String Canonical Functions
Entity SQL includes string canonical functions.
Remarks
The following table shows the string Entity SQL canonical functions.
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
Concat(string1, string2) |
Returns a string that contains string2 appended to string1.Arguments string1: The string to which string2 is appended.string2: The string that is appended to string1.Return Value A String. An error will occur if the length of the return value string is greater than the maximum length allowed.Example -- The following example returns abcxyz.Concat('abc', 'xyz') |
Contains(string, target) |
Returns true if target is contained in string.Arguments string: The string that is searched.target: The target string that is searched for.Return Value true if target is contained in string; otherwise false.Example -- The following example returns true.Contains('abc', 'bc') |
EndsWith(string, target) |
Returns true if target ends with string.Arguments string: The string that is searched.target: The target string searched for at the end of string.Return Value True if string ends with target; otherwise false.Example -- The following example returns true.EndsWith('abc', 'bc') Note: If you are using the SQL Server data provider, this function returns false if the string is stored in a fixed length string column and target is a constant. In this case, the entire string is searched, including any padding trailing spaces. A possible workaround is to trim the data in the fixed length string, as in the following example: EndsWith(TRIM(string), target) |
IndexOf(target, string) |
Returns the position of target inside string, or 0 if not found. Returns 1 to indicate the beginning of string. Index numbering starts from 1.Arguments target: The string that is searched for.string: The string that is searched.Return Value An Int32.Example -- The following example returns 4.IndexOf('xyz', 'abcxyz') |
Left(string, length) |
Returns the first length characters from the left side of string. If the length of string is less than length, the entire string is returned.Arguments string: A String.length: An Int16, Int32, Int64, or Byte. length cannot be less than zero.Return Value A String.Example -- The following example returns abc.Left('abcxyz', 3) |
Length(string) |
Returns the (Int32) length, in characters, of the string.Arguments string: A String.Return Value An Int32.Example -- The following example returns 6.Length('abcxyz') |
LTrim(string) |
Returns string without leading white space.Arguments A String.Return Value A String.Example -- The following example returns abc.LTrim(' abc') |
Replace(string1, string2, string3) |
Returns string1, with all occurrences of string2 replaced by string3.Arguments A String.Return Value A String.Example -- The following example returns abcxyz.Concat('abc', 'xyz') |
Reverse(string) |
Returns string with the order of the characters reversed.Arguments A String.Return Value A String.Example -- The following example returns dcba.Reverse('abcd') |
Right(string, length) |
Returns the last length characters from the string. If the length of string is less than length, the entire string is returned.Arguments string: A String.length: An Int16, Int32, Int64, or Byte. length cannot be less than zero.Return Value A String.Example -- The following example returns xyz.Right('abcxyz', 3) |
RTrim(string) |
Returns string without trailing white space.Arguments A String.Return Value A String. |
Substring(string, start, length) |
Returns the substring of the string starting at position start, with a length of length characters. A start of 1 indicates the first character of the string. Index numbering starts from 1.Arguments string: A String.start: An Int16, Int32, Int64 and Byte. start cannot be less than one.length: An Int16, Int32, Int64 and Byte. length cannot be less than zero.Return Value A String.Example -- The following example returns xyz.Substring('abcxyz', 4, 3) |
StartsWith(string, target) |
Returns true if string starts with target.Arguments string: The string that is searched.target: The target string searched for at the start of string.Return Value True if string starts with target; otherwise false.Example -- The following example returns true.StartsWith('abc', 'ab') |
ToLower(string) |
Returns string with uppercase characters converted to lowercase.Arguments A String.Return Value A String.Example -- The following example returns abc.ToLower('ABC') |
ToUpper(string) |
Returns string with lowercase characters converted to uppercase.Arguments A String.Return Value A String.Example -- The following example returns ABC.ToUpper('abc') |
Trim(string) |
Returns string without leading and trailing white space.Arguments A String.Return Value A String.Example -- The following example returns abc.Trim(' abc ') |
These functions will return null if given null input.
Equivalent functionality is available in the Microsoft SQL Client Managed Provider. For more information, see SqlClient for Entity Framework Functions.