docs-v2/content/shared/sql-reference/functions/string.md

The {{< product-name >}} SQL implementation supports the following string functions for operating on string values:

• ascii
• bit_length
• btrim
• char_length
• character_length
• chr
• concat
• concat_ws
• contains
• ends_with
• find_in_set
• initcap
• instr
• left
• length
• levenshtein
• lower
• lpad
• ltrim
• octet_length
• overlay
• position
• repeat
• replace
• reverse
• right
• rpad
• rtrim
• split_part
• starts_with
• strpos
• substr
• substr_index
• substring
• substring_index
• to_hex
• translate
• trim
• upper
• uuid

ascii

Returns the ASCII value of the first character in a string.

[!Note] ascii returns a 32-bit integer. To use with InfluxDB, cast the return value to 64-bit integer.

ascii(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

chr

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View ascii query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  ascii(room)::BIGINT AS ascii
FROM home

room	ascii
Kitchen	75
Living Room	76

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

bit_length

Returns the bit length of a string.

[!Note] bit_length returns a 32-bit integer. To use with InfluxDB, cast the return value to 64-bit integer.

bit_length(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

length, octet_length

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View bit_length query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  bit_length(room)::BIGINT AS bit_length
FROM home

room	bit_length
Living Room	88
Kitchen	56

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

btrim

Trims the specified trim string from the start and end of a string. If no trim string is provided, all whitespace is removed from the start and end of the input string.

btrim(str[, trim_str])

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• trim_str: String expression to trim from the beginning and end of the input string. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of arithmetic operators. Default is whitespace characters.

Related functions

ltrim, rtrim, trim

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View btrim query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  btrim(room::STRING, ' Room') AS btrim
FROM home

room	btrim
Living Room	Living
Kitchen	Kitchen

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

char_length

Alias of length.

character_length

Alias of length.

chr

Returns the character with the specified ASCII or Unicode code value.

chr(expression)

Arguments

• expression: Expression containing the ASCII or Unicode code value to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of arithmetic or string operators.

Related functions

ascii

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View chr query example" %}}

SELECT
  ascii,
  chr(ascii) AS chr
FROM
  (values (112),
          (75),
          (214)
  ) data(ascii)

ascii	chr
112	p
75	K
214	Ö

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

concat

Concatenates multiple strings together.

concat(str[, ..., str_n])

Arguments

• str: String expression to concatenate. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• str_n: Subsequent string expression to concatenate.

Related functions

contcat_ws

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View concat query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT
  concat('At ', time::STRING, ', the ', room, ' was ', temp::STRING, '°C.') AS concat
FROM home
LIMIT 3

{{% influxdb/custom-timestamps %}}

concat
At 2022-01-01T08:00:00, the Kitchen was 21.0°C.
At 2022-01-01T09:00:00, the Kitchen was 23.0°C.
At 2022-01-01T10:00:00, the Kitchen was 22.7°C.

{{% /influxdb/custom-timestamps %}}

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

concat_ws

Concatenates multiple strings together with a specified separator.

concat_ws(separator, str[, ..., str_n])

Arguments

• separator: Separator to insert between concatenated strings.
• str: String expression to concatenate. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• str_n: Subsequent string expression to concatenate. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

concat

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View concat_ws query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT
  concat_ws(' -- ', time::STRING, room, temp::STRING) AS concat_ws
FROM home
LIMIT 3

{{% influxdb/custom-timestamps %}}

concat_ws
2022-01-01T08:00:00 -- Kitchen -- 21.0
2022-01-01T09:00:00 -- Kitchen -- 23.0
2022-01-01T10:00:00 -- Kitchen -- 22.7

{{% /influxdb/custom-timestamps %}}

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

contains

Returns true if a string contains a search string (case-sensitive).

contains(str, search_str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of operators.
• search_str: The string to search for in str.

ends_with

Tests if a string ends with a substring.

ends_with(str, substr)

