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103. CHARINDEX Function

Learn how to find the position of one text value inside another using CHARINDEX.

📘 Lesson 103 of 728 ⏱ 8 min 🎯 Intermediate

CHARINDEX is a SQL Server function that returns the starting position of a specified expression within another string. It is useful for locating characters or words inside text.

Finding the position of a character or delimiter is often required when parsing structured text values.

An email address contains an '@' symbol. CHARINDEX can find the position of that symbol so the email can be split into different parts.

SQL 
SELECT
    Email,
    CHARINDEX('@', Email) AS AtPosition
FROM Employees;

CHARINDEX is useful for parsing emails, addresses, codes, reference numbers, and other structured text in SQL Server.

  • CHARINDEX searches for text within another string.
  • It returns the starting position.
  • It is commonly used in SQL Server.
  • It can help parse structured text.
  • Other database systems may use different functions.
What does CHARINDEX do?

CHARINDEX returns the starting position of a specified expression inside another string in SQL Server.

Where can CHARINDEX be useful?

It is useful for locating delimiters or specific text when parsing emails, codes, and other structured strings.

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