I have a large group of database tables originally named with a prefix of "tblXYZ123-". I still want the tables to be prefixed as this keeps the related tables grouped together but I want to rename this group of tables by replacing the prefix with a simpler, more relevant prefix like "td".
How do I rename the tables without renaming each file manually? I'm hoping for a script or something but haven't been able to find such a tool.
You can build this script using dynamic SQL and the catalog view sys.tables:
DECLARE #sql NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'';
SELECT #sql += CHAR(13) + CHAR(10)
+ 'EXEC sp_rename N''' + SCHEMA_NAME([schema_id])
+ '.' + name + ''', N''' + REPLACE(name, 'tblXYZ123-', 'td')
+ ''',N''OBJECT'';'
FROM sys.tables
WHERE name LIKE 'tblXYZ123-%';
PRINT #sql;
-- EXEC sp_executesql #sql;
You could also use a cursor if you wanted, but I prefer the above - I can print and preview the script before I run it, for example:
DECLARE #t SYSNAME, #f NVARCHAR(511);
DECLARE c CURSOR LOCAL STATIC READ_ONLY FORWARD_ONLY
FOR SELECT name, SCHEMA_NAME(schema_id) + '.' + name
FROM sys.tables WHERE name LIKE 'tblXYZ123-%';
OPEN c;
FETCH NEXT FROM c INTO #t, #f;
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
SET #t = REPLACE(#t, 'tblXYZ123-', 'td');
EXEC sp_rename #f, #t, N'OBJECT';
FETCH NEXT FROM c INTO #t, #f;
END
CLOSE c;
DEALLOCATE c;
The simplest way, in my opinion, is to put the list of tables in a column in Excel. In the next column, put in the new name, presumably with a formula like ="td"&mid(A1, 11, 1000) for the new name. In the third column, put in the formula "sp_rename "&A1&" "&A2.
Copy the formulas down, then copy the third column into SQL Server Management Studio and run the code.
You would also do this using a cursor or loop in T-SQL. However, I find that generating such code in Excel -- for one time applications -- is usually the fastest way to go.
Related
We have a very old software has been created around 10 years ago and we don't have source code.
The software uses two databases, DB01 and DB02 on the same SQL Server 2012 instance.
There is SQL statements such as db01..table1 join db02..table2, but the main issue is our processes don't allow us use db02 as a name of database.
The question is: how we can create an alias of for database?
I was trying to use CREATE SYNONYM
CREATE SYNONYM [db02] FOR [db02_new_name];
but it doesn't work for database names.
Please suggest how it can be solved without patching a binary files to correct SQL statements.
Create a database with the name you want to impersonate. Re-jigg the DDL code generator to create a view for every table in the database that has the tables I need to access via the hardcoded name. Basically, each view will have a statement that looks like this..
CREATE VIEW schemaname.tablename as SELECT * FROM targetdbname.schemaname.tablename
Example:
The target database name that is hardcoded is called ProdDBV1 and the Source DB you have is named ProductDatabaseDatabaseV1, schema is dbo and table name is customer
Create the database called ProdDBV1 using SSMS or script.
CREATE VIEW dbo.customer as SELECT * FROM ProductDatabaseDatabaseV1.dbo.customer
If you can enumerate each table in your "source" database and then create the DDL as above. If you want I can update this posting with a code example. (using the sp_msforeachtable procedure if possible)
I had a similar issue.
Solved with this workaround, using synonyms.
Short version: You flood your database with a synonym of every object you'll ever need to reference. Later you re-create every synonym with the other database name.
Here's a stored proc to do it. Simply add it to your database and call it with the target database. It will create synonyms for all tables in the target database, and create the schemas if they don't exist. I've left a commented out section in case someone knows of a way to get the create schemas working without a cursor.
