This section describes functions and operators for examining and manipulating string values. Strings in this context include values of all the types CHARACTER, VARCHAR, VARCHAR2, CHARACTER VARYING, and TEXT. Unless otherwise noted, all of the functions listed below work on all of these types, but be wary of potential effects of the automatic padding when using the CHARACTER type. Generally, the functions described here also work on data of non-string types by converting that data to a string representation first.
SQL defines some string functions with a special syntax where certain key words rather than commas are used to separate the arguments. Details are in Table 8-5. These functions are also implemented using the regular syntax for function invocation. (See Table 8-6.)
Table 8-5. SQL String Functions and Operators
| Function | Return Type | Description | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| string || string | TEXT | String concatenation | 'EnterpriseDB' || ' 2005' | EnterpriseDB 2005 |
bit_length(string) | INTEGER | Number of bits in string | bit_length('jose') | 32 |
char_length(string) or character_length(string) | INTEGER | Number of characters in string | char_length('jose') | 4 |
convert(string
using conversion_name) | TEXT | Change encoding using specified conversion name. Conversions can be defined by CREATE CONVERSION. Also there are some pre-defined conversion names. See Table 8-7 for available conversion names. | convert('EnterpriseDB' using iso_8859_1_to_utf_8) | 'EnterpriseDB' in Unicode (UTF-8) encoding |
instr(string, set,
[start, [occurrence]]) | INTEGER | Finds the location of a set of characters in a string, starting at position start in the string string, and looking for the first, second, third and so on occurrences of the set. | instr('PETER PIPER PICKED UP A PACK OF PICKED PEPPERS','PI',1,3) | 33 |
lower(string) | TEXT | Convert string to lower case | lower('TOM') | tom |
octet_length(string) | INTEGER | Number of bytes in string | octet_length('jose') | 4 |
overlay(string placing string from INTEGER [for INTEGER]) | TEXT | Replace substring | overlay('Txxxxas' placing 'hom' from 2 for 4) | Thomas |
substr(string, position [, count]) | TEXT | Extract substring starting from start and going for count characters. If count is not specified, the string is clipped from the start till the end. | substr('This is a test',6,2) | is |
trim([leading | trailing | both]
[characters] from
string)
| TEXT | Remove the longest string containing only the characters (a space by default) from the start/end/both ends of the string. | trim(both 'x' from 'xTomxx') | Tom |
ltrim(string,[set])
| TEXT | Removes all the characters specified in the set from the left of a given string. If set is not specified, a blank space is used as default. | ltrim('abcdefghi','abc') | defghi |
rtrim(string,[set])
| TEXT | Removes all the characters specified in the set from the right of a given string. If set is not specified, a blank space is used as default. | rtrim('abcdefghi','ghi') | abcdef |
upper(string) | TEXT | Convert string to uppercase | upper('tom') | TOM |
Additional string manipulation functions are available and are listed in Table 8-6. Some of them are used internally to implement the SQL-standard string functions listed in Table 8-5.
Table 8-6. Other String Functions
| Function | Return Type | Description | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ascii(TEXT) | INTEGER | ASCII code of the first character of the argument | ascii('x') | 120 |
btrim(string TEXT
[, characters TEXT]) | TEXT | Remove the longest string consisting only of characters in characters (a space by default) from the start and end of string. | btrim('xyxtrimyyx', 'xy') | trim |
chr(INTEGER) | TEXT | Character with the given ASCII code | chr(65) | A |
convert(string
TEXT,
[src_encoding name,]
dest_encoding name)
| TEXT | Convert string to dest_encoding. The original encoding is specified by src_encoding. If src_encoding is omitted, database encoding is assumed. | convert( 'text_in_unicode', 'UNICODE', 'LATIN1') | text_in_unicode represented in ISO 8859-1 encoding |
decode(expr, expr1a,
expr1b [,expr2a, expr2b]...
