Replace all matching text.

Normalize repeated whitespace with a regular expression.

SQL snippet.sql
SELECT regexp_replace('one   two    three', '\s+', ' ', 'g');

Expected output EXAMPLE

one two three

Details

Requires PostgreSQL 18. Run in an empty scratch schema using psql or a SQL client. Result rows below use | between columns, without headers; client display formatting may differ. The g flag replaces every match rather than only the first. Each example includes its own data and should be run in a fresh scratch schema.

✓ Verified

Tested on Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS · · PostgreSQL 18.6 (Debian 18.6-1.pgdg13+2) · libc6 2.39-0ubuntu8.9; psycopg 3.2.10; pymssql 2.3.8

Test inputs, results and environment

The exact published code ran in a dedicated Linux test container with prepared inputs. Snippet process uid 65534 with a read-only root filesystem and temporary working files. Database services use a private internal Docker network without published ports. Fresh scratch schema/database for each case; test database administrator credentials are confined to these disposable services. Fixtures and output records are isolated from the application database. Testing covers this example and its stated checks, not every input, operating system, or runtime version. The Linux container shares its host's kernel; this is not a native Windows test.

Architecture / host kernel
x86_64 / 6.18.54.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2
Snippet identity / locale
uid=65534, gid=65534 (unprivileged process) / C.UTF-8
Interpreter invocation
Execute the exact SQL in a fresh database/schema; serialize result rows with | separators
Container image ID
sha256:ec91410a8f6ec3e985830b5e3a0560306d36f8c1c5ccd91a6699abe707123fa3
Code SHA-256
8018b01d69bdaac5200442284a426eea1ff599668e9941a2ee2b129a9133554b
Dependencies
libc6 2.39-0ubuntu8.9; psycopg 3.2.10; pymssql 2.3.8

Test input setup

These are the prepared inputs used by the test harness. See Details above for the prerequisites and how to run this example.

# No input files required.

Observed standard output

one two three

Exit code: 0. Standard error: empty. Validation: Exact stdout comparison. System-dependent values above are one recorded run.