CREATE PROCEDURE CreateSynonymsForTargetDatabase (
#databaseName sysname
)
AS BEGIN
DECLARE #TSQL nvarchar(max) = N''
DECLARE #rn char(2),
#SchemaName sysname;
SET #rn = char(13) + char(10)
CREATE TABLE #DBSynonym(
[Schema] sysname NOT NULL,
[Table] sysname NOT NULL
)
SET #TSQL = N'
INSERT INTO #DBSynonym ([Schema], [Table])
SELECT Schemas.name, Tables.name
FROM [' + #databaseName + '].sys.tables
INNER JOIN [' + #databaseName + '].sys.schemas on tables.schema_id = schemas.schema_id
'
EXEC (#TSQL)
SET #TSQL = N''
DECLARE MissingSchemasCursor CURSOR
READ_ONLY
FOR
SELECT newSchemas.[Schema]
FROM #DBSynonym newSchemas
LEFT JOIN sys.schemas on newSchemas.[Schema] = schemas.name
WHERE schemas.schema_id is null
GROUP BY newSchemas.[Schema]
OPEN MissingSchemasCursor
FETCH NEXT FROM MissingSchemasCursor INTO #SchemaName
WHILE (##fetch_status <> -1)
BEGIN
IF (##fetch_status <> -2)
BEGIN
SET #TSQL = N'CREATE SCHEMA ' + QUOTENAME(#SchemaName) + N';'
EXEC sp_executesql #TSQL
END
FETCH NEXT FROM MissingSchemasCursor INTO #SchemaName
END
CLOSE MissingSchemasCursor
DEALLOCATE MissingSchemasCursor
/*
SELECT #TSQL = #TSQL +
N'
GO
CREATE SCHEMA ' + QUOTENAME([Schema]) + N';'
FROM #DBSynonym newSchemas
LEFT JOIN sys.schemas on newSchemas.[Schema] = schemas.name
WHERE schemas.schema_id is null
GROUP BY newSchemas.[Schema]
PRINT 'CREATE SCHEMAS : ' + ISNULL(#TSQL,'')
EXEC sp_executesql #TSQL
*/
SET #TSQL = N''
SELECT #TSQL = #TSQL +
N'
CREATE SYNONYM ' + QUOTENAME([Schema]) + N'.' + QUOTENAME([Table]) + N'
FOR ' + QUOTENAME(#databaseName) + N'.' + QUOTENAME([Schema]) + N'.' + QUOTENAME([Table]) + N';'
FROM #DBSynonym
EXEC sp_executesql #TSQL
SET #TSQL = N''
END
GO
Use it as follows :
EXEC CreateSynonymsForTargetDatabase 'targetDbName'
The question is: how we can create an alias of for database?
I know this is an old post but...
This is why I only use the 2 part naming convention for SQL objects. It allows me to have 2 part synonyms that point to differently named databases depending on what environment I'm in. There are some places where it doesn't work so well but, for the most part, those places are very rare.
As for software that you don't have the source code of and if that software uses the 3 part naming convention, you're probably just out of luck unless you know what the 3 part naming convention is for each object and create a 3 part synonym for each object.
I found Charles' answer (and the linked workaround in the comment by maxcastaneda) very useful. I followed this approach and it works for me. I have streamlined it a bit and created the following query that brings up all required synonyms to create.
As a prerequisite for this snippet both the original DB and the synonym/alias db have to be on the same server otherwise in case you use linked server or so you have to modify it a bit.
It should be fairly easy to put this into a small sp to update the synonyms automatically.
USE <SYNONYMDB>
SELECT
'[' + TABLE_NAME + ']',
'[' + TABLE_SCHEMA + '].[' + TABLE_NAME + ']',
'IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.synonyms WHERE name = ''' + TABLE_NAME + ''') DROP SYNONYM ['+ TABLE_NAME + ']; CREATE SYNONYM [' + TABLE_NAME + '] FOR <ORIGINALDB>.' + TABLE_SCHEMA + '.[' + TABLE_NAME + ']' AS SynonymUpdateScript FROM <ORIGINALDB>.INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
Don't forget to enter you Db names at the <...> spots.
Just copy the content of the SynonymUpdateScript Column and execute it in the synonym DB - or create a stored procedure for this task.
Be aware there is an issue if you have views in place that refer to tables or other db objects without the 2 part naming convention. Those synonyms won't work. You should fix this in the original objects / views.
Go to the Database you wish to create Alias,
Create an Alias Folders table with the preferred design,
Go to unique IDs's table and check the last code sequence for the table created.
For example, if the last code is 10, then update it to 11.
Open Cabinets table and go right at the bottom and create the name of the Alias cabinet you want.
You can create an alias from 'SQL Server Configuration Manager' under Configuartion Tool in SQL Server Folder.
Detailed source : http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/1620/how-to-setup-and-use-a-sql-server-alias/
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190445.aspx
I'm curious to see if this is possible.
