MySQL: SUBSTRING Function
This MySQL tutorial explains how to use the MySQL SUBSTRING function with syntax and examples.
Description
The MySQL SUBSTRING function allows you to extract a substring from a string.
Syntax
The syntax for the SUBSTRING function in MySQL is:
SUBSTRING( string, start_position, [ length ] )
OR
SUBSTRING( string FROM start_position [ FOR length ] )
Parameters or Arguments
- string
- The source string.
- start_position
- The position for extraction. The first position in the string is always 1.
- length
- Optional. It is the number of characters to extract. If this parameter is omitted, the SUBSTRING function will return the entire remaining string.
Note
- The first position in string is 1.
- If start_position is a positive number, then the SUBSTRING function starts from the beginning of the string.
- If start_position is a negative number, then the SUBSTRING function starts from the end of the string and counts backwards. Negative values for start_position was introduced in MySQL 4.1.
- The SUBSTR function and the MID function are synonyms of the SUBSTRING function.
Applies To
The SUBSTRING function can be used in the following versions of MySQL:
- MySQL 5.7, MySQL 5.6, MySQL 5.5, MySQL 5.1, MySQL 5.0, MySQL 4.1, MySQL 4.0, MySQL 3.23
Example
Let's look at some MySQL SUBSTRING function examples and explore how to use the SUBSTRING function in MySQL.
For example:
mysql> SELECT SUBSTRING('Techonthenet.com', 5); Result: 'onthenet.com' mysql> SELECT SUBSTRING('Techonthenet.com' FROM 5); Result: 'onthenet.com' mysql> SELECT SUBSTRING('Techonthenet.com', 1, 4); Result: 'Tech' mysql> SELECT SUBSTRING('Techonthenet.com' FROM 1 FOR 4); Result: 'Tech' mysql> SELECT SUBSTRING('Techonthenet.com', -3, 3); Result: 'com' mysql> SELECT SUBSTRING('Techonthenet.com' FROM -3 FOR 3); Result: 'com'
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