MySQL SUBSTR() Function

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

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

Definition and Usage

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

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

SUBSTR(string, start, length)

OR:

SUBSTR(string FROM start FOR 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	Optional. The number of characters to extract. If omitted, the whole string will be returned (from the start position)

Works in:	From MySQL 4.0

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

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

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

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