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REPEAT Function

Repeats a string a specified number of times. The string can be specified as a String literal, a function returning a String, or a column reference.

  • Since theREPEAT function matches based on fixed numeric values, changes to the length or structure of a data field can cause your recipe to fail to properly execute.

  • The REPEAT function requires an integer value for the number of characters to match.

Wrangle vs. SQL: This function is part of Wrangle, a proprietary data transformation language. Wrangle is not SQL. For more information, see Wrangle Language.

Basic Usage

String literal example:

repeat('ha',3)

Output: Returns the string: hahaha.

Column reference example:

repeat(MyString,4)

Output: Returns the values of the MyString column value written four times in a row.

Syntax and Arguments

repeat(column_string,rpt_count)

Argument

Required?

Data Type

Description

column_string

Y

string

Name of the column or string literal to be applied to the function

rpt_count

N

integer (positive)

Count of times to repeat the string

For more information on syntax standards, see Language Documentation Syntax Notes.

column_string

Name of the column or String literal to be repeated.

  • Missing string or column values generate missing string results.

  • String constants must be quoted ('Hello, World').

  • Multiple columns and wildcards are not supported.

Usage Notes:

Required?

Data Type

Example Value

Yes

String literal, function, or column reference

myColumn

rpt_count

Count of times to repeat the string.

  • If the value is not specified, the default is 1.

  • Value must a non-negative integer.

  • References to columns of integer data type are not supported.

Usage Notes:

Required?

Data Type

Example Value

No

Integer (non-negative)

5

Examples

Astuce

For additional examples, see Common Tasks.

Example - REPEAT string function

Source:

myStr

repeat_count

ha

0

ha

1

ha

1.5

ha

2

ha

-2

Transformation:

Transformation Name

New formula

Parameter: Formula type

Single row formula

Parameter: Formula

repeat(myStr,repeat_count)

Parameter: New column name

'repeat_string'

Results:

myStr

repeat_count

repeat_string

ha

0

ha

1

ha

ha

1.5

ha

2

haha

ha

-2

Example - Padding values

In the following example, the imported prodId values are supposed to be eight characters in length. Somewhere during the process, however, leading 0 characters were truncated. The steps below allow you to re-insert the leading characters.

Source:

prodName

prodId

w01

1

w02

10000001

w03

345

w04

10402

Transformation:

First, we need to identify how many zeroes need to be inserted for each prodId:

Transformation Name

New formula

Parameter: Formula type

Single row formula

Parameter: Formula

8 - len(prodId)

Parameter: New column name

'len_prodId'

Use the REPEAT function to generate a pad string based on the above values:

Transformation Name

New formula

Parameter: Formula type

Single row formula

Parameter: Formula

repeat('0', len_prodId)

Parameter: New column name

'padString'

Merge the pad string and the original prodId column:

Transformation Name

Merge columns

Parameter: Columns

padString,prodId

Parameter: Separator

''

Parameter: New column name

'column2'

Results:

When you delete the intermediate columns and rename column2 to prodId, you have the following table:

prodName

prodId

w01

00000001

w02

10000001

w03

00000345

w04

00010402