I was wondering about the possibility to count the null columns of row in SQL, I have a table Customer that has nullable values, simply I want a query that return an int of the number of null columns for certain row(certain customer).
This method assigns a 1 or 0 for null columns, and adds them all together. Hopefully you don't have too many nullable columns to add up here...
SELECT
((CASE WHEN col1 IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END)
+ (CASE WHEN col2 IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END)
+ (CASE WHEN col3 IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END)
...
...
+ (CASE WHEN col10 IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END)) AS sum_of_nulls
FROM table
WHERE Customer=some_cust_id
Note, you can also do this perhaps a little more syntactically cleanly with IF() if your RDBMS supports it.
SELECT
(IF(col1 IS NULL, 1, 0)
+ IF(col2 IS NULL, 1, 0)
+ IF(col3 IS NULL, 1, 0)
...
...
+ IF(col10 IS NULL, 1, 0)) AS sum_of_nulls
FROM table
WHERE Customer=some_cust_id
I tested this pattern against a table and it appears to work properly.
My answer builds on Michael Berkowski's answer, but to avoid having to type out hundreds of column names, what I did was this:
Step 1: Get a list of all of the columns in your table
SELECT COLUMN_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'myTable';
Step 2: Paste the list in Notepad++ (any editor that supports regular expression replacement will work). Then use this replacement pattern
Search:
^(.*)$
Replace:
\(CASE WHEN \1 IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END\) +
Step 3: Prepend SELECT identityColumnName, and change the very last + to AS NullCount FROM myTable and optionally add an ORDER BY...
SELECT
identityColumnName,
(CASE WHEN column001 IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) +
-- ...
(CASE WHEN column200 IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS NullCount
FROM
myTable
ORDER BY
NullCount DESC
For ORACLE-DBMS only.
You can use the NVL2 function:
NVL2( string1, value_if_not_null, value_if_null )
Here is a select with a similiar approach as Michael Berkowski suggested:
SELECT (NVL2(col1, 0, 1)
+ NVL2(col2, 0, 1)
+ NVL2(col3, 0, 1)
...
...
+ NVL2(col10, 0, 1)
) AS sum_of_nulls
FROM table
WHERE Customer=some_cust_id
A more generic approach would be to write a PL/SQL-block and use dynamic SQL. You have to build a SELECT string with the NVL2 method from above for every column in the all_tab_columns of a specific table.
Unfortunately, in a standard SQL statement you will have to enter each column you want to test, to test all programatically you could use T-SQL. A word of warning though, ensure you are working with genuine NULLS, you can have blank stored values that the database will not recognise as a true NULL (I know this sounds strange).
You can avoid this by capturing the blank values and the NULLS in a statement like this:
CASE WHEN col1 & '' = '' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END
Or in some databases such as Oracle (not sure if there are any others) you would use:
CASE WHEN col1 || '' = '' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END
You don't state RDBMS. For SQL Server 2008...
SELECT CustomerId,
(SELECT COUNT(*) - COUNT(C)
FROM (VALUES(CAST(Col1 AS SQL_VARIANT)),
(Col2),
/*....*/
(Col9),
(Col10)) T(C)) AS NumberOfNulls
FROM Customer
Depending on what you want to do, and if you ignore mavens, and if you use SQL Server 2012, you could to it another way. .
The total number of candidate columns ("slots") must be known.
1. Select all the known "slots" column by column (they're known).
2. Unpivot that result to get a
table with one row per original column. This works because the null columns don't
unpivot, and you know all the column names.
3. Count(*) the result to get the number of non-nulls;
subtract from that to get your answer.
Like this, for 4 "seats" in a car
select 'empty seats' = 4 - count(*)
from
(
select carId, seat1,seat2,seat3,seat4 from cars where carId = #carId
) carSpec
unpivot (FieldValue FOR seat in ([seat1],[seat2],[seat3],[seat4])) AS results
This is useful if you may need to do more later than just count the number of non-null columns, as it gives you a way to manipulate the columns as a set too.
This will give you the number of columns which are not null. you can apply this appropriately
SELECT ISNULL(COUNT(col1),'') + ISNULL(COUNT(col2),'') +ISNULL(COUNT(col3),'')
FROM TABLENAME
WHERE ID=1
The below script gives you the NULL value count within a row i.e. how many columns do not have values.
{SELECT
*,
(SELECT COUNT(*)
FROM (VALUES (Tab.Col1)
,(Tab.Col2)
,(Tab.Col3)
,(Tab.Col4)) InnerTab(Col)
WHERE Col IS NULL) NullColumnCount
FROM (VALUES(1,2,3,4)
,(NULL,2,NULL,4)
,(1,NULL,NULL,NULL)) Tab(Col1,Col2,Col3,Col4) }
Just to demonstrate I am using an inline table in my example.
Try to cast or convert all column values to a common type it will help you to compare the column of different type.
