What is STUFF Function?
In SQL Server, the STUFF function is used to replace a specified portion of a string with another string. It takes four arguments: the original string, the starting position in the string where the replacement will begin, the number of characters to replace, and the string that will replace the specified portion. The function then returns the modified string with the replacement performed.
Syntax:
STUFF ( character_expression , start , length , replaceWith_expression )
Explanation:
- character_expression: The string that will be modified. We can consider this as an input string.
- start: It is an starting position within the string where characters will be replaced.
- length: The number of characters to replace.
- replaceWith_expression: The string that will replace the characters specified by start and length.
How Stuff and ‘For Xml Path’ work in SQL Server?
While working on the SQL Server database, we frequently encounter situations where data manipulation, like concatenating values from multiple rows into a single string, is necessary. To address such requirements, we utilize SQL Server functions like STUFF and FOR XML PATH.
In this article, We will understand these functions by understanding STUFF and FOR XML PATH functions and seeing various examples for each and also seeing examples by combining both of them to illustrate their usage and implementation in various scenarios.