Arguments

• str: String expression to test. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• substr: Substring to test for.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View ends_with query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  ends_with(string, 'USA') AS ends_with
FROM
  (values ('New York, USA'),
          ('London, UK'),
          ('San Francisco, USA')
  ) data(string)

string	ends_with
New York, USA	true
London, UK	false
San Francisco, USA	true

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

find_in_set

Returns the position of a string in a comma-delimited list of substrings. Returns 0 if the string is not in the list of substrings.

find_in_set(str, strlist)

Arguments

• str: String expression to find in strlist.
• strlist: A string containing a comma-delimited list of substrings.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View find_in_set query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  find_in_set(string, 'Isaac,John,Sara') AS find_in_set
FROM
  (values ('John'),
          ('Sarah'),
          ('Isaac')
  ) data(string)

string	find_in_set
John	2
Sarah	0
Isaac	1

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

initcap

Capitalizes the first character in each word in the input string. Words are delimited by non-alphanumeric characters.

initcap(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

lower, upper

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View initcap query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  initcap(string) AS initcap
FROM
  (values ('hello world'),
          ('hello-world'),
          ('hello_world')
  ) data(string)

string	initcap
hello world	Hello World
hello-world	Hello-World
hello_world	Hello_World

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

instr

Returns the location where a substring first appears in a string (starting at 1). If the substring is not in the string, the function returns 0.

instr(str, substr)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• substr: Substring expression to search for. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View instr query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  instr(string, 'neighbor') AS instr
FROM
  (values ('good neighbor'),
          ('bad neighbor'),
          ('next-door neighbor'),
          ('friend')
  ) data(string)

string	instr
good neighbor	6
bad neighbor	5
next-door neighbor	11
friend	0

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

left

Returns a specified number of characters from the left side of a string.

left(str, n)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• n: Number of characters to return.

Related functions

right

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View left query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  left(room::STRING, 3) AS left
FROM home

room	left
Kitchen	Kit
Living Room	Liv

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

length

Returns the number of characters in a string.

[!Note] char_length returns a 32-bit integer. To use with InfluxDB, cast the return value to 64-bit integer.

length(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Aliases

• char_length
• character_length

Related functions

bit_length, octet_length

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View length query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  length(room)::BIGINT AS length
FROM home

room	length
Kitchen	7
Living Room	11

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

levenshtein

Returns the Levenshtein distance between two strings.

levenshtein(str1, str2)

Arguments

• str1: First string expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• str2: Second string expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View levenshtein query example" %}}

SELECT
  string1,
  string2,
  levenshtein(string1, string2) AS levenshtein
FROM
  (values ('kitten', 'sitting'),
          ('puppy', 'jumping'),
          ('cow', 'lowing')
  ) data(string1, string2)

string1	string2	levenshtein
kitten	sitting	3
puppy	jumping	5
cow	lowing	4

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

lower

Converts a string to lower-case.

lower(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

initcap, upper

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View lower query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  lower(room::STRING) AS lower
FROM home

room	lower
Kitchen	kitchen
Living Room	living room

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

lpad

Pads the left side of a string with another string to a specified string length.

lpad(str, n[, padding_str])

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• n: String length to pad to.
• padding_str: String expression to pad with. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators. Default is a space.

Related functions

rpad

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View lpad query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  lpad(room::STRING, 14, '-') AS lpad
FROM home

room	lpad
Kitchen	-------Kitchen
Living Room	---Living Room

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

ltrim

Removes leading spaces from a string.

ltrim(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

btrim, rtrim, trim

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View ltrim query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  ltrim(string) AS ltrim
FROM
  (values ('  Leading spaces'),
          ('Trailing spaces  '),
          ('  Leading and trailing spaces  ')
  ) data(string)

string	ltrim
Leading spaces	Leading spaces
Trailing spaces	Trailing spaces
Leading and trailing spaces	Leading and trailing spaces

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

octet_length

Returns the length of a string in bytes.

