RTRIM String Function¶

The RTRIM string function returns a character expression after truncating all trailing blanks or spaces. The syntax of the RTRIM string function is as follows:

RTRIM ( < character_expression > )

The < character_expression > is an expression of character or binary data and can be a constant, variable or column. The < character_expression > must be of data type, except TEXT, NTEXT and IMAGE, that is implicitly convertible to VARCHAR. Otherwise, the CAST function must be used to explicitly convert the < character_expression >.

Sample Uses of the RTRIM String Function¶

Usage #1 : Determine if a String Has Trailing Spaces¶

DECLARE @String      VARCHAR(100)
SET @String = 'String With Trailing Spaces       '

SELECT CASE WHEN DATALENGTH(@String) = DATALENGTH(RTRIM(@String))
       THEN 'No Trailing Spaces'
       ELSE 'With Trailing Spaces' END AS [Output]

Output
-----------
With Trailing Spaces

Usage #2 : Remove or Trim Leading Spaces Without Using LTRIM¶

DECLARE @String      VARCHAR(100)
SET @String = '     String with Leading Spaces'

SELECT REVERSE(RTRIM(REVERSE(@String))) AS [Output]

Output
-----------
String with Leading Spaces

Usage #3 : Imitate Oracle's TRIM Function¶

DECLARE @String      VARCHAR(100)
SET @String = '     Database Helper     '
SELECT LTRIM(RTRIM(@String)) AS [Output]

Output
-----------
Database Helper