[,default])
| (same as argument types of expr1b, expr2b,...,default) | Finds first match of expr with expr1a, expr2a, etc. When match found, returns corresponding parameter pair, expr1b, expr2b, etc. If no match found, returns default. If no match found and default not specified, returns null. | decode(3, 1,'One', 2,'Two', 3,'Three', 'Not found') | Three |
decode(string TEXT,
type TEXT)
| BYTEA | Decode binary data from string previously
encoded with encode. Parameter type is same as in encode.
| decode('MTIzAAE=', 'base64') | 123\000\001 |
encode(data BYTEA,
type TEXT)
| TEXT | Encode binary data to ASCII-only representation. Supported types are: base64, hex, escape. | encode( '123\\000\\001', 'base64') | MTIzAAE= |
initcap(TEXT) | TEXT | Convert the first letter of each word to uppercase and the rest to lowercase. Words are sequences of alphanumeric characters separated by non-alphanumeric characters. | initcap('hi THOMAS') | Hi Thomas |
length(string TEXT) | INTEGER | Number of characters in string. | length('jose') | 4 |
lpad(string TEXT,
length INTEGER
[, fill TEXT])
| TEXT | Fill up the string to length length by prepending the characters fill (a space by default). If the string is already longer than length then it is truncated (on the right). | lpad('hi', 5, 'xy') | xyxhi |
md5(string TEXT) | TEXT | Calculates the MD5 hash of string, returning the result in hexadecimal. | md5('abc') | 900150983cd24fb0 d6963f7d28e17f72 |
nvl(expr1, expr2) | (same as argument types; where both arguments are of the same datatype) | If expr1 is not null, then nvl returns expr2. | nvl(ename,'Unknown Employee!') | |
pg_client_encoding() | name | Current client encoding name | pg_client_encoding() | UNICODE |
quote_ident(string text) | TEXT | Return the given string suitably quoted to be used as an identifier in an SQL statement string. Quotes are added only if necessary (i.e., if the string contains non-identifier characters or would be case-folded). Embedded quotes are properly doubled. | quote_ident('Foo bar') | "Foo bar" |
quote_literal(string text) | TEXT | Return the given string suitably quoted to be used as a string literal in an SQL statement string. Embedded quotes and backslashes are properly doubled. | quote_literal( 'O\'Reilly') | 'O''Reilly' |
repeat(string TEXT, number INTEGER) | TEXT | Repeat string the specified number of times | repeat('Gs', 4) | GsGsGsGs |
replace(string TEXT,
search_string TEXT,
[replace_string] TEXT) | TEXT | Replaces one value in a string with another. If you do not specify a value for replace_string, the search_string value when found, is removed. | replace( 'GEORGE', 'GE', 'EG') | EGOREG |
rpad(string TEXT,
length INTEGER
[, fill TEXT])
| TEXT | Fill up the string to length length by appending the characters fill (a space by default). If the string is already longer than length then it is truncated. | rpad('hi', 5, 'xy') | hixyx |
split_part(string TEXT,
delimiter TEXT,
field INTEGER) | TEXT | Split string on delimiter and return the given field (counting from one) | split_part( 'abc~@~def~@~ghi', '~@~', 2) | def |
strpos(string, substring) | TEXT | Location of specified substring (same as position(substring in string), but note the reversed argument order) | strpos('high', 'ig') | 2 |
to_ascii(TEXT
[, encoding]) | TEXT | Convert text to ASCII from another encoding [a] | to_ascii('Karel') | Karel |
to_hex(number INTEGER
or BIGINT) | TEXT | Convert number to its equivalent hexadecimal representation | to_hex(2147483647) | 7fffffff |
translate(string
TEXT,
from TEXT,
to TEXT)
| TEXT | Any character in string that matches a character in the from set is replaced by the corresponding character in the to set. | translate('12345', '14', 'ax') | a23x5 |
| Notes: a. The to_ascii function supports conversion from
LATIN1, LATIN2, and WIN1250 only.
