In SQL, concatenation is the operation of joining together strings, or pieces of text information. Learn how to concatenate two columns in SQL with this detailed guide.
SQL concatenation is the process of combining two or more character strings, columns, or expressions into a single string. For example, the concatenation of ‘Kate’, ‘ ’, and ‘Smith’ gives us ‘Kate Smith’.
SQL concatenation can be used in a variety of situations where it is necessary to combine multiple strings into a single string. Some common use cases include:
- Creating full names or other composite strings from multiple columns in a table – e.g. concatenating a user’s first and last names to create a full name.
- Creating custom labels or titles by concatenating multiple string values.
- Creating a unique identifier by concatenating multiple columns – e.g. a customer ID and an order number.
- Creating email addresses by concatenating a username (katesmith) and a domain name (learnSQL.com).