Table of contents

Introduction

SQL Server String Functions

SQL Server String Functions Example

Frequently Asked Questions

4.1.

What are the SQL Server's scheduled tasks?

4.2.

What does SQL Server's COALESCE mean?

4.3.

What do SQL Server hotfixes do?

4.4.

What are Entities?

Conclusion

Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

Easy

MS SQL Server String Functions

Author Upendra Prasad Mahto

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Introduction

Hello, Ninja! Some essential SQL Server String functions will be covered in this article.

Microsoft created and maintained the relational database management system known as SQL Server. Its primary responsibilities include data retrieval, storage, and modification in response to requests from other software applications. SQL Server is one of the major Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) with a wide range of applications. Because SQL Server is such a crucial topic, technical interviews usually contain inquiries about it. Therefore in this article, we will discuss some SQL server string functions.

Do not worry if you are not familiar with SQL. You can check out our SQL articles, which will help you learn and comprehend SQL at all levels.

So without further ado, let's get to the SQL Server String functions.

SQL Server String Functions

An input string value is passed to a string function, which outputs an input string value regardless of the data type. SQL Server has several built-in string methods that programmers can use to effectively work with character data. SQL Server's string functions are quite helpful for processing the string data type. Various data types, including varchar, nvarchar, and char, are used by SQL Server to store string and character data. Therefore, it is possible to acquire the needed and precise results using the string functions.

There are several SQL string functions available in SQL Server, however, the following are the most used ones:

1. ASCII: This function shows a character's ASCII value.

2. CHAR: With the help of this function, a single-byte character is created from the provided ASCII integer code.

3. CHARINDEX: If a character expression is discovered inside a second character expression, this method returns the first expression's starting point.

4. CONCAT: This function produces a single string by merging two or more strings.

5. CONCAT_WS: With a separator supplied in the first position, this method combines many texts into one.

6. DIFFERENCE: By comparing the two strings returned by SOUNDEX(), this function returns an integer value.

7. FORMAT: The text format of the string can be changed into any other format using this function.

8. LEFT: This function returns the substring that extends to the provided number of characters from the left of the string.

9. LEN: This function calculates a string's total character count, including trailing spaces.

10. LOWER: This function changes the higher case character to lower case.

11. LTRIM: After deleting all leading spaces from a string input, this function outputs a string.

12. NCHAR: This function retrieves the appropriate Unicode character using the specified integer code and the UNICODE standard.

13. UPPER: This function changes t

he lower case character to the upper case.

14. UNICODE: The Unicode standard-compliant integer value of a character is returned by this function.

15. TRIM: After eliminating all leading and trailing blanks from a supplied text, this function returns a new string.

16. TRANSLATE: This function combines several one-to-one translations into one operation.

17. SUBSTRING: With the help of this function, a substring that starts at a specified location and finishes at a specific length can be extracted from a string.

18. STUFF: With this function's help, a string section can be removed and replaced with a different substring that starts at a particular location.

19. STRING_SPLIT: This table-valued function divides a string into rows of substrings using a separator of your choice.

20. STRING_ESCAPE: This function removes special characters from a string and creates a new string that contains the drawn characters.

21. STRING_AGG: With the addition of separator values, this function concatenates the values of string expressions. The string's last separator is not included.

22. STR: This function converts numeric data to character data and returns the translated character data.

23. SPACE: This method identifies repeating spaces in a string.

24. SOUNDEX: It uses a four-character (SOUNDEX) code to determine how similar two strings are.

25. RTRIM: After deleting all trailing spaces, this function creates a string from the supplied string.

26. RIGHT: This function returns the substring that extends to the provided number of characters from the right of the string.

27. REVERSE: The character string is shown using this function in the opposite order.

28. REPLICATE: The string is repeated using this function several times.

29. REPLACE: With the help of this function, you can replace every instance of a given substring in a string with a different string value.

30. QUOTENAME: This function transforms the input string into a legitimate delimited identifier, which returns a Unicode string that includes the delimiters.

31. PATINDEX: The first instance of a pattern at the beginning of a string is what this method returns. It returns 0 in the absence of the string.

We have seen the various SQL server string functions. Now let's see some examples of SQL server string functions.

Also check out - Substr C++

SQL Server String Functions Example

Example 1: This example will look for the word "codingninjas" in the phrase "Hello codingninjas," and if it does, it will return the index of a particular string expression contained within the given string.

SELECT CHARINDEX('codingninjas', 'Hello codingninjas'), CHARINDEX('codingninjas', 'Hello codingninjas', 8);

Example 2: This example uses the CONCAT () function. This function accepts three or more input strings and returns them to one output after concatenation.

SELECT CONCAT('Coding', 'Ninjas');

Output

CodingNinjas

Example 3:The DIFFERENCE() function, which calculates how similar two strings are to one another, is used in this example.

SELECT DIFFERENCE('Hello', 'Bicycle'), DIFFERENCE('Hello', 'Hello World');

Example 4: The character case of an input string is changed in this example using the LOWER() and UPPER() functions. The letter case can be adjusted to lower case or upper case using the methods LOWER() and UPPER().

SELECT LOWER('Coding Ninjas'), UPPER('Coding Ninjas');

Example 5: The LTRIM() and RTRIM() functions will be used in this example to trim the left and right sides, respectively, of an input string.

SELECT RTRIM('CodingNinjas  '), LTRIM('   CodingNinjas');

We have seen the various SQL server string functions with examples. Now it's time to see some FAQs related to SQL server string functions.

Check out this article - C++ String Concatenation

Must Read SQL Clauses

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the SQL Server's scheduled tasks?

SQL Server has predefined stages or tasks called scheduled tasks. SQL Server Agent automates these tasks. They are carried out in order and at the appointed time.

What does SQL Server's COALESCE mean?

The COALESCE function in SQL Server returns the list's first non-null value. It will also return null if all of the values evaluate to null.

What do SQL Server hotfixes do?

In SQL Server, hotfixes are updates to resolve problems not made available to the general public.

What are Entities?

An easily recognizable real-world thing, tangible or intangible, can be an entity. Students, professors, employees, departments, and projects, for instance, can all be referred to as entities in a database for college. Each entity has a few related characteristics that give it a name.

Conclusion

Finally, you have reached the article's conclusion. Congratulations!! You gained knowledge of SQL Server String Functions in this blog. This article explains numerous string functions that are included in SQL Server, along with several illustrations and examples.

Do you desire additional information about SQL Server? Coding Ninjas have you covered, so don't worry. View the SQL to view more information.

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