REPLICATE (Transact-SQL)

Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW) SQL analytics endpoint in Microsoft Fabric Warehouse in Microsoft Fabric SQL database in Microsoft Fabric

Repeats a string value a specified number of times.

Transact-SQL syntax conventions

Syntax

REPLICATE ( string_expression , integer_expression )   

Arguments

string_expression
Is an expression of a character string or binary data type.

Note

If string_expression is of type binary, REPLICATE will perform an implicit conversion to varchar, and therefore will not preserve the binary input.

Note

If string_expression input is not of type varchar(max) or nvarchar(max), REPLICATE truncates the return value at 8,000 bytes. To return values greater than 8,000 bytes, string_expression must be explicitly cast to the appropriate large-value data type.

integer_expression
Is an expression of any integer type, including bigint. If integer_expression is negative, NULL is returned.

Return Types

Returns the same type as string_expression.

Examples

A. Using REPLICATE

The following example replicates a 0 character four times in front of a production line code in the AdventureWorks2025 database.

SELECT [Name]  
, REPLICATE('0', 4) + [ProductLine] AS 'Line Code'  
FROM [Production].[Product]  
WHERE [ProductLine] = 'T'  
ORDER BY [Name];  
GO  

Here's the result set.

Name                                               Line Code  
-------------------------------------------------- ---------  
HL Touring Frame - Blue, 46                        0000T   
HL Touring Frame - Blue, 50                        0000T   
HL Touring Frame - Blue, 54                        0000T   
HL Touring Frame - Blue, 60                        0000T   
HL Touring Frame - Yellow, 46                      0000T   
HL Touring Frame - Yellow, 50                      0000T  
...  

B. Using REPLICATE and DATALENGTH

The following example left pads numbers to a specified length as they are converted from a numeric data type to character or Unicode.

IF EXISTS(SELECT name FROM sys.tables  
      WHERE name = 't1')  
   DROP TABLE t1;  
GO  
CREATE TABLE t1   
(  
 c1 varchar(3),  
 c2 char(3)  
);  
GO  
INSERT INTO t1 VALUES ('2', '2'), ('37', '37'),('597', '597');  
GO  
SELECT REPLICATE('0', 3 - DATALENGTH(c1)) + c1 AS 'Varchar Column',  
       REPLICATE('0', 3 - DATALENGTH(c2)) + c2 AS 'Char Column'  
FROM t1;  
GO  

Here's the result set.

  
Varchar Column        Char Column  
--------------------  ------------  
002                   2    
037                   37   
597                   597  
  
(3 row(s) affected)  
  

Examples: Azure Synapse Analytics and Analytics Platform System (PDW)

C: Using REPLICATE

The following example replicates a 0 character four times in front of an ItemCode value.

-- Uses AdventureWorks  
  
SELECT EnglishProductName AS Name,  
   ProductAlternateKey AS ItemCode,  
   REPLICATE('0', 4) + ProductAlternateKey AS FullItemCode  
FROM dbo.DimProduct  
ORDER BY Name;  

Here are the first rows in the result set.

Name                     ItemCode       FullItemCode
------------------------ -------------- ---------------
Adjustable Race          AR-5381        0000AR-5381
All-Purpose Bike Stand   ST-1401        0000ST-1401
AWC Logo Cap             CA-1098        0000CA-1098
AWC Logo Cap             CA-1098        0000CA-1098
AWC Logo Cap             CA-1098        0000CA-1098
BB Ball Bearing          BE-2349        0000BE-2349

See Also

SPACE (Transact-SQL)
Data Types (Transact-SQL)
String Functions (Transact-SQL)