LENGTH

Syntax

LENGTH(str)

Description

Returns the length of the string str.

In the default mode, when Oracle mode is not set, the length is measured in bytes. In this case, a multi-byte character counts as multiple bytes. This means that for a string containing five two-byte characters, LENGTH() returns 10, whereas CHAR_LENGTH() returns 5.

When running Oracle mode, the length is measured in characters, and LENGTH is a synonym for CHAR_LENGTH().

If str is not a string value, it is converted into a string. If str is NULL, the function returns NULL.

Examples

SELECT LENGTH('MariaDB'); +-------------------+ | LENGTH('MariaDB') | +-------------------+ | 7 | +-------------------+

When Oracle mode is not set:

SELECT CHAR_LENGTH('π'), LENGTH('π'), LENGTHB('π'), OCTET_LENGTH('π'); +-------------------+--------------+---------------+--------------------+ | CHAR_LENGTH('π') | LENGTH('π') | LENGTHB('π') | OCTET_LENGTH('π') | +-------------------+--------------+---------------+--------------------+ | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | +-------------------+--------------+---------------+--------------------+

In Oracle mode:

SELECT CHAR_LENGTH('π'), LENGTH('π'), LENGTHB('π'), OCTET_LENGTH('π'); +-------------------+--------------+---------------+--------------------+ | CHAR_LENGTH('π') | LENGTH('π') | LENGTHB('π') | OCTET_LENGTH('π') | +-------------------+--------------+---------------+--------------------+ | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | +-------------------+--------------+---------------+--------------------+

See Also

• CHAR_LENGTH()

• LENGTHB()

• OCTET_LENGTH()

• Oracle mode

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