LEFT

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Syntax

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Scalar

left(value, count)

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Arguments

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Returns

• Type: STRING
• Possible values: A string slice; zero count returns an empty string.
• NULL behavior: Returns NULL if either argument is NULL.

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Properties

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Usage notes

• For a negative count, LEFT removes that many characters from the end; RIGHT removes that many characters from the start.
• Counts use Unicode code points. A count larger than the string length returns the whole string.

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Examples

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Typical behavior

SELECT left('abcde', 2) AS positive, left('abcde', -2) AS negative;

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Count Unicode characters

SELECT left('é猫abc', 2) AS first_two;