Tag: string functions

How to Return an Argument’s Position within a List of Arguments in MySQL

Posted on by Ian

In MySQL, you can use the FIELD() function to return the position of a given string or number within a list of arguments. The function returns the index (position) of the first argument in the list of subsequent arguments.

The syntax goes like this:

FIELD(str,str1,str2,str3,...)

Where str is the item you want to find, and str1,str2,str3,... is the list you’re searching through.

Here’s an example:

SELECT FIELD('Homer', 'Marge', 'Homer', 'Bart') AS 'Where is Homer?';

Result:

+-----------------+
| Where is Homer? |
+-----------------+
|               2 |
+-----------------+

In this example, the list is: 'Marge', 'Homer', 'Bart' and we’re searching for the string Homer within that list. And because Homer is the 2nd item in the list of arguments, the result is 2.

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How to Add a Separator to a Concatenated String in MySQL – CONCAT_WS()

Posted on by Ian

In MySQL, the CONCAT_WS() function allows you to add a separator to concatenated strings. If you just use the CONCAT() function, you’d have no separator (unless you explicitly added a separator as an argument between each string argument).

A common usage of the CONCAT_WS() function is to create a comma-delimited list.

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How to Add a Separator to a Concatenated String in SQL Server – CONCAT_WS()

Posted on by Ian

In SQL Server and Azure, if you need to concatenate two or more strings, you can use the T-SQL CONCAT() function. As with any basic concatenation operation, this function joins the strings together, end-to-end.

But what if you need to add a separator between each string?

For example, you might want to make a comma-separated list of strings. In this case, you’d want to insert a comma in between each string. Like this:

Paris, France

Instead of this:

ParisFrance

Fortunately, T-SQL provides the CONCAT_WS() function that helps you do exactly that. The CONCAT_WS() function works just like the CONCAT() function, except that it takes an extra argument – the separator you’d like to use.

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How to Concatenate Strings in SQL Server with CONCAT()

Posted on by Ian

In SQL Server, you can concatenate two or more strings by using the T-SQL CONCAT() function. You can also use SQL Server’s string concatenation operator (+) to do the same thing. Both are explained here.

In SQL Server (and in any computer programming environment), string concatenation is the operation of joining character strings end-to-end.

Here’s an example:

SELECT CONCAT('Peter', ' ', 'Griffin') AS 'Full Name';

Result:

Full Name    
-------------
Peter Griffin

Note that I actually concatenated 3 strings here. I concatenated the first name, the last name, plus a space.

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How to Concatenate Strings in MySQL with CONCAT()

Posted on by Ian

MySQL has the CONCAT() function, which allows you to concatenate two or more strings. The function actually allows for one or more arguments, but its main use is to concatenate two or more strings.

In MySQL (and in any computer programming environment), string concatenation is the operation of joining character strings end-to-end.

Here’s an example:

SELECT CONCAT('Homer', ' ', 'Simpson') AS 'Full Name';

Result:

+---------------+
| Full Name     |
+---------------+
| Homer Simpson |
+---------------+

Note that I actually concatenated 3 strings here. I concatenated the first name, the last name, plus a space.

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