I have a table or this could be specific to any old table with data. A simple SELECT will return the columns and rows as a result set. What I'm trying to find out if is possible to return rows but rather than columns, the columns concatenated and are comma separated. So expected amount of rows returned but only one varchar column holding comma separated results of all the columns just like a CSV file.
Thanks.
[UPDATE]
Here is a bit more detail why I'm asking. I don't have the option to do this on the client, this is a task I'm trying to do with SSIS.
Scenario: I have a table that is dynamically created in SSIS but the column names change each time it's built. The original package uses BCP to grab the data and put it into a flat file but due to permissions when run as a job BCP can't create the flat file at the required destination. We can't get this changed either.
The other issue is that with SSIS 2005, using the flat files destination, you have to map the column name from the input source which I can't do because the column names keep changing.
I've written a script task to grab all the data from the original tables and then use stream writer to write to the CSV but I have to loop through each row then through each column to produce the string built up of all the columns. I want to measure performance of this concatenation of columns on sql server against a nasty loop with vb.net.
If I can get sql to produce a single column for each row I can just write a single line to the text file instead of iterating though each column to build the row.
I Think You Should try This
SELECT UserName +','+ Password AS ColumnZ
FROM UserTable
Assuming you know what columns the table has, and you don't want to do something dynamic and crazy, you can do this
SELECT CONCAT(ColumnA, ',', ColumnB) AS ColumnZ
FROM Table
There is a fancy way to this using SQL Server's XML functions, but for starters could you just cast the contents of the columns you care about as varchar and concatenate them with commas?
SELECT cast(colA as varchar)+', '+cast(colB as varchar)+', '+cast(colC as varchar)
FROM table
Note, that this will get tripped up if any of your contents have a comma or double quotes in them, in which case you can also use a replace function on each cast to escape them.
This could stand to be cleaned up some, but you can do this by using the metadata stored in sys.objects and sys.columns along with dynamic SQL. Note that I am NOT a fan of dynamic SQL, but for reporting purposes it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Some SQL to create test data:
if (object_id('test') is not null)
drop table test;
create table test
(
id uniqueidentifier not null default newId()
,col0 nvarchar(255)
,col1 nvarchar(255)
,col2 nvarchar(255)
,col3 nvarchar(255)
,col4 nvarchar(255)
);
insert into test (col0,col1,col2,col3,col4)
select 'alice','bob','charlie','dave','emily'
union
select 'abby','bill','charlotte','daniel','evan'
A stored proc to build CSV rows:
-- emit the contents of a table as a CSV.
-- #table_name: name of a permanent (in sys.objects) table
-- #debug: set to 1 to print the generated query
create procedure emit_csv(#table_name nvarchar(max), #debug bit = 0)
as
declare #object_id int;
set nocount on;
set #object_id = object_id(#table_name);
declare #name nvarchar(max);
declare db_cursor cursor for
select name
from sys.columns
where object_id = #object_id;
open db_cursor;
fetch next from db_cursor into #name
declare #query nvarchar(max);
set #query = '';
while ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
begin
-- TODO: modify appended clause to escape commas in addition to trimming
set #query = #query + 'rtrim(cast('+#name+' as nvarchar(max)))'
fetch next from db_cursor into #name;
-- add concatenation to the end of the query.
-- TODO: Rearrange #query construction order to make this unnecessary
if (##fetch_status = 0)
set #query = #query + ' + '','' +'
end;
close db_cursor;
deallocate db_cursor;
set #query = 'select rtrim('+#query+') as csvrow from '+#table_name;
if #debug != 0
begin
declare #newline nvarchar(2);
set #newline = char(13) + char(10)
print 'Generated SQL:' + #newline + #query + #newline + #newline;
end
exec (#query);
For my test table, this generates the query:
select
rtrim(rtrim(cast(id as nvarchar(max)))
+ ','
+rtrim(cast(col0 as nvarchar(max)))
+ ','
+rtrim(cast(col1 as nvarchar(max)))
+ ','
+rtrim(cast(col2 as nvarchar(max)))
+ ','
+rtrim(cast(col3 as nvarchar(max)))
+ ','
+rtrim(cast(col4 as nvarchar(max))))
as csvrow
from test
and the result set:
csvrow
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EEE16C3A-036E-4524-A8B8-7CCD2E575519,alice,bob,charlie,dave,emily
F1EE6C84-D6D9-4621-97E6-AA8716C0643B,abby,bill,charlotte,daniel,evan
Suggestions
Modify the cursor loop to escape commas
Make sure that #table_name refers to a valid table (if object_id(#table_name) is null) in the sproc
Some exception handling would be good
Set permissions on this so that only the account that runs the report can execute it. String concatenation in dynamic SQL can be a big security hole, but I don't see another way to do this.
