MySQL MID() Function

Extract a substring from a string (start at position 5, extract 3 characters):

SELECT MID("SQL Tutorial", 5, 3) AS ExtractString;

Definition and Usage

The MID() function extracts a substring from a string (starting at any position).

Note: The MID() and SUBSTR() functions equals the SUBSTRING() function.

MID(string, start, length)

Parameter	Description
string	Required. The string to extract from
start	Required. The start position. Can be both a positive or negative number. If it is a positive number, this function extracts from the beginning of the string. If it is a negative number, this function extracts from the end of the string
length	Required. The number of characters to extract

Works in:	From MySQL 4.0

Extract a substring from the text in a column (start at position 2, extract 5 characters):

SELECT MID(CustomerName, 2, 5) AS ExtractString
FROM Customers;

Extract a substring from a string (start from the end, at position -5, extract 5 characters):

SELECT MID("SQL Tutorial", -5, 5) AS ExtractString;