LENGTH function in SQL

In SQL, the LENGTH function (or LEN in some databases like SQL Server) is used to return the length of a string. This length is typically measured in characters.

Syntax The syntax for the LENGTH function can vary slightly between different SQL databases:

MySQL and PostgreSQL

SELECT LENGTH(string_column) FROM table_name;

SQL Server

SELECT LEN(string_column) FROM table_name;

Example: Create the Employees table.

SQL

CREATE TABLE Employees (
   EmployeeID INT,
    Name VARCHAR(20),
    Age int,
    Salary VARCHAR(10),
    Department VARCHAR(25),
    Gender VARCHAR(1)
);

Insert the data in the Employees table.

SQL

INSERT INTO Employees VALUES
(1, 'Ashish', 24, '25000', 'Electrical', 'M'), 
(2, 'Kirshan', 32, '30000', 'Electrical', 'M'),
(3, 'Anjali', 20, '25000', 'Electronics', 'F'),
(4, 'Manjulika', 30, '15000', 'Electrical', 'F'),
(5, 'Katrina', 37, '18000', 'Computer', 'F'),
(6, 'Esha', 37, '20000', 'Computer', 'F'),
(7, 'Ankita', 20, '9000', 'Electronics', 'M'), 
(8, 'Meenakshi', 30, '15000', 'Computer', 'F'),
(10, 'Alia', 37, '16000', 'Electronics', 'F');

By using the Create table and insert statement we reach to the following table in our database:

SQL

Select * from Employees;

Table: Employees

EmployeeID	Name	Age	Salary	Department	Gender
1	Ashish	24	25000	Electrical	M
2	Kirshan	32	30000	Electrical	M
3	Anjali	20	25000	Electronics	F
4	Manjulika	30	15000	Electrical	F
5	Katrina	37	18000	Computer	F
6	Esha	37	20000	Computer	F
7	Ankita	20	9000	Electronics	M
8	Meenakshi	30	15000	Computer	F
10	Alia	37	16000	Electronics	F

Query to get the length of each Name

MySQL and PostgreSQL

SELECT EmployeeID, Name, LENGTH(Name) FROM employees;

SQL Server

SELECT EmployeeID, Name, LEN(Name) FROM employees;

The result of the above query is shown below:

EmployeeID	Name	LENGTH(Name)
1	Ashish	6
2	Kirshan	7
3	Anjali	6
4	Manjulika	9
5	Katrina	7
6	Esha	4
7	Ankita	6
8	Meenakshi	9
10	Alia	4

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