Selecting only the first 50 characters of a certain column with mysql.

[HellgY]

I know that there is a special artibute for this, But i can't seem to remember what it is...

[chazzy]

use the substring function:


SELECT SUBSTRING(column,0,50) FROM your_table;


http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/string-functions.html

[HellgY]

Thanks Chazz!!!

[chazzy]

by the way, i have to say i am very happy to see that your first idea was to use SQL.

[decibel]

is it possible to alias a column and use SUBSTR?

like this:

SELECT SUBSTRING(column,0,50) as columnSummary FROM your_table;

[chazzy]

of course it is.

[decibel]

I tried it just like that, and it didn't seem to work, is my syntax wrong, or do i need to review my php?

[chazzy]

maybe you should post some code.

[decibel]

well i have already found a work around for this, and because i am on a tight schedule for work, i'll have to move on for now. I appreciate the help, next time i need to use the SUBSTRING function, I will try your suggestion, and If i continue having problems, I will return here and post the code.

Thanks again chazzy,
db.

[chazzy]

ok, well most likely either the database version/vendor you use doesn't support substring (at least not that function name) or you have another error in your code.