[!Note] length returns a 32-bit integer. To use with InfluxDB, cast the return value to 64-bit integer.

octet_length(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

bit_length, length

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View octet_length query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  octet_length(room)::BIGINT AS octet_length
FROM home

room	octet_length
Living Room	11
Kitchen	7

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

overlay

Replaces part of a string with another substring using a specified starting position and number of characters to replace.

overlay(str PLACING substr FROM pos [FOR count])

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• substr: Substring to use to replace part of the specified string (str). Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• pos: Start position of the substring replacement (substr).
• count: Number of characters in the string (str) to replace with the substring (substr) beginning from the start position (pos). If not specified, the function uses the length of the substring.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View overlay query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  overlay(string PLACING '****' FROM 1 FOR 12) AS overlay
FROM
  (values ('2223000048410010'),
          ('2222420000001113'),
          ('4917484589897107')
  ) data(string)

string	overlay
2223000048410010	****0010
2222420000001113	****1113
4917484589897107	****7107

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

position

Returns the position of a substring in a string.

position(substr IN str)

Arguments

• substr: Substring expression to search for. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• str: String expression to search. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View position query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  position('oo' IN string) AS position
FROM
  (values ('cool'),
          ('scoop'),
          ('ice cream')
  ) data(string)

string	position
cool	2
scoop	3
ice cream	0

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

repeat

Returns a string with an input string repeated a specified number of times.

repeat(str, n)

Arguments

• str: String expression to repeat. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• n: Number of times to repeat the input string.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View repeat query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  repeat(string, 3) AS repeat
FROM
  (values ('foo '),
          ('bar '),
          ('baz ')
  ) data(string)

string	repeat
foo	foo foo foo
bar	bar bar bar
baz	baz baz baz

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

replace

Replaces all occurrences of a specified substring in a string with a new substring.

replace(str, substr, replacement)

Arguments

• str: String expression to repeat. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• substr: Substring expression to replace in the input string. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• replacement: Replacement substring expression. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View replace query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  replace(room::STRING, ' ', '_') AS replace
FROM home

room	replace
Kitchen	Kitchen
Living Room	Living_Room

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

reverse

Reverses the character order of a string.

reverse(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to repeat. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View reverse query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  reverse(room::STRING) AS reverse
FROM home

room	reverse
Kitchen	nehctiK
Living Room	mooR gniviL

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

right

Returns a specified number of characters from the right side of a string.

right(str, n)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• n: Number of characters to return.

Related functions

left

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View right query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  right(room::STRING, 3) AS right
FROM home

room	right
Living Room	oom
Kitchen	hen

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

rpad

Pads the right side of a string with another string to a specified string length.

rpad(str, n[, padding_str])

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• n: String length to pad to.
• padding_str: String expression to pad with. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators. Default is a space.

Related functions

lpad

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View rpad query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  rpad(room::STRING, 14, '-') AS rpad
FROM home

room	rpad
Kitchen	Kitchen-------
Living Room	Living Room---

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

rtrim

Removes trailing spaces from a string.

rtrim(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

btrim, ltrim, trim

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View rtrim query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  rtrim(string) AS rtrim
FROM
  (values ('  Leading spaces'),
          ('Trailing spaces  '),
          ('  Leading and trailing spaces  ')
  ) data(string)

string	rtrim
Leading spaces	Leading spaces
Trailing spaces	Trailing spaces
Leading and trailing spaces	Leading and trailing spaces

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

split_part

Splits a string based on a specified delimiter and returns the substring in the specified position.

split_part(str, delimiter, pos)

Arguments

• str: String expression to spit. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• delimiter: String or character to split on.
• pos: Position of the part to return.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View split_part query example" %}}

SELECT
  url,
  split_part(url, '.', 1) AS split_part
FROM
  (values ('www.influxdata.com'),
          ('docs.influxdata.com'),
          ('community.influxdata.com')
  ) data(url)

url	split_part
www.influxdata.com	www
docs.influxdata.com	docs
community.influxdata.com	community

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

starts_with

Tests if a string starts with a substring.

starts_with(str, substr)

Arguments

• str: String expression to test. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• substr: Substring to test for.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View starts_with query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  starts_with(room::STRING, 'Kit') AS starts_with
FROM home

room	starts_with
Kitchen	true
Living Room	false

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

strpos

Returns the starting position of a specified substring in a string. Positions begin at 1. If the substring does not exist in the string, the function returns 0.