Some error handling to ensure that the cursor gets closed and deallocated might be nice.
This can be used for any table that is not a #temp table. In that case, you'd have to use sys.objects and sys.columns from tempdb...
select STUFF((select ','+ convert(varchar,l.Subject) from tbl_Student B,tbl_StudentMarks L
where B.Id=L.Id FOR XML PATH('')),1,1,'') Subject FROM tbl_Student A where A.Id=10
Actually, this is a 2 part question.
Is it possible to use some sort of functionality to search through every stored procedure for a string and possibly replace it, like a standard Find/Replace function?
If you have all your stored procedure code include the full database path like this [db1].[dbo].[table1] and you change the database name to [db2] is there a way for SQL Server to automatically update all the code from [db1] tables to [db2]? Or does it have to be done manually?
From the Object Explorer Details window in SSMS, open the stored procedures folder. Select all the objects (you can multi-select from this window, which is pretty much the only purpose of the Object Explorer Details window) and right click, choosing to script as DROP and CREATE. You can now do a search/replace on this, replacing all you need in one go before executing it.
Edit: I've blogged about this solution.
Late one but hopefully useful.
There is a free search tool from ApexSQL that can find and rename objects in database.
They say it has a smart rename option that will find/replace all occurrences of some object such as table, function or stored procedure.
I have to add that I haven’t used the rename functionality but I can confirm that search is working quite well.
Also I’m not affiliated with ApexSQL but I do use their tools.
To search: if you need to find database objects (e.g. tables, columns, triggers) by name - have a look at the FREE Red-Gate tool called SQL Search which does this - it searches your entire database for any kind of string(s).
It's a great must-have tool for any DBA or database developer - did I already mention it's absolutely FREE to use for any kind of use?
This tool doesn't support replacing text, however - but even just being able to find all the relevant stored procedures (or other DB objects) is very helpful indeed!
Export all SPs to file. Use your favourite text editing tool to search/replace. Update database by executing the script (as long as you do not rename procedures).
If you explicitly define the full database path, you need to manually (see above) update the stored procedures. If you do not include the database name, or use a linked server or similar, no changes are necessary.
Stored procedures cannot be updated in place without first scripting them out as ALTER PROCEDURE statements (or DROP/CREATE, but I prefer ALTER PROCEDURE..more on that in a moment). The good news is, you can script all the procedures to a single file through SSMS. The DDL statements will initially be CREATE PROCEDURE, which you'll want to replace with ALTER PROCEDURE, along with your other changes.
While you could alternatively script the procedures as DROP/CREATE, I don't like doing this for a large number of scripts because it tends to cause dependency errors.
As for part 2 of your question, you'll need to edit any database path changes manually through the script.
I found this script where you can define search for and replace by text and simply run it to get text replaced in all procedures at once. I hope this will help you in bulk.
-- set "Result to Text" mode by pressing Ctrl+T
SET NOCOUNT ON
DECLARE #sqlToRun VARCHAR(1000), #searchFor VARCHAR(100), #replaceWith VARCHAR(100)
-- text to search for
SET #searchFor = '[MY-SERVER]'
-- text to replace with
SET #replaceWith = '[MY-SERVER2]'
-- this will hold stored procedures text
DECLARE #temp TABLE (spText VARCHAR(MAX))
DECLARE curHelp CURSOR FAST_FORWARD
FOR
-- get text of all stored procedures that contain search string
-- I am using custom escape character here since i need to espape [ and ] in search string
SELECT DISTINCT 'sp_helptext '''+OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(id)+'.'+OBJECT_NAME(id)+''' '
FROM syscomments WHERE TEXT LIKE '%' + REPLACE(REPLACE(#searchFor,']','\]'),'[','\[') + '%' ESCAPE '\'
ORDER BY 'sp_helptext '''+OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(id)+'.'+OBJECT_NAME(id)+''' '
OPEN curHelp
FETCH next FROM curHelp INTO #sqlToRun
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
--insert stored procedure text into a temporary table
INSERT INTO #temp
EXEC (#sqlToRun)
-- add GO after each stored procedure
INSERT INTO #temp
VALUES ('GO')
FETCH next FROM curHelp INTO #sqlToRun
END
CLOSE curHelp
DEALLOCATE curHelp
-- find and replace search string in stored procedures
-- also replace CREATE PROCEDURE with ALTER PROCEDURE
UPDATE #temp
SET spText = REPLACE(REPLACE(spText,'CREATE PROCEDURE', 'ALTER PROCEDURE'),#searchFor,#replaceWith)
SELECT spText FROM #temp
-- now copy and paste result into new window
-- then make sure everything looks good and run
GO
Here is the reference link :
http://www.ideosity.com/ourblog/post/ideosphere-blog/2013/06/14/how-to-find-and-replace-text-in-all-stored-procedures
You can search the text of the stored procedure definitions using this
SELECT
Name
FROM
sys.procedures
WHERE
OBJECT_DEFINITION(OBJECT_ID) LIKE '%YourSearchText%'
Replacing is generally a bad idea, since you don't know the context of the text you'll find in the stored procedures. It probably is possible though via Powershell scripting.
