SQL Server REPLICATE() Function

 The REPLICATE() function in SQL Server is used to repeat a given string expression a specified number of times. It takes two arguments:

1. Expression: The string you want to repeat.
2. Number: The number of times the string should be repeated.

Syntax:

REPLICATE(string_expression, number)

• string_expression: The string value you want to repeat.
• number: The number of times you want to repeat the string. If the number is less than or equal to 0, the result will be an empty string.

Example 1: Simple String Repetition

SELECT REPLICATE('A', 5) AS Result;

This will return:

Result
------
AAAAA

Example 2: Repeating a Word Multiple Times

SELECT REPLICATE('Hello ', 3) AS Result;

This will return:

Result
------------
Hello Hello Hello 

Example 3: Handling Edge Cases

SELECT REPLICATE('X', 0) AS Result;  -- Returns an empty string
SELECT REPLICATE('Y', -1) AS Result; -- Also returns an empty string

Use Case:

The REPLICATE() function is often used for padding strings or generating patterns. For example, if you wanted to create a separator string of dashes for formatting:

SELECT REPLICATE('-', 20) AS DashLine;

This would return:

DashLine
--------------------