Remove all spaces from a string in SQL Server

Question

What is the best way to remove all spaces from a string in SQL Server 2008?

LTRIM(RTRIM(\' a b \')) would remove all spaces at the right and left of th

Answer 1

t-sql replace http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms186862.aspx

replace(val, ' ', '')

Answer 2

Try to use like this, if normal spaces are not removed by LTRM or RTRM

LTRIM(RTRIM(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(Column_data, CHAR(9), ''), CHAR(10), ''), CHAR(13), '')))

Answer 3

For some reason, the replace works only with one string each time. I had a string like this "Test           MSP" and I want to leave only one space.

I used the approach that @Farhan did, but with some modifications:

CREATE FUNCTION ReplaceAll
(
    @OriginalString varchar(8000),
    @StringToRemove varchar(20),
    @StringToPutInPlace varchar(20)
)
RETURNS varchar(8000)
AS
BEGIN
declare @ResultStr varchar(8000)
set @ResultStr = @OriginalString
while charindex(@StringToRemove, @ResultStr) > 0
    set @ResultStr = replace(@ResultStr, @StringToRemove, @StringToPutInPlace)

return @ResultStr
END

Then I run my update like this

UPDATE tbTest SET Description = dbo.ReplaceAll(Description, '  ', ' ') WHERE ID = 14225

Then I got this result: Test MSP

Posting here if in case someone needs it as I did.

Running on: Microsoft SQL Server 2016 (SP2)

Answer 4

It seems that everybody keeps referring to a single REPLACE function. Or even many calls of a REPLACE function. But when you have dynamic output with an unknown number of spaces, it wont work. Anybody that deals with this issue on a regular basis knows that REPLACE will only remove a single space, NOT ALL, as it should. And LTRIM and RTRIM seem to have the same issue. Leave it to Microsoft. Here's a sample output that uses a WHILE Loop to remove ALL CHAR(32) values (space).

DECLARE @INPUT_VAL  VARCHAR(8000)
DECLARE @OUTPUT_VAL VARCHAR(8000)

SET @INPUT_VAL = '      C               A                         '
SET @OUTPUT_VAL = @INPUT_VAL
WHILE CHARINDEX(CHAR(32), @OUTPUT_VAL) > 0 BEGIN
    SET @OUTPUT_VAL = REPLACE(@INPUT_VAL, CHAR(32), '')
END

PRINT 'START:' + @INPUT_VAL + ':END'
PRINT 'START:' + @OUTPUT_VAL + ':END'

Here's the output of the above code:

START:      C               A                         :END
START:CA:END

Now to take it a step further and utilize it in an UPDATE or SELECT statement, change it to a udf.

CREATE FUNCTION udf_RemoveSpaces (@INPUT_VAL    VARCHAR(8000))
RETURNS VARCHAR(8000)
AS 
BEGIN

DECLARE @OUTPUT_VAL VARCHAR(8000)
SET @OUTPUT_VAL = @INPUT_VAL
-- ITTERATE THROUGH STRING TO LOOK FOR THE ASCII VALUE OF SPACE (CHAR(32)) REPLACE IT WITH BLANK, NOT NULL
WHILE CHARINDEX(CHAR(32), @OUTPUT_VAL) > 0 BEGIN
    SET @OUTPUT_VAL = REPLACE(@INPUT_VAL, CHAR(32), '')
END

RETURN @OUTPUT_VAL
END

Then utilize the function in a SELECT or INSERT statement:

UPDATE A
SET STATUS_REASON_CODE = WHATEVER.dbo.udf_RemoveSpaces(STATUS_REASON_CODE)
FROM WHATEVER..ACCT_INFO A
WHERE A.SOMEVALUE = @SOMEVALUE

INSERT INTO SOMETABLE
(STATUS_REASON_CODE)
SELECT WHATEVER.dbo.udf_RemoveSpaces(STATUS_REASON_CODE)
FROM WHATEVER..ACCT_INFO A
WHERE A.SOMEVALUE = @SOMEVALUE

Answer 5

REPLACE() function:

REPLACE(field, ' ', '')

Answer 6

Reference taken from this blog:

First, Create sample table and data:

CREATE TABLE tbl_RemoveExtraSpaces
(
     Rno INT
     ,Name VARCHAR(100)
)
GO

INSERT INTO tbl_RemoveExtraSpaces VALUES (1,'I    am     Anvesh   Patel')
INSERT INTO tbl_RemoveExtraSpaces VALUES (2,'Database   Research and     Development  ')
INSERT INTO tbl_RemoveExtraSpaces VALUES (3,'Database    Administrator     ')
INSERT INTO tbl_RemoveExtraSpaces VALUES (4,'Learning    BIGDATA    and       NOSQL ')
GO

Script to SELECT string without Extra Spaces:

SELECT
     [Rno]
    ,[Name] AS StringWithSpace
    ,LTRIM(RTRIM(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE([Name],CHAR(32),'()'),')(',''),'()',CHAR(32)))) AS StringWithoutSpace
FROM tbl_RemoveExtraSpaces

Result:

Rno         StringWithSpace                                 StringWithoutSpace
----------- -----------------------------------------  ---------------------------------------------
1           I    am     Anvesh   Patel                      I am Anvesh Patel
2           Database   Research and     Development         Database Research and Development
3           Database    Administrator                       Database Administrator
4           Learning    BIGDATA    and       NOSQL          Learning BIGDATA and NOSQL