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lpad

1. LPAD Function​

The LPAD function in H2 database is used to left-pad a string with a specific character or set of characters to a specified length.

2. Syntax​

The syntax for the LPAD function in H2 database is as follows:

LPAD(str, len, padstr)

Arguments​

  • str: The input string that needs to be left-padded.
  • len: The desired length of the resulting string after left-padding.
  • padstr: The character or set of characters used for left-padding.

Return​

  • The LPAD function returns a new string after left-padding the input string.

3. Notes​

  • The length argument (len) must be a positive integer.
  • If the input string is already longer than the specified length, the LPAD function will truncate the string to the desired length.
  • If the padstr argument is not provided, the default padding character is a space (' ').
  • The LPAD function is case-sensitive, meaning that if you provide a padstr with multiple characters, the entire padstr will be used for padding, even if it exceeds the desired length.

4. Examples​

Here are a few examples demonstrating the usage of the LPAD function in H2 database:

Example 1 - Left-padding a string with spaces:​

SELECT LPAD('hello', 10) AS padded_string;

Output:

padded_string
-------------
     hello

Example 2 - Left-padding a string with a specific character:​

SELECT LPAD('world', 8, '*') AS padded_string;

Output:

padded_string
-------------
***world

Example 3 - Left-padding a string stored in a column:​

CREATE TABLE words (
  id INT PRIMARY KEY,
  word VARCHAR(10)
);

INSERT INTO words VALUES (1, 'cat'), (2, 'dog'), (3, 'bird');

SELECT id, LPAD(word, 6, '-') AS padded_word
FROM words;

Output:

id | padded_word
---+------------
1  | ---cat
2  | ---dog
3  | --bird
  • rpad - Right-pad a string with a specific character or set of characters.
  • substring - Extract a substring from a string.