sql select with column name like - sql

Question

I have a table with column names a1,a2...,b1.b2....
How can I select all those with column names like a%?

Answer 1

This will get you the list
select * from information_schema.columns
where table_name='table1' and column_name like 'a%'
If you want to use that to construct a query, you could do something like this:
declare #sql nvarchar(max)
set #sql = 'select '
select #sql = #sql + '[' + column_name +'],'
from information_schema.columns
where table_name='table1' and column_name like 'a%'
set #sql = left(#sql,len(#sql)-1) -- remove trailing comma
set #sql = #sql + ' from table1'
exec sp_executesql #sql
Note that the above is written for SQL Server.

Answer 2

You need to use view INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
select COLUMN_NAME from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS where TABLE_NAME = my_table_name AND COLUMN_NAME like 'a%'
TO inline rows you can use PIVOT and for execution EXEC() function.

Answer 3

This will show you the table name and column name
select table_name,column_name from information_schema.columns
where column_name like '%breakfast%'

Answer 4

SELECT * FROM SysColumns WHERE Name like 'a%'
Will get you a list of columns, you will want to filter more to restrict it to your target table
From there you can construct some ad-hoc sql

Answer 5

Here is a nice way to display the information that you want:
SELECT B.table_catalog as 'Database_Name',
B.table_name as 'Table_Name',
stuff((select ', ' + A.column_name
from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS A
where A.Table_name = B.Table_Name
FOR XML PATH(''),TYPE).value('(./text())[1]','NVARCHAR(MAX)')
, 1, 2, '') as 'Columns'
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS B
WHERE B.TABLE_NAME like '%%'
AND B.COLUMN_NAME like '%%'
GROUP BY B.Table_Catalog, B.Table_Name
Order by 1 asc
Add anything between either '%%' in the main select to narrow down what tables and/or column names you want.

Answer 6

You cannot with standard SQL. Column names are not treated like data in SQL.
If you use a SQL engine that has, say, meta-data tables storing column names, types, etc. you may select on that table instead.

Answer 7

Blorgbeard had a great answer for SQL server. If you have a MySQL server like mine then the following will allow you to select the information from columns where the name is like some key phrase. You just have to substitute the table name, database name, and keyword.
SET #columnnames = (SELECT concat("`",GROUP_CONCAT(`COLUMN_NAME` SEPARATOR "`, `"),"`")
FROM `INFORMATION_SCHEMA`.`COLUMNS`
WHERE `TABLE_SCHEMA`='your_database'
AND `TABLE_NAME`='your_table'
AND COLUMN_NAME LIKE "%keyword%");
SET #burrito = CONCAT("SELECT ",#columnnames," FROM your_table");
PREPARE result FROM #burrito;
EXECUTE result;

Answer 8

Thank you #Blorgbeard for the genious idea.
By the way Blorgbeard's query was not working for me so I edited it:
DECLARE #Table_Name as VARCHAR(50) SET #Table_Name = 'MyTable' -- put here you table name
DECLARE #Column_Like as VARCHAR(20) SET #Column_Like = '%something%' -- put here you element
DECLARE #sql NVARCHAR(MAX) SET #sql = 'select '
SELECT #sql = #sql + '[' + sys.columns.name + '],'
FROM sys.columns
JOIN sys.tables ON sys.columns.object_id = tables.object_id
WHERE sys.columns.name like #Column_Like
and sys.tables.name = #Table_Name
SET #sql = left(#sql,len(#sql)-1) -- remove trailing comma
SET #sql = #sql + ' from ' + #Table_Name
EXEC sp_executesql #sql