Name

SUBSTRING( )

Synopsis

SUBSTRING(string, position[, length])
SUBSTRING(string FROM position FOR length)

This function returns the characters of a given string, starting from the left position given. The first character is numbered 1. You can restrict the length of the string retrieved by specifying a limit. This function is similar to MID( ).

SELECT CONCAT(SUBSTRING(soc_sec, 1, 3), '-',
       SUBSTRING(soc_sec FROM 4 FOR 2), '-',
       SUBSTRING(soc_sec FROM 6))
          AS 'Social Security Nbr.'
FROM students LIMIT 1;
+----------------------+
| Social Security Nbr. |
+----------------------+
| 433-12-3456          |
+----------------------+

This example shows the three types of syntax of SUBSTRING() for reformatting a Social Security number stored without dashes.

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