How to use RIGHT in Sql Server

Intro

SQL Server provides the RIGHT function to select a number of characters starting from the right of the string. In this article, we will learn how to use right with SQL Server.

The Syntax

The basic syntax of a RIGHT is as follows:

SELECT RIGHT(string_name, length);

Getting Setup

For this, we will be using docker. This is recommended for more than just using SQL Server. To find how to install docker go here: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/

Now create a file called docker-compose.yml and add the following.

version: "3.9"
services:
  db:
    image: "mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server"
    ports: 
      - 1433:1433
    environment:
        SA_PASSWORD: "Your_password123"
        ACCEPT_EULA: "Y"

Open a terminal and go to the folder the file is located. Then run the following.

docker-compose up

If you are looking for another good reference, you can check here: https://docs.docker.com/samples/aspnet-mssql-compose/.

A Simple Example

The basic example is straight forward. We can pass a string into the Right function with the number of characters we would like to select.

SELECT RIGHT('Hello World!', 6) as string;

That's the gist of using the right function. We can also use RIGHT on a table. If you would like to try that, let's first set up a table.

Creating a DB

We start by creating an employee table to work with.

CREATE TABLE employees (
    first_name VARCHAR (50) NOT NULL,
    last_name VARCHAR (50) NOT NULL
);

Next, we can insert some data.

insert into employees (first_name, last_name) 
	values 
	('Keith', 'Holliday'),
	('Jon', 'Doe'),
	('Jane', 'Doe');

And, we can preview the data like so.

SELECT * FROM employees;

An Example

Now that we are set up, we can use RIGHT on our columns.

SELECT RIGHT(first_name, 5) as name FROM employees;