LEFT

left(str, len)

Function

Returns the leftmost len characters of the string str.

Parameters

• str: string type
• len: int type, the number of characters to return

Returns

• string type, returns the leftmost len characters of the string.
• If len is less than or equal to 0, returns an empty string.
• If len is greater than the string length, returns the full string.

Examples

SELECT left('hello-world', 7); -- Result: hello-w

SELECT left('hello-world', 0);

SELECT left('hello-world', 99); -- Result: hello-world

SELECT left('hellocaféworld', 7); -- Result: helloca

Notes

• Supports Unicode characters, counting by character (not by byte).
• Returns an empty string when the len parameter is negative.