How to Use the RPAD() Function in MySQL

08/06/2021

Contents

In this article, you will learn how to use the RPAD() function in MySQL.

Using the RPAD() function in MySQL

The RPAD() function in MySQL is used to pad a string with a specific set of characters until it reaches a certain length. It takes three arguments: the string to pad, the length to pad the string to, and the set of characters to use for padding.

Syntax

Here’s the syntax for the RPAD() function:

RPAD(string, length, pad_string)
  • string: The string to pad
  • length: The length to pad the string to
  • pad_string: The set of characters to use for padding

Examples

Basic usage

SELECT RPAD('hello', 10, '.');

This query will return the string “hello….” since the length of the string “hello” is less than 10 characters, and we’re padding it with “.” until it reaches a length of 10.

Using with a column

SELECT RPAD(name, 20, ' ') FROM users;

This query will return the names of all the users in the users table, padded with spaces until they reach a length of 20 characters.

Using with a Unicode character

SELECT RPAD('こんにちは', 10, 'あ');

This query will return the string “こんにちはああ” since we’re padding the Japanese greeting with the Unicode character “あ” until it reaches a length of 10.

#MySQL