[!Note] strpos returns a 32-bit integer. To use with InfluxDB, cast the return value to 64-bit integer.

strpos(str, substr)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• substr: Substring expression to search for. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View strpos query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  strpos(room::STRING, 'Room')::BIGINT AS strpos
FROM home

room	strpos
Kitchen	0
Living Room	8

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

substr

Extracts a substring of a specified number of characters from a specific starting position in a string.

substr(str, start_pos[, length])

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• start_pos: Character position to start the substring at. The first character in the string has a position of 1.
• length: Number of characters to extract. If not specified, returns the rest of the string after the start position.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View substr query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  substr(room::STRING, 3, 5) AS substr
FROM home

room	substr
Living Room	ving
Kitchen	tchen

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

substr_index

Returns the substring that occurs before or after the specified number (count) of delimiter (delimiter) occurrences in a string (str). If the count is positive, the function returns everything to the left of the final delimiter (counting from the left). If the count is negative, the function returns everything to the right of the final delimiter (counting from the right).

substr_index(str, delimiter, count)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• delimiter: String expression to use to delimit substrings in the string (str). Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• count: The Nth occurrence of the delimiter (delimiter) to split on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of arithmetic operators. Supports positive and negative numbers.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View substr_index query example" %}}

SELECT
  url,
  substr_index(url, '.', 1) AS subdomain,
  substr_index(url, '.', -1) AS tld
FROM
  (values ('docs.influxdata.com'),
          ('community.influxdata.com'),
          ('cloud2.influxdata.com')
  ) data(url)

url	subdomain	tld
docs.influxdata.com	docs	com
community.influxdata.com	community	com
arrow.apache.org	arrow	org

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

substring

Alias of substr.

substring_index

Alias of substr_index.

translate

Translates characters in a string to specified translation characters.

translate(str, chars, translation)

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.
• chars: Characters to translate.
• translation: Translation characters. Translation characters replace only characters at the same position in the chars string.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View translate query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  translate(room::STRING, 'Rom', 'sOn') AS translate
FROM home

room	translate
Living Room	Living sOOn
Kitchen	Kitchen

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

to_hex

Converts an integer to a hexadecimal string.

to_hex(int)

Arguments

• int: Integer expression to convert. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of arithmetic operators.

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View to_hex query example" %}}

SELECT
  int,
  to_hex(int) AS to_hex
FROM
  (values (123),
          (345),
          (678)
  ) data(int)

int	to_hex
123	7b
345	159
678	2a6

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

trim

Removes leading and trailing spaces from a string.

trim(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

btrim, ltrim, rtrim

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View trim query example" %}}

SELECT
  string,
  trim(string) AS trim
FROM
  (values ('  Leading spaces'),
          ('Trailing spaces  '),
          ('  Leading and trailing spaces  ')
  ) data(string)

string	trim
Leading spaces	Leading spaces
Trailing spaces	Trailing spaces
Leading and trailing spaces	Leading and trailing spaces

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

upper

Converts a string to upper-case.

upper(str)

Arguments

• str: String expression to operate on. Can be a constant, column, or function, and any combination of string operators.

Related functions

initcap, lower

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View upper query example" %}}

The following example uses the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT DISTINCT
  room,
  upper(room::STRING) AS upper
FROM home

room	upper
Living Room	LIVING ROOM
Kitchen	KITCHEN

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}

uuid

Returns a UUID v4 string value that is unique per row.

uuid()

{{< expand-wrapper >}} {{% expand "View uuid query example" %}}

The following example uses the sample data set provided in the {{< influxdb3/home-sample-link >}}.

SELECT
  room,
  uuid() AS uuid
FROM (SELECT DISTINCT room FROM home)

room	uuid
Kitchen	f0b41da9-e334-4b7d-b925-a54ca6b082f3
Living Room	c31be90e-c4ed-4304-b633-47b969ef3ab6

{{% /expand %}} {{< /expand-wrapper >}}