# Left

`STATIC FUNCTION Left ( String AS String [ , Length AS Integer ] ) AS String`

Returns the Length first characters of an `UTF-8` string.

If Length is not specified, the first character of the string is returned.

If Length is negative, all the string except the (- Length ) last characters is returned.

Note: This function deals with `UTF-8` strings, and so all positions and lengths are given in characters and not in bytes.