String Type

A unicode string of text.

Any other type (except bytes) can be cast to and from a string:

db> 

SELECT <str>42;

{'42'}

db> 

SELECT <bool>'true';

{true}

db> 

SELECT "I ❤️ EdgeDB";

{'I ❤️ EdgeDB'}

Note that when a str is cast into a json, the result is a JSON string value. Same applies for casting back from json - only a JSON string value can be cast into a str:

db> 

SELECT <json>'Hello, world';

{'"Hello, world"'}

There are two kinds of string literals in EdgeQL: regular and raw. Raw string literals do not evaluate \, so \n in in a raw string is two characters \ and n.

The regular string literal syntax is 'a string' or a "a string". Two raw string syntaxes are illustrated below:

db> 

SELECT r'a raw \\\ string';

{'a raw \\\ string'}

db> 

SELECT $$something$$;

{'something'}

db> 
... 

SELECT $marker$something $$
nested \!$$$marker$;

{'something $$
nested \!$$'}

Regular strings use \ to indicate line continuation. When a line continuation symbol is encountered, the symbol itself as well as all the whitespace characters up to the next non-whitespace character are omitted from the string:

db> 
... 

SELECT 'Hello, \
        world';

{'"Hello, world"'}