I prefer this solution to any others, since I'm comfortable writing queries- so finding text in all stored procs, that are in schema (x) and database (y) and names that start with (z) is quite an easy and intuitive query.
Here's one I wrote today to help with a server upgrade project.
Searches all stored procs and views in all user databases on a server, and automatically replaces the search string with another. Ideal for changing hard-coded linked server names and the like:
set nocount on
if OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#dbs') is not null
drop table #dbs
if OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#objects') is not null
drop table #objects
declare #find as nvarchar(128) = 'Monkey'
declare #replace as nvarchar(128) = 'Chimp'
declare #SQL as nvarchar(max)
declare #current_db as sysname
declare #current_schema as sysname
declare #current_object as sysname
declare #current_type as char(2)
declare #current_ansi as bit
declare #current_quot as bit
declare #fullname as sysname
declare #preamble as nvarchar(128)
create table #objects
(
dbname sysname,
schemaname sysname,
objname sysname,
objtype char(2),
ansinulls bit,
quotedidentifier bit
)
create unique clustered index i on #objects (dbname, schemaname, objname)
select [name] into #dbs
from master.sys.databases
where [name] not in ('master','tempdb','model','msdb','ReportServer','ReportServerTempDB', 'SSISDB')
declare db_cursor cursor for select [name] from #dbs order by [name]
open db_cursor
fetch next from db_cursor into #current_db
while ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
begin
set #SQL = 'insert into #objects select ''' + #current_db + ''', s.[name], o.[name], o.[type], m.uses_ansi_nulls, m.uses_quoted_identifier from ' + #current_db + '.sys.sql_modules as m '
+ 'join ' + #current_db + '.sys.objects AS o ON m.object_id = o.object_id '
+ 'join ' + #current_db + '.sys.schemas AS s ON o.schema_id = s.schema_id '
+ 'where m.definition like ''%' + #find + '%'' and type in (''P'', ''V'') and is_ms_shipped = 0 order by s.[name], o.[name]'
exec sp_executeSQL #SQL
fetch next from db_cursor into #current_db
end
close db_cursor
deallocate db_cursor
declare obj_cursor cursor for select dbname, schemaname, objname, objtype, ansinulls, quotedidentifier from #objects order by dbname, objname
open obj_cursor
fetch next from obj_cursor into #current_db, #current_schema, #current_object, #current_type, #current_ansi, #current_quot
while ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
begin
set #fullname = #current_db + '.' + #current_schema + '.' + #current_object
set #preamble = CASE WHEN #current_ansi = 1 THEN 'SET ANSI_NULLS ON' ELSE 'SET ANSI_NULLS OFF' END + '; '
+ CASE WHEN #current_quot = 1 THEN 'SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON' ELSE 'SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF' END + '; '
print 'Altering ' + #fullname
if #current_type = 'P'
begin
set #SQL = 'use ' + #current_db + '; ' + #preamble + 'declare #newproc nvarchar(max);'
+ 'set #newproc = REPLACE(REPLACE(OBJECT_DEFINITION(OBJECT_ID(''' + #fullname + ''')), ''' + #find + ''', ''' + #replace + '''), ''CREATE PROCEDURE'', ''ALTER PROCEDURE''); '
+ 'exec sp_executeSQL #newproc'
exec sp_executeSQL #SQL
end
if #current_type = 'V'
begin
set #SQL = 'use ' + #current_db + '; ' + #preamble + 'declare #newproc nvarchar(max);'
+ 'set #newproc = REPLACE(REPLACE(OBJECT_DEFINITION(OBJECT_ID(''' + #fullname + ''')), ''' + #find + ''', ''' + #replace + '''), ''CREATE VIEW'', ''ALTER VIEW''); '
+ 'exec sp_executeSQL #newproc'
exec sp_executeSQL #SQL
end
fetch next from obj_cursor into #current_db, #current_schema, #current_object, #current_type, #current_ansi, #current_quot
end
close obj_cursor
deallocate obj_cursor
It also handles idiosyncratic ANSI_NULL and QUOTED_IDENTIFIER settings, and can be extended to handle the various types of function.