I haven't tested it yet, but I'd try to do it using a PL\SQL function
CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE ANYARRAY AS TABLE OF ANYDATA
;
CREATE OR REPLACE Function COUNT_NULL
( ARR IN ANYARRAY )
RETURN number
IS
cnumber number ;
BEGIN
for i in 1 .. ARR.count loop
if ARR(i).column_value is null then
cnumber := cnumber + 1;
end if;
end loop;
RETURN cnumber;
EXCEPTION
WHEN OTHERS THEN
raise_application_error
(-20001,'An error was encountered - '
||SQLCODE||' -ERROR- '||SQLERRM);
END
;
Then use it in a select query like this
CREATE TABLE TEST (A NUMBER, B NUMBER, C NUMBER);
INSERT INTO TEST (NULL,NULL,NULL);
INSERT INTO TEST (1 ,NULL,NULL);
INSERT INTO TEST (1 ,2 ,NULL);
INSERT INTO TEST (1 ,2 ,3 );
SELECT ROWNUM,COUNT_NULL(A,B,C) AS NULL_COUNT FROM TEST;
Expected output
ROWNUM | NULL_COUNT
-------+-----------
1 | 3
2 | 2
3 | 1
4 | 0
This is how i tried
CREATE TABLE #temptablelocal (id int NOT NULL, column1 varchar(10) NULL, column2 varchar(10) NULL, column3 varchar(10) NULL, column4 varchar(10) NULL, column5 varchar(10) NULL, column6 varchar(10) NULL);
INSERT INTO #temptablelocal
VALUES (1,
NULL,
'a',
NULL,
'b',
NULL,
'c')
SELECT *
FROM #temptablelocal
WHERE id =1
SELECT count(1) countnull
FROM
(SELECT a.ID,
b.column_title,
column_val = CASE b.column_title
WHEN 'column1' THEN a.column1
WHEN 'column2' THEN a.column2
WHEN 'column3' THEN a.column3
WHEN 'column4' THEN a.column4
WHEN 'column5' THEN a.column5
WHEN 'column6' THEN a.column6
END
FROM
( SELECT id,
column1,
column2,
column3,
column4,
column5,
column6
FROM #temptablelocal
WHERE id =1 ) a
CROSS JOIN
( SELECT 'column1'
UNION ALL SELECT 'column2'
UNION ALL SELECT 'column3'
UNION ALL SELECT 'column4'
UNION ALL SELECT 'column5'
UNION ALL SELECT 'column6' ) b (column_title) ) AS pop WHERE column_val IS NULL
DROP TABLE #temptablelocal
Similary, but dynamically:
drop table if exists myschema.table_with_nulls;
create table myschema.table_with_nulls as
select
n1::integer,
n2::integer,
n3::integer,
n4::integer,
c1::character varying,
c2::character varying,
c3::character varying,
c4::character varying
from
(
values
(1,2,3,4,'a','b','c','d'),
(1,2,3,null,'a','b','c',null),
(1,2,null,null,'a','b',null,null),
(1,null,null,null,'a',null,null,null)
) as test_records(n1, n2, n3, n4, c1, c2, c3, c4);
drop function if exists myschema.count_nulls(varchar,varchar);
create function myschema.count_nulls(schemaname varchar, tablename varchar) returns void as
$BODY$
declare
calc varchar;
sqlstring varchar;
begin
select
array_to_string(array_agg('(' || trim(column_name) || ' is null)::integer'),' + ')
into
calc
from
information_schema.columns
where
table_schema in ('myschema')
and table_name in ('table_with_nulls');
sqlstring = 'create temp view count_nulls as select *, ' || calc || '::integer as count_nulls from myschema.table_with_nulls';
execute sqlstring;
return;
end;
$BODY$ LANGUAGE plpgsql STRICT;
select * from myschema.count_nulls('myschema'::varchar,'table_with_nulls'::varchar);
select
*
from
count_nulls;
Though I see that I didn't finish parametising the function.
My answer builds on Drew Chapin's answer, but with changes to get the result using a single script:
use <add_database_here>;
Declare #val Varchar(MAX);
Select #val = COALESCE(#val + str, str) From
(SELECT
'(CASE WHEN '+COLUMN_NAME+' IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) +' str
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_NAME = '<add table name here>'
) t1 -- getting column names and adding the case when to replace NULLs for zeros or ones
Select #val = SUBSTRING(#val,1,LEN(#val) - 1) -- removing trailling add sign
Select #val = 'SELECT <add_identity_column_here>, ' + #val + ' AS NullCount FROM <add table name here>' -- adding the 'select' for the column identity, the 'alias' for the null count column, and the 'from'
EXEC (#val) --executing the resulting sql
With ORACLE:
Number_of_columns - json_value( json_array( comma separated list of columns ), '$.size()' ) from your_table
json_array will build an array with only the non null columns and the json_query expression will give you the size of the array
There isn't a straightforward way of doing so like there would be with counting rows. Basically, you have to enumerate all the columns that might be null in one expression.
So for a table with possibly null columns a, b, c, you could do this:
SELECT key_column, COALESCE(a,0) + COALESCE(b,0) + COALESCE(c,0) null_col_count
FROM my_table
Is it possible to select 2 columns in just one and combine them?
