Related
I want to display a string in a table format as shown below:
For a string like 'hi,is,1,question,thanks,.,.,n'
I need this result:
column1 column2 column3 column4 ..... column
hi is 1 question ..... n
DECLARE #string VARCHAR(MAX);
SET #string = 'hi,is,1,question,thanks,.,.,n';
DECLARE #SQL VARCHAR(MAX);
SET #SQL = 'SELECT ''' + REPLACE(#string, ',', ''',''') + '''';
EXEC (#SQL);
Result:
Add SELECT ' at beginning and ' at the end of string
Replace all , with ',' inside string
So string 'hi,is,1,question,thanks,.,.,n' is replace by 'SELECT 'hi','is','1','question','thanks','.','.','n''
Executed as SQL query
PS: If you want to use it on column you will have to combine it with CURSOR
Update
DECLARE #table TABLE
(
ID INT IDENTITY,
string VARCHAR(MAX)
);
INSERT INTO #table
VALUES
('This,is,a,string,,n,elements,..');
INSERT INTO #table
VALUES
('And,one,more');
INSERT INTO #table
VALUES
('Ugly,but,works,,,Yay!,..,,,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,..');
SELECT * FROM #table
DECLARE #string_to_split VARCHAR(MAX);
DECLARE #sql_query_to_execute VARCHAR(MAX);
DECLARE #max_elements INT, #id INT, #i INT;
SET #i = 1;
DECLARE string_cursor CURSOR FOR SELECT ID, string FROM #table;
SELECT #max_elements = MAX(LEN(string) - LEN(REPLACE(string, ',', ''))) + 1 -- Find max number of elements */
FROM #table;
IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..##my_temp_table_for_splitted_columns') <> 0 -- Create new temp table with valid amount of columns
DROP TABLE ##my_temp_table_for_splited_columns;
SET #sql_query_to_execute = 'create table ##my_temp_table_for_splitted_columns ( ID int,';
WHILE #i <= #max_elements
BEGIN
SET #sql_query_to_execute = #sql_query_to_execute + ' Col' + CAST(#i AS VARCHAR(max)) + ' varchar(25), ';
SET #i = #i + 1;
END;
SELECT #sql_query_to_execute = SUBSTRING(#sql_query_to_execute, 1, LEN(#sql_query_to_execute) - 1) + ')';
EXEC (#sql_query_to_execute);
/* Split string for each row */
OPEN string_cursor;
FETCH NEXT FROM string_cursor
INTO #id,
#string_to_split
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
SET #i = MAX(LEN(#string_to_split) - LEN(REPLACE(#string_to_split, ',', ''))) + 1; -- check amount of columns for current string
WHILE #i < #max_elements
BEGIN
SET #string_to_split = #string_to_split + ','; -- add missing columns
SET #i = #i + 1;
END;
SET #sql_query_to_execute = 'SELECT ' + CAST(#id AS VARCHAR(MAX)) + ',''' + REPLACE(#string_to_split, ',', ''',''') + '''';
INSERT INTO ##my_temp_table_for_splitted_columns --insert result to temp table
EXEC (#sql_query_to_execute);
FETCH NEXT FROM string_cursor
INTO #id,
#string_to_split;
END;
CLOSE string_cursor;
DEALLOCATE string_cursor;
SELECT *
FROM ##my_temp_table_for_splitted_columns;
This is not trivial. You will find a lot of examples how to split your string in a set of fragments. And you will find a lot of examples how to pivot a row set to a single row. But - adding quite some difficulty - you have an unknown count of columns. There are three approaches:
Split this and return your set with a known maximum of columns
Use a dynamically created statement and use EXEC. But this will