char_length query to get the number of characters present inside a string.

CHAR_LENGTH() counts characters. Compare it with LENGTH(), which counts bytes.

Use CHAR_LENGTH() to count the characters in a string. Syntax

CHAR_LENGTH('string');

Example

SELECT CHAR_LENGTH('plus2net.com');

The output is 12
We will apply this to our student table
Let us find out the length of name present in our student table.

SELECT id, name, CHAR_LENGTH(name) AS LN FROM `student`

We will get a list of id , name and length like this

id	name	LN
1	John Deo	8
2	Max Ruin	8
3	Arnold	6

We have seen how to use char_length in SELECT queries. Now let us use them inside WHERE Query

Using char_length with WHERE

The following example finds rows where the value becomes at most one character after conversion to text.

SELECT id, name FROM `student` WHERE CHAR_LENGTH(mark) <=1

We can combine two columns by using CONCAT() function and then find out the length of the total string.

SELECT id,CONCAT(name,'-',class) AS Name , 
 CHAR_LENGTH(CONCAT(name,'-',class) ) AS LN FROM `student`

Few rows are shown here.

id	Name	LN
1	John Deo-Four	13
2	Max Ruin-Three	14
-	--	--
34	Gain Toe-Seven	14
35	Rows Noump-Six	14
39	-	1

All String Functions LENGTH()

Subhendu Mohapatra

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I write and maintain practical tutorials on Python, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, and web development at plus2net. The tutorials focus on clear explanations, working examples, and code that readers can test and adapt while learning.

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char_length function in MySQL query

Using char_length with WHERE

Subhendu Mohapatra