SQL query to SELECT and replace only one column value with out defining the other columns - sql

Question

I have a need to do a select, but I need to replace one column's value out. The table has 25 columns, and I wanted to make this readable with out listing all columns to do the replacement of one column from another table. Here is what i did that does work,
SELECT *
INTO #temp_grouping
FROM [ae_p_phs_e]
WHERE [template_id] = '1010'
AND [status_code] = 'OPEN'
AND [shop] = 'SP-STEAM'
-- select row from the temp table for inserting
UPDATE #temp_grouping
SET
[description] = [source_data].[description]
FROM
[ae_a_asset_e] AS [source_data]
WHERE
[source_data].[asset_tag] = [#temp_grouping].[asset_tag]
AND [source_data].[multitenant_id] = [#temp_grouping].[multitenant_id]
SELECT *
FROM #temp_grouping
--drop the temp table
DROP TABLE #temp_grouping
But what are other ways to do this same thing?
SAMPLE
TABLE A
-------------------------------------------------
|col1 | col2 | description | .... | nthColumn|
-------------------------------------------------
TABLE B
-------------------------------------------------
|col1 | col2 | description | .... | nthColumn|
-------------------------------------------------
EXAMPLE Data return on the first TABLE A
1,2017-026221,001,BAD description,..... VERY LAST
1,2017-026221,002,BAD description,..... VERY LAST
1,2017-026221,003,BAD description,..... VERY LAST
1,2017-026221,004,BAD description,..... VERY LAST
1,2017-026221,005,BAD description,..... VERY LAST
EXAMPLE Data return on the first TABLE B
1,null,XX1,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
1,null,XX2,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
1,null,XX3,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
1,null,XX4,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
1,null,XX5,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
EXAMPLE RETURN Data return, basically first TABLE A with one value on TABLE B
1,2017-026221,001,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
1,2017-026221,002,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
1,2017-026221,003,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
1,2017-026221,004,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
1,2017-026221,005,GOOD description,..... VERY LAST
Assume
Script Table As is a solution to auto fill the column, but is not going to fit for the need. The solution of the
question should not include the opposite of the question's request to
not list the columns as stated in the title.
A solution that requires GRANTS that will let you read the system table are not allowed in many cases.
Solution as of yet
It is starting to sound like the answer is there may not be another way to do what I did with out listing all columns out. If it doesn't turn out to be the case then I'll remove this section.

Answer 1

It is the only way to perform it using dynamic queries.
declare #query nvarchar(max) = ''
declare #temp_grouping nvarchar(max) = 'col1, col2, col3'
set #query = 'SELECT '+#temp_grouping+' FROM [ae_p_phs_e] where [template_id] = ''1010'''
print #query
exec sp_executesql #query

Answer 2

I am afraid your comment didn't really clarify what I'm trying to figure out, but let me go ahead and suggest a solution based on what I'm guessing you are trying to do. Actually, I have two solutions, based on two guesses:
You want to write a SELECT from a table with a lot of columns, so you want to avoid typing out all the column names for no other reason than that it would be a lot of typing. But you can't do a simple SELECT * because there is one column that you want to replace in the output with a column from another table.
Solution: Right click on the table in the SSMS Object Explorer pane, and choose Script Table As > SELECT To > New Query Window.
You will get a new query window with the SELECT query written out, with all the column names written out for you. No typing required. Then just modify that query with the JOIN you want, and find the column you want to replace in the SELECT list and replace it with the column from the JOINed table. This produces the SELECT query you want on an adhoc basis.
You have a more fluid situation where you don't necessarily know, for whatever reason, what the columns are going to be, so therefore you can't hard-code a column list, but you know that if a certain column appears, you want to replace it with a different one.
Solution: use a dynamic sql query, like the one in Rainman's answer. Instead of typing out the column list, like you mention in your comment to his answer, you can dynamically generate that list by querying the system tables to get all the columns belonging to the table you are interested in.