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  • SQL
  • SUBSTRING

Example

Extract a substring from a string (start at position 5, extract 3 characters):

SELECT SUBSTRING("SQL Tutorial", 5, 3) AS ExtractString;

Definition and Usage

The SUBSTRING() function extracts a substring from a string (starting at any position).

Note: The and functions equals to the SUBSTRING() function.

Syntax

SUBSTRING(string, start, length)

OR:

SUBSTRING(string FROM start FOR length)

Parameter Values

Parameter Description
string Required. The string to extract from
start Required. The start position. Can be both a positive or negative number. If it is a positive number, this function extracts from the beginning of the string. If it is a negative number, this function extracts from the end of the string
length Optional. The number of characters to extract. If omitted, the whole string will be returned (from the start position)

Technical Details

Works in: From MySQL 4.0

More Examples

Example

Extract a substring from the text in a column (start at position 2, extract 5 characters):

SELECT SUBSTRING(CustomerName, 2, 5) AS ExtractString
FROM Customers;

Example

Extract a substring from a string (start from the end, at position -5, extract 5 characters):

SELECT SUBSTRING("SQL Tutorial", -5, 5) AS ExtractString;

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