Be careful though! With great power comes great responsibility...
Update
I just realized the link in David's answer included the search function. again, it's a great answer.
David Atkinson's answer is great, just want to add the search part. (not sure when the search was added in SSMS, my version is SSMS V17.9.1)
Instead of selecting stored procedures one by one, I can do a search.
The search takes a wildcard, similar to 'like' in TSQL
There's no way to do this with built-in functionality. While it doesn't help you today, I'd suggest changing all of your references to synonyms while you're in there. That way, when this happens again in the future (and it will happen again), all of your external references are in one place and easily updated. Incidentally, I have a blog post on the latter.
I just run this code to find a specific text in all stored procedures:
SELECT DISTINCT
o.name AS Object_Name,
o.type_desc
FROM sys.sql_modules m
INNER JOIN
sys.objects o
ON m.object_id = o.object_id
WHERE m.definition Like '%textToFind%'
or m.definition Like '%\[ifTextIsAColNameWithBrackets\]%' ESCAPE '\';
If you have downtime available.
Go into "Generate scripts" and generate 'create' scripts for all of your sprocs you want to edit.
Replace the text in the script and just drop and re-create all of them.
Hmm, dropping and rebuilding all procedures worked, unfortunately it crashed the SQL server upon which the SCADA for a rather large factory relied.
It saved a bit of effort editing them individually and the factory was only stalled til I rebooted the server.
But exercise some caution methinks. I was fair crapping myself for a moment there.
I have a number of tables (around 40) containing snapshot data about 40 million plus vehicles. Each snapshot table is at a specific point in time (the end of the quarter) and is identical in terms of structure.
Whilst most of our analysis is against single snapshots, on occasion we need to run some analysis against all the snapshots at once. For instance, we may need to build a new table containing all the Ford Focus cars from every single snapshot.
To achieve this we currently have two options:
a) write a long, long, long batch file repeating the same code over and over again, just changing the FROM clause
[drawbacks - it takes a long time to write and changing a single line of code in one of blocks requires fiddly changes in all the other blocks]
b) use a view to union all the tables together and query that instead
[drawbacks - our tables are stored in separate database instances and cannot be indexed, plus the resulting view is something like 600 million records long by 125 columns wide, so is incredibly slow]
So, what I would like to find out is whether I can either use dynamic sql or put the SQL into a loop to spool through all tables. This would be something like:
for each *table* in TableList
INSERT INTO output_table
SELECT *table* as OriginTableName, Make, Model
FROM *table*
next *table* in TableList
Is this possible? This would mean that updating the original SQL when our client changes what they need (a very regular occurrence!) would be very simple and we would benefit from all the indexes we already have on the original tables.
Any pointers, suggestions or help will be much appreciated.
If you can identify your tables (e.g. a naming pattern), you could simply say:
DECLARE #sql NVARCHAR(MAX);
SELECT #sql = N'';
SELECT #sql = #sql + 'INSERT output_table SELECT ''' + name + ''', Make, Model
FROM dbo.' + QUOTENAME(name) + ';'
FROM sys.tables
WHERE name LIKE 'pattern%';
-- or WHERE name IN ('t1', 't2', ... , 't40');
EXEC sp_executesql #sql;
This assumes they're all in the dbo schema. If they're not, the adjustment is easy... just replace dbo with ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME([schema_id])) + '...
