PostgreSQL: Function to reformat a string

Question

Suppose I have a string such as:

abcdefghi

and I would like to reformat it as:

abc def ghi

(that is, I have added some formatting spaces to the string).

Is there a PostgreSQL function which will do that? Something like:

reformat(abcdefghi,'xxx xxx xxx')

I know there isn’t the above function, but there might be a built in function to do something like that.

If not, I am happy to write such a function, but I though I would check.

So you want to add a space after three characters? Does it need to work with any length (so abcdefghijklmno will beabc def ghi jkl mno). What should happen if the string length is not a multiple of 3? — user1822
– user1822, Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 11:29
String Functions and Operators section of the documentation lists all related functions. You can use either regexp_replace or format function for this kind of problems. — Sahap Asci
– Sahap Asci, Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 12:15

Evan Carroll · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-27 16:17:09Z

0

Use regexp_replace

SELECT regexp_replace('abcdefghiabcdefghi', '(.{3})', '\1 ', 'g');
      regexp_replace      
--------------------------
 abc def ghi abc def ghi 
(1 row)

This inserts a space every three characters.

answered Mar 27, 2018 at 16:17

Evan Carroll

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