CHAR_LENGTH() Function in SQL

The CHAR_LENGTH() function in SQL is an inbuilt string function used to return the number of characters in a string. It counts each character in the given string, including spaces.

• Used to find the length of a string.
• Useful for validating and analyzing text data in databases.
• Data analysts and administrators can use it to check the number of characters stored in text values.

Syntax

CHAR_LENGTH(Input_String)

• Input_String: The string or column for which you want to find the number of characters.

Note: The CHAR_LENGTH() function counts the number of characters in a string, including spaces.

Working

Now let us see some examples of the CHAR_LENGTH() function in different use cases to understand its working better:

Example 1: Find the Length of a String Using CHAR_LENGTH()

In this example, we will find the number of characters in a string using the CHAR_LENGTH() function.

Query:

SELECT CHAR_LENGTH('GeeksforGeeks') AS string_length;

Output:

• Counts the number of characters in the string.
• Returns the result as string_length.

Example 2: CHAR_LENGTH() with Spaces

In this example, we will see how CHAR_LENGTH() counts spaces in a string.

Query:

SELECT CHAR_LENGTH('Hello World') AS string_length;

Output:

• Counts all characters in the string.
• The space between Hello and World is also counted.

Example 3: Use CHAR_LENGTH() on a Table Column

Let us create a table where the names of users are stored.

Now, to find the number of characters in each name, we can use the following SQL query:

Query:

SELECT name,
       CHAR_LENGTH(name) AS name_length
FROM users;

Output:

Note: MySQL, SQL Server and PL/SQL support character-length functions, but the function name differs. MySQL uses CHAR_LENGTH(), SQL Server uses LEN() and Oracle PL/SQL uses LENGTH().