LPAD() and RPAD() for padding text

LPAD and RPAD stretch a value to a required length by stuffing extra characters onto the left or right side until it hits the target.

About 5–10 minutes · no sign-up needed

Example

Padding text to a fixed width

SELECT LPAD(product_id, 10, '0') AS padded_id FROM products

Result:

Run the query without LPAD so you can see what the unfiltered values look like.
```
SELECT product_id FROM products;
```
LPAD pads a string with characters on the left until it reaches the target length.
```
SELECT LPAD(product_id, 10, '0') FROM products;
```
AS gives the LPAD result a friendly column name so the output reads cleanly.
```
SELECT LPAD(product_id, 10, '0') AS padded_id FROM products;
```

Try each one in your head first, then open the answer.

1. On the customers table, write a query that pads email on the left with '0' so every value is 10 characters wide, using LPAD.

SELECT LPAD(email, 10, '0') FROM customers

2. On the products table, write a query that pads category on the right with '*' so every value is 10 characters wide, using RPAD.

SELECT RPAD(category, 10, '*') FROM products

3. On the suppliers table, write a query that pads supplier_name on the left with '0' so every value is 10 characters wide, using LPAD.

SELECT LPAD(supplier_name, 10, '0') FROM suppliers

4. On the employees table, write a query that pads role on the right with '*' so every value is 10 characters wide, using RPAD.

SELECT RPAD(role, 10, '*') FROM employees

5. On the reviews table, write a query that pads product_id on the left with '0' so every value is 10 characters wide, using LPAD.

SELECT LPAD(product_id, 10, '0') FROM reviews

Learn it by doing. This lesson is a short hands-on level on Bampaa: see it work, then build and write it yourself, with instant feedback.

About 5–10 minutes · no sign-up needed