| ||||
Table 8-7. Built-in Conversions
| Conversion Name [a] | Source Encoding | Destination Encoding |
|---|---|---|
| ascii_to_mic | SQL_ASCII | MULE_INTERNAL |
| ascii_to_utf_8 | SQL_ASCII | UNICODE |
| big5_to_euc_tw | BIG5 | EUC_TW |
| big5_to_mic | BIG5 | MULE_INTERNAL |
| big5_to_utf_8 | BIG5 | UNICODE |
| euc_cn_to_mic | EUC_CN | MULE_INTERNAL |
| euc_cn_to_utf_8 | EUC_CN | UNICODE |
| euc_jp_to_mic | EUC_JP | MULE_INTERNAL |
| euc_jp_to_sjis | EUC_JP | SJIS |
| euc_jp_to_utf_8 | EUC_JP | UNICODE |
| euc_kr_to_mic | EUC_KR | MULE_INTERNAL |
| euc_kr_to_utf_8 | EUC_KR | UNICODE |
| euc_tw_to_big5 | EUC_TW | BIG5 |
| euc_tw_to_mic | EUC_TW | MULE_INTERNAL |
| euc_tw_to_utf_8 | EUC_TW | UNICODE |
| gb18030_to_utf_8 | GB18030 | UNICODE |
| gbk_to_utf_8 | GBK | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_10_to_utf_8 | LATIN6 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_13_to_utf_8 | LATIN7 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_14_to_utf_8 | LATIN8 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_15_to_utf_8 | LATIN9 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_16_to_utf_8 | LATIN10 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_1_to_mic | LATIN1 | MULE_INTERNAL |
| iso_8859_1_to_utf_8 | LATIN1 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_2_to_mic | LATIN2 | MULE_INTERNAL |
| iso_8859_2_to_utf_8 | LATIN2 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_2_to_windows_1250 | LATIN2 | WIN1250 |
| iso_8859_3_to_mic | LATIN3 | MULE_INTERNAL |
| iso_8859_3_to_utf_8 | LATIN3 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_4_to_mic | LATIN4 | MULE_INTERNAL |
| iso_8859_4_to_utf_8 | LATIN4 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_5_to_koi8_r | ISO_8859_5 | KOI8 |
| iso_8859_5_to_mic | ISO_8859_5 | MULE_INTERNAL |
| iso_8859_5_to_utf_8 | ISO_8859_5 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_5_to_windows_1251 | ISO_8859_5 | WIN |
| iso_8859_5_to_windows_866 | ISO_8859_5 | ALT |
| iso_8859_6_to_utf_8 | ISO_8859_6 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_7_to_utf_8 | ISO_8859_7 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_8_to_utf_8 | ISO_8859_8 | UNICODE |
| iso_8859_9_to_utf_8 | LATIN5 | UNICODE |
| johab_to_utf_8 | JOHAB | UNICODE |
| koi8_r_to_iso_8859_5 | KOI8 | ISO_8859_5 |
| koi8_r_to_mic | KOI8 | MULE_INTERNAL |
| koi8_r_to_utf_8 | KOI8 | UNICODE |
| koi8_r_to_windows_1251 | KOI8 | WIN |
| koi8_r_to_windows_866 | KOI8 | ALT |
| mic_to_ascii | MULE_INTERNAL | SQL_ASCII |
| mic_to_big5 | MULE_INTERNAL | BIG5 |
| mic_to_euc_cn | MULE_INTERNAL | EUC_CN |
| mic_to_euc_jp | MULE_INTERNAL | EUC_JP |
| mic_to_euc_kr | MULE_INTERNAL | EUC_KR |
| mic_to_euc_tw | MULE_INTERNAL | EUC_TW |
| mic_to_iso_8859_1 | MULE_INTERNAL | LATIN1 |
| mic_to_iso_8859_2 | MULE_INTERNAL | LATIN2 |
| mic_to_iso_8859_3 | MULE_INTERNAL | LATIN3 |
| mic_to_iso_8859_4 | MULE_INTERNAL | LATIN4 |
| mic_to_iso_8859_5 | MULE_INTERNAL | ISO_8859_5 |
| mic_to_koi8_r | MULE_INTERNAL | KOI8 |
| mic_to_sjis | MULE_INTERNAL | SJIS |