Example:
select something + somethingElse as onlyOneColumn from someTable
(SELECT column1 as column FROM table )
UNION
(SELECT column2 as column FROM table )
Yes, just like you did:
select something + somethingElse as onlyOneColumn from someTable
If you queried the database, you would have gotten the right answer.
What happens is you ask for an expression. A very simple expression is just a column name, a more complicated expression can have formulas etc in it.
Yes,
SELECT CONCAT(field1, field2) AS WHOLENAME FROM TABLE
WHERE ...
will result in data set like:
WHOLENAME
field1field2
None of the other answers worked for me but this did:
SELECT CONCAT(Cust_First, ' ', Cust_Last) AS CustName FROM customer
Yes it's possible, as long as the datatypes are compatible. If they aren't, use a CONVERT() or CAST()
SELECT firstname + ' ' + lastname AS name FROM customers
The + operator should do the trick just fine. Keep something in mind though, if one of the columns is null or does not have any value, it will give you a NULL result. Instead, combine + with the function COALESCE and you'll be set.
Here is an example:
SELECT COALESCE(column1,'') + COALESCE(column2,'') FROM table1.
For this example, if column1 is NULL, then the results of column2 will show up, instead of a simple NULL.
Hope this helps!
To complete the answer of #Pete Carter, I would add an "ALL" on the UNION (if you need to keep the duplicate entries).
(SELECT column1 as column FROM table )
UNION ALL
(SELECT column2 as column FROM table )
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS #9
CREATE TABLE #9
(
USER1 int
,USER2 int
)
INSERT INTO #9
VALUES(1, 2), (1, 3), (1, 4), (2, 3)
------------------------------------------------
(SELECT USER1 AS 'column' from #9)
UNION ALL
(SELECT USER2 AS 'column' from #9)
Would then return : Result
Yes, you can combine columns easily enough such as concatenating character data:
select col1 | col 2 as bothcols from tbl ...
or adding (for example) numeric data:
select col1 + col2 as bothcols from tbl ...
In both those cases, you end up with a single column bothcols, which contains the combined data. You may have to coerce the data type if the columns are not compatible.
if one of the column is number i have experienced the oracle will think '+' as sum operator instead concatenation.
eg:
select (id + name) as one from table 1; (id is numeric)
throws invalid number exception
in such case you can || operator which is concatenation.
select (id || name) as one from table 1;
Your syntax should work, maybe add a space between the colums like
SELECT something + ' ' + somethingElse as onlyOneColumn FROM someTable
I hope this answer helps:
SELECT (CAST(id AS NVARCHAR)+','+name) AS COMBINED_COLUMN FROM TABLENAME;
select column1 || ' ' || column2 as whole_name FROM tablename;
Here || is the concat operator used for concatenating them to single column and ('') inside || used for space between two columns.
SELECT firstname || ' ' || lastname FROM users;
I am trying to create a delimitted string from the results of a query in DB2 on the iSeries (AS/400). I've done this in T-SQL, but can't find a way to do it here.
Here is my code in T-SQL. I'm looking for an equivelant in DB2.
DECLARE #a VARCHAR(1000)
SELECT #a = COALESCE(#a + ', ' + [Description], [Description])
FROM AP.Checkbooks
SELECT #a
If the descriptions in my table look like this:
Desc 1
Desc 2
Desc 3
Then it will return this:
Desc 1, Desc 2, Desc 3
Essentially you're looking for the equivalent of MySQL's GROUP_CONCAT aggregate function in DB2. According to one thread I found, you can mimic this behaviour by going through the XMLAGG function:
create table t1 (num int, color varchar(10));
insert into t1 values (1,'red'), (1,'black'), (2,'red'), (2,'yellow'), (2,'green');
select num,
substr( xmlserialize( xmlagg( xmltext( concat( ', ', color ) ) ) as varchar( 1024 ) ), 3 )
from t1
group by num;
This would return
1 red,black
2 red,yellow,green
(or should, if I'm reading things correctly)
You can do this using common table expressions (CTEs) and recursion.
with
cte1 as
(select description, row_number() over() as row_nbr from checkbooks),
cte2 (list, cnt, cnt_max) AS
(SELECT VARCHAR('', 32000), 0, count(description) FROM cte1
UNION ALL
SELECT
-- No comma before the first description
case when cte2.list = '' THEN RTRIM(CHAR(cte1.description))
else cte2.list || ', ' || RTRIM(CHAR(cte1.description)) end,
cte2.cnt + 1,
cte2.cnt_max
FROM cte1,cte2
WHERE cte1.row_nbr = cte2.cnt + 1 AND cte2.cnt < cte2.cnt_max ),
cte3 as
(select list from cte2
where cte2.cnt = cte2.cnt_max fetch first 1 row only)
select list from cte3;
I'm trying to do this in OLEDB and from what I understand you can't do this because you can't do anything fancy in SQL for OLEDB like declare variables or create a table. So I guess there is no way.
If you are running DB2 9.7 or higher, you can use LISTAGG function. Have a look here:
http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/db2luw/v9r7/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.db2.luw.sql.ref.doc%2Fdoc%2Fr0058709.html