The REPEAT Function

[JimKnicely]

Hi,

The REPEAT function returns a new value that repeats a given value a given number of times. The general syntax of the function is:

• REPEAT (string, count)

EXAMPLE:

Code: Select all

dbadmin=> SELECT REPEAT('Vertica is cool! ', 3)     "The Truth",
dbadmin->        'Five' || REPEAT('.', 5) || 'Dots' "Dippin' Dots";
                      The Truth                      | Dippin' Dots
-----------------------------------------------------+---------------
Vertica is cool! Vertica is cool! Vertica is cool!  | Five.....Dots
(1 row)

The REPEAT function can also be used to annoy people with the age old “Pete and Repeat” joke:

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dbadmin=> SELECT REPEAT('Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... ', 10) "Annoying Joke";
Annoying Joke 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat... Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repeat...
(1 row)

NOTE: The value returned from the REPEAT function has a maximum size of 65,000 bytes (i.e. characters).

Code: Select all

dbadmin=> SELECT LENGTH(REPEAT('A', 65000)) "65,000",
dbadmin->        LENGTH(REPEAT('A', 65001)) "Still 65,000";
65,000 | Still 65,000
--------+--------------
  65000 |        65000
(1 row)

Have fun!

[Julie]

Ha! I like the example with the Pete and Repeat joke my stupid uncle used to play on me!