Using the SUBSTR() Oracle Function

Using SUBSTRING() in the SELECT clause

The SUBSTR() function is used to extract a character string from a given starting position for a given length.

SELECT  
        SUBSTR(COURSE_DESIGNATER,6,3) as "Course number"                   
FROM    COURSES
WHERE   COURSE_DESIGNATER LIKE 'Excel%'

It is possible to use the Oracle LOWER() and UPPER() functions in conjunction with the SUBSTR() function to accomplish different types of formatting.

SELECT 
  UPPER(SUBSTR(lastname,1,1)) || LOWER(SUBSTR(lastname,2,29)) 
  AS "Lastname"
FROM Students

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