Dynamic Row Data into Column - sql

Question

I have a column which has 100 rows of data. I need to get the top 4 but in instead of rows I need to convert it into columns. Like Col1, Col2, Col3 and Col4.
I have tried
SELECT
MAX (CASE
WHEN rss_name = 'BBC-Sports'
THEN rss_name
END) AS col1,
MAX (CASE
WHEN rss_name = 'Talk Sports'
THEN rss_name
END) AS col2,
MAX (CASE
WHEN rss_name = 'Sky Sports'
THEN rss_name
END) AS col3,
MAX (CASE
WHEN rss_name = 'Crick Info'
THEN rss_name
END) AS col4
FROM
RSS
but it only works with static values:
I need
Col1, Col2, Col3, Col4
Sports,Talk Sports,Sky Sports,Crick Info
but since this is not constant data it will change and the values in Col keep changing.

Answer 1

You could use a derived table to set your column order then use your conditional aggregation on that.
SELECT
MAX(CASE WHEN Col_Rn = 1 THEN Rss_Name END) AS Col1,
MAX(CASE WHEN Col_Rn = 2 THEN Rss_Name END) AS Col2,
MAX(CASE WHEN Col_Rn = 3 THEN Rss_Name END) AS Col3,
MAX(CASE WHEN Col_Rn = 4 THEN Rss_Name END) AS Col4
FROM (
SELECT Rss_Name,
Row_Number() OVER (ORDER BY Rss_Name) AS Col_Rn -- set your order here
FROM RSS
) t

Answer 2

You need to use Dynamic Pivot. But in your case besides you need an extra column for Column names in Pivot like COL_1, COL_2....
Schema: (From your Image. Its better if you provide this sample data in Text).
CREATE TABLE #TAB (Rss_Name VARCHAR(50))
INSERT INTO #TAB
SELECT 'Sports'
UNION ALL
SELECT 'Talk Sports'
UNION ALL
SELECT 'Sky Sports'
UNION ALL
SELECT 'Crick Info'
Now Prepare your dynamic query as below
DECLARE #SQL VARCHAR(MAX)='',#PVT_COL VARCHAR(MAX)='';
--Preparing Dynamic Column List
SELECT #PVT_COL =#PVT_COL
+ '[COL_'+CAST(ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY (SELECT 1)) AS VARCHAR(4))+'],'
FROM #TAB
SELECT #PVT_COL = LEFT(#PVT_COL,LEN(#PVT_COL)-1)
SELECT #SQL =
'SELECT * FROM (
SELECT Rss_Name
,''COL_''+CAST(ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY (SELECT 1)) AS VARCHAR(4)) AS COL_NME
FROM #TAB
)AS A
PIVOT
(
MAX(Rss_Name) FOR COL_NME IN ('+#PVT_COL+')
)PVT'
EXEC (#SQL)
Result:
+--------+-------------+------------+------------+
| COL_1 | COL_2 | COL_3 | COL_4 |
+--------+-------------+------------+------------+
| Sports | Talk Sports | Sky Sports | Crick Info |
+--------+-------------+------------+------------+