In SQL Server, you can use the T-SQL RIGHT()
function to return a given number of characters from the right part of a string.
The function accepts two arguments; the string itself, and the number of characters you’d like to be returned from that string.
Syntax
The official syntax for both functions goes like this:
RIGHT ( character_expression , integer_expression )
Where character_expression
is the string, and integer_expression
is the number of characters you want returned from that string.
If the second argument is type bigint and contains a large value, the first argument (i.e. the string) must be of a large data type such as varchar(max).
Example 1 – Basic Usage
Here’s an example of selecting the 3 rightmost characters from a string:
SELECT RIGHT('Coffee', 3) AS Result;
Result:
+----------+ | Result | |----------| | fee | +----------+
Example 2 – Negative Integer Expression
The second argument must be a positive value. If it’s a negative value, an error is returned:
SELECT RIGHT('Coffee', -3) AS Result;
Result:
Invalid length parameter passed to the right function.
Example 3 – Database Query
Here’s an example of using the RIGHT()
function on data returned from a database:
USE Music; SELECT TOP 7 ArtistName AS Original, RIGHT(ArtistName, 5) AS Modified FROM Artists;
Result:
+------------------+------------+ | Original | Modified | |------------------+------------| | Iron Maiden | aiden | | AC/DC | AC/DC | | Allan Holdsworth | worth | | Buddy Rich | Rich | | Devin Townsend | nsend | | Jim Reeves | eeves | | Tom Jones | Jones | +------------------+------------+