SQL Server REVERSE() Function

 The REVERSE() function in SQL Server is used to reverse the order of characters in a string. It takes a string as input and returns a new string with the characters in reverse order.

Syntax

REVERSE ( string_expression )

• string_expression: This is the string or column that you want to reverse. It can be a literal string, a column, or a string expression.

Example Usage

1. Reversing a Literal String

SELECT REVERSE('Hello World') AS ReversedString;

Output:

ReversedString
----------------
dlroW olleH

2. Reversing a Column Value

Assume you have a table Employees with a column FirstName. You can reverse the first names of all employees with the following query:

SELECT FirstName, REVERSE(FirstName) AS ReversedFirstName
FROM Employees;

3. Reversing Multiple Words

If you have a string with multiple words, like "SQL Server is fun", you can reverse the entire string:

SELECT REVERSE('SQL Server is fun') AS ReversedString;

Output:

ReversedString
---------------------
nuf si revreS LQS

Important Notes

• The REVERSE() function works with any data type that can be implicitly converted to VARCHAR or NVARCHAR. If you pass a NULL value to REVERSE(), it will return NULL.

• The function operates at the character level, meaning it does not take into account words or spaces. It simply reverses the order of all characters in the string.

Example with NULL value

SELECT REVERSE(NULL) AS ReversedString;

Output:

ReversedString
----------------
NULL

The REVERSE() function is quite straightforward and useful when you need to reverse the order of characters in a string in SQL Server.