sql server: how to execute a .sql from another query? - sql

Question

I have a .sql script with a lot of action queries that work on some staging tables. This script needs to be run twice with some other commands in-between i.e.:
Load the staging table from source A
Use do_stuff.sql to process it
Move the results somewhere.
Repeat Steps 1-3 for source B.
The brute force approach would be to just copy & paste dostuff.sql as needed. While this would technically work, is there a better way?
I'm hoping there's a command like RunThisSQL 'C:\do_stuff.sql' that I haven't discovered yet.
Update
Well, it's been about 5 years and I just re-discovered this old question. I did this recently and made a cursor to loop thru a master table. For each record in that master table, the script runs through an inner script using variables set by the master table.
https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/1599/sql-server-cursor-example/

Answer 1

If you use visual studio you can create "Sql Server Database" project. Withing the project you can create script that let you execute your *.sql files in a manner
/*
Post-Deployment Script Template
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This file contains SQL statements that will be appended to the build script.
Use SQLCMD syntax to include a file in the post-deployment script.
Example: :r .\myfile.sql
Use SQLCMD syntax to reference a variable in the post-deployment script.
Example: :setvar TableName MyTable
SELECT * FROM [$(TableName)]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*/
see also. http://candordeveloper.com/2013/01/08/creating-a-sql-server-database-project-in-visual-studio-2012/

Answer 2

Try using xp_cmdshell.
EXEC xp_cmdshell 'sqlcmd -S ' + #ServerName + ' -d ' + #DBName + ' -i ' +#FileName

Answer 3

xp_cmdshell and concatenation do not play together nicely, often resulting in an "Incorrect syntax near '+'" error. So further to Jeotics solution above you will need to make a variable of the entire string you pass to xp_cmdshell (including quotes around anything that may contain a space (eg filepath\filename). This is mentioned in the Microsoft documentation for xp_cmdshell here. Other issues you will have to contend with are the default set up for SQL Server which has xp_cmdshell disabled as outlined here and granting permission to non-system administrators to use xp_cmdshell outlined here. The documentation generally advises against giving xp_cmdshell rights to too many people owing to it being a vehicle for those with malintent but if, like me, you have minimal and trustworthy database users then it seems like a reasonable solution. One last issue that requires correct configuration is the SQL Server Agent as outlined here. Documentation outlines that SQL Agent is responsible for background scheduling (such as back ups) and performance of command line statements, etc..
DECLARE
#Server nvarchar (50)
,#Database nvarchar(50)
,#File nvarchar(100)
,#cmd nvarchar(300);
SET #Server = server_name;
SET #Database = database_name;
SET #File = 'C:\your file path with spaces';
SET #cmd = 'sqlcmd -S ' + #Server + ' -d ' + #Database + ' i "' + #File + '"';
EXEC xp_cmdshell #cmd;

Answer 4

There are some security issues with enabling xp_cmdshell in SQL Server. You can create a CLR Stored procedure, which executes the passed file content. This CLR stored procedure is especially for this purpose, not like xp_cmdshell, which can do anything over the command prompt.
issues with enabling xp_cmdshell
Create CLR stored procedure