string to return substring from.

2. pos | integer

The position that serves as the start of the substring. Negative values indicate positions from the end of the string.

3. len | integer

The length of the returned substring. A length < 0 returns an empty string.

Examples

Basic usage

To return the substring starting from position 4:

SELECT SUBSTR('SkyTowner', 4);
+------------------------+
| SUBSTR('SkyTowner', 4) |
+------------------------+
| Towner |
+------------------------+

We return the substring starting from the 4th character of 'SkyTowner'.

Pos parameter

To return the substring starting from 4th position from end of string:

SELECT SUBSTR('SkyTowner' FROM -4);
+-----------------------------+
| SUBSTR('SkyTowner' FROM -4) |
+-----------------------------+
| wner |
+-----------------------------+

The substring that is returned starts from 'w' which is the 4th character from the end of 'SkyTowner'.

Len parameter

To return a substring that is 3 characters long starting from position 1:

SELECT SUBSTR('SkyTowner', 1, 3);
+---------------------------+
| SUBSTR('SkyTowner', 1, 3) |
+---------------------------+
| Sky |
+---------------------------+

To return a substring that is -2 characters long starting from position 4:

SELECT SUBSTR('SkyTowner' FROM 4 FOR -2);
+-----------------------------------+
| SUBSTR('SkyTowner' FROM 4 FOR -2) |
+-----------------------------------+
| |
+-----------------------------------+

Although it is hard to see, the returned value is an empty string.

robocat
Published by Arthur Yanagisawa
Edited by 0 others
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