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REPLICATE (Transact-SQL)
Applies to: 👁 Image
SQL Server 👁 Image
Azure SQL Database 👁 Image
Azure SQL Managed Instance 👁 Image
Azure Synapse Analytics 👁 Image
Analytics Platform System (PDW) 👁 Image
SQL analytics endpoint in Microsoft Fabric 👁 Image
Warehouse in Microsoft Fabric 👁 Image
SQL database in Microsoft Fabric
Repeats a string value a specified number of times.
👁 Image
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
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