In the end I used two methods:
Someone on another forum suggested making use of sp_msforeachtable and a table which contains all the table names. Their suggestion was:
create table dbo.OutputTable (OriginTableName nvarchar(500), RecordCount INT)
create table dbo.TableList (Name nvarchar (500))
insert dbo.TableList
select '[dbo].[swap]'
union select '[dbo].[products]'
union select '[dbo].[structures]'
union select '[dbo].[stagingdata]'
exec sp_msforeachtable #command1 = 'INSERT INTO dbo.OutputTable SELECT ''?'', COUNT(*) from ?'
,#whereand = 'and syso.object_id in (select object_id(Name) from dbo.TableList)'
select * from dbo.OutputTable
This works perfectly well for some queries, but seems to suffer from the fact that one cannot use a GROUP BY clause within the query (or, at least, I could not find a way to do this).
The final solution I used was to use Dynamic SQL with a lookup table containing the table names. In a very simple form, this looks like:
DECLARE #TableName varchar(500)
DECLARE #curTable CURSOR
DECLARE #sql NVARCHAR(1000)
SET #curTable = CURSOR FOR
SELECT [Name] FROM Vehicles_LookupTables.dbo.AllStockTableList
OPEN #curTable
FETCH NEXT
FROM #curTable INTO #TableName
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
SET #sql = 'SELECT ''' +#TableName + ''', Make, sum(1) as Total FROM ' + #TableName + ' GROUP BY Make'
EXEC sp_executesql #sql
FETCH NEXT
FROM #curTable INTO #TableName
END
CLOSE #curTable
DEALLOCATE #curTable
I'm trying to write a stored procedure to copy a subset of data from one set of tables to an identical set of tables in a different database. The "source" database needs to be a parameter to the stored procedure.
I've struggled with this for two days now, and I thought I had a good solution:
Validate that the schemas are the same.
Create temporary "rmt" synonyms for the source tables using dynamic SQL.
Copy the data using INSERT INTO A SELECT * FROM rmtA WHERE <criteria>
Delete the synonyms.
This works pretty well for most tables, but for tables that contain an identity column, I'm forced not only to SET IDENTITY_INSERT ON & OFF, but even worse, I can't use SELECT *; I have to specify all the columns explicitly. This will be a nightmare if I add or delete columns later.
I've gotta get something out the door, so I'm going with this solution for now, but I'd like to think that there's a better solution out there somewhere.
Help?
It sounds like you're using dynamic SQL in your stored procedure, so you're ready to dynamically create your list of columns in the SELECT clause.
You can select from sys.columns to get the list of columns, and learn if the table has an identity column. Here's a query that shows the information you need to create the list of columns.
SELECT c.name, is_identity
FORM sys.columns c
WHERE object_id = object_id('MyTable')
In short, if is_identity is 1 for at least one column, you'll need to include the SET IDENTITY_INSERT. And, you would exclude any columns from the SELECT clause where is_identity = 1.
And, this approach will adapt to new columns you add to the tables.
Here's an example
DECLARE #TableName varchar(128) = 'MyTableName'
DECLARE #ColumnName varchar(128)
DECLARE #IsIdentity bit
DECLARE #TableHasIdentity bit = 0
DECLARE #sql varchar(2000) = 'SELECT '
-- create cursor to step through list of columns
DECLARE MyCurs CURSOR FOR
SELECT c.name, is_identity
FROM sys.columns c
WHERE object_id = object_id(#TableName)
ORDER BY column_id
-- open cursor and get first row
OPEN MyCurs
FETCH NEXT FROM MyCurs INTO #ColumnName, #IsIdentity
-- process each column in the table
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
IF #IsIdentity = 0
-- add column to the SELECT clause
SET #sql = #sql + #ColumnName + ', '
ELSE
-- indicate that table has identity column
SET #TableHasIdentity = 1
-- get next column
FETCH NEXT FROM MyCurs INTO #ColumnName, #IsIdentity
END
-- cursor cleanup
CLOSE MyCurs
DEALLOCATE MyCurs
-- add FROM clause
SET #sql = LEFT(#sql, LEN(#sql)-1) + CHAR(13) + CHAR(10) + 'FROM ' + #TableName
-- add SET IDENTITY if necessary
IF #TableHasIdentity = 1
SET #sql = 'SET IDENTITY_INSERT ' + #TableName + ' ON' + CHAR(13) + CHAR (10)
+ #sql + CHAR(13) + CHAR (10)
+ 'SET IDENTITY_INSERT ' + #TableName + ' OFF'
PRINT #sql