Syntax

LENGTH(str)

Description

Returns the length of the string str, measured in bytes. A multi-byte character counts as multiple bytes. This means that for a string containing five two-byte characters, LENGTH() returns 10, whereas CHAR_LENGTH() returns 5.

If str is not a string value, it is converted into a string. If str is NULL, the function returns NULL.

Until MariaDB 10.3.1, returns MYSQL_TYPE_LONGLONG, or bigint(10), in all cases. From MariaDB 10.3.1, returns MYSQL_TYPE_LONG, or int(10), when the result would fit within 32-bits.

Oracle Mode

Examples

SELECT LENGTH('MariaDB');
+-------------------+
| LENGTH('MariaDB') |
+-------------------+
|                 7 |
+-------------------+

SELECT LENGTH('π');
+--------------+
| LENGTH('π')  |
+--------------+
|            2 |
+--------------+

In Oracle mode from MariaDB 10.3:

SELECT LENGTH('π');
+--------------+
| LENGTH('π')  |
+--------------+
|            1 |
+--------------+

See Also

• CHAR_LENGTH()
• Oracle mode from MariaDB 10.3