Which function returns the starting position of a substring within a string?

Which function returns the starting position of a substring within a string?

• A. Instr
• B. Locate
• C. Position
• D. Strpos

Answer: (C)

Position is the standard SQL function that returns where a substring begins inside another string. It uses the syntax POSITION(substring IN string) and provides the starting index (usually 1-based) of the substring within the string, returning a value that indicates where it starts. This directly answers the question by focusing on locating the exact starting position. Other functions like INSTR, LOCATE, or STRPOS can also return the position of a substring in different database systems, but they come from different dialects and use different syntax. Position is the clear, standard way to express the starting location in many SQL contexts.

Position is the standard SQL function that returns where a substring begins inside another string. It uses the syntax POSITION(substring IN string) and provides the starting index (usually 1-based) of the substring within the string, returning a value that indicates where it starts. This directly answers the question by focusing on locating the exact starting position.

Other functions like INSTR, LOCATE, or STRPOS can also return the position of a substring in different database systems, but they come from different dialects and use different syntax. Position is the clear, standard way to express the starting location in many SQL contexts.