MySQL LPAD() Function

 The MySQL LPAD() function is used to left-pad a string with another string (usually spaces or other characters) to a specified length. It is especially useful when you need to format strings to a fixed width or align them in reports or tables.

Syntax:

LPAD(string, length, pad_string)

• string: The original string to be padded.
• length: The desired length of the resulting string.
• pad_string: The string used for padding. If this string is longer than needed, it is truncated to fit the length.

Example Usage:

1. Basic Example:

   SELECT LPAD('123', 5, '0');
   

   Result: '00123'

   • The string '123' is padded on the left with '0' until its total length becomes 5.

2. Padd with multiple characters:

   SELECT LPAD('abc', 10, '-');
   

   Result: '------abc'

   • The string 'abc' is padded with '-' to make it 10 characters long.

3. Padding with a string longer than needed:

   SELECT LPAD('abc', 10, 'abc');
   

   Result: 'abcabcabca'

   • The string 'abc' is used as the padding string and repeated to fill the length, resulting in 'abcabcabca'.

4. Padding with spaces (default behavior):

   SELECT LPAD('hello', 10);
   

   Result: ' hello'

   • By default, if no padding string is specified, spaces are used.

The LPAD() function is very useful when formatting outputs for reports, data displays, or when preparing strings for further processing.