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MySQL MID() Function

❮ MySQL Functions

Example

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

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

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

Note: The MID() and SUBSTR() functions are synonyms of the SUBSTRING() function.

Syntax

MID(string, start, length)

Parameter Values

Parameter Description
string Required. The string to extract from
start Required. The start position
length Required. The number of characters to extract

Note

  • The first position in string is 1
  • If start is a positive number, the MID() function starts from the beginning of the string
  • If start is a negative number, the MID() function starts from the end of the string

Technical Details

Works in: MySQL 5.7, MySQL 5.6, MySQL 5.5, MySQL 5.1, MySQL 5.0, MySQL 4.1, MySQL 4.0, MySQL 3.23

More Examples

Example

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;
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Example

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

SELECT MID("SQL Tutorial", -5, 5) AS ExtractString;
Try it Yourself »

❮ MySQL Functions