/***********************************************************************************
* FUNCTION f_padLeft
*
* restituisce una stringa con padding del carattere desiderato per la lunghezza totale desiderata
*
***********************************************************************************/
CREATE FUNCTION f_padLeft (@string VARCHAR(255), @desired_length INTEGER, @pad_character CHAR(1))
RETURNS VARCHAR(255) AS  
BEGIN

 -- Prefix the required number of spaces to bulk up the string and then replace the spaces with the desired character
 RETURN CASE
          WHEN LEN(@string) < @desired_length
            THEN REPLACE(SPACE(@desired_length - LEN(@string)), ' ', @pad_character) + @string
          ELSE @string
        END

END