| mic_to_windows_1250 | MULE_INTERNAL | WIN1250 |
| mic_to_windows_1251 | MULE_INTERNAL | WIN |
| mic_to_windows_866 | MULE_INTERNAL | ALT |
| sjis_to_euc_jp | SJIS | EUC_JP |
| sjis_to_mic | SJIS | MULE_INTERNAL |
| sjis_to_utf_8 | SJIS | UNICODE |
| tcvn_to_utf_8 | TCVN | UNICODE |
| uhc_to_utf_8 | UHC | UNICODE |
| utf_8_to_ascii | UNICODE | SQL_ASCII |
| utf_8_to_big5 | UNICODE | BIG5 |
| utf_8_to_euc_cn | UNICODE | EUC_CN |
| utf_8_to_euc_jp | UNICODE | EUC_JP |
| utf_8_to_euc_kr | UNICODE | EUC_KR |
| utf_8_to_euc_tw | UNICODE | EUC_TW |
| utf_8_to_gb18030 | UNICODE | GB18030 |
| utf_8_to_gbk | UNICODE | GBK |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_1 | UNICODE | LATIN1 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_10 | UNICODE | LATIN6 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_13 | UNICODE | LATIN7 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_14 | UNICODE | LATIN8 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_15 | UNICODE | LATIN9 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_16 | UNICODE | LATIN10 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_2 | UNICODE | LATIN2 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_3 | UNICODE | LATIN3 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_4 | UNICODE | LATIN4 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_5 | UNICODE | ISO_8859_5 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_6 | UNICODE | ISO_8859_6 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_7 | UNICODE | ISO_8859_7 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_8 | UNICODE | ISO_8859_8 |
| utf_8_to_iso_8859_9 | UNICODE | LATIN5 |
| utf_8_to_johab | UNICODE | JOHAB |
| utf_8_to_koi8_r | UNICODE | KOI8 |
| utf_8_to_sjis | UNICODE | SJIS |
| utf_8_to_tcvn | UNICODE | TCVN |
| utf_8_to_uhc | UNICODE | UHC |
| utf_8_to_windows_1250 | UNICODE | WIN1250 |
| utf_8_to_windows_1251 | UNICODE | WIN |
| utf_8_to_windows_1256 | UNICODE | WIN1256 |
| utf_8_to_windows_866 | UNICODE | ALT |
| utf_8_to_windows_874 | UNICODE | WIN874 |
| windows_1250_to_iso_8859_2 | WIN1250 | LATIN2 |
| windows_1250_to_mic | WIN1250 | MULE_INTERNAL |
| windows_1250_to_utf_8 | WIN1250 | UNICODE |
| windows_1251_to_iso_8859_5 | WIN | ISO_8859_5 |
| windows_1251_to_koi8_r | WIN | KOI8 |
| windows_1251_to_mic | WIN | MULE_INTERNAL |
| windows_1251_to_utf_8 | WIN | UNICODE |
| windows_1251_to_windows_866 | WIN | ALT |
| windows_1256_to_utf_8 | WIN1256 | UNICODE |
| windows_866_to_iso_8859_5 | ALT | ISO_8859_5 |
| windows_866_to_koi8_r | ALT | KOI8 |
| windows_866_to_mic | ALT | MULE_INTERNAL |
| windows_866_to_utf_8 | ALT | UNICODE |
| windows_866_to_windows_1251 | ALT | WIN |
| windows_874_to_utf_8 | WIN874 | UNICODE |
| Notes: a. The conversion names follow a standard naming scheme: The official name of the source encoding with all non-alphanumeric characters replaced by underscores followed by _to_ followed by the equally processed destination encoding name. Therefore the names might deviate from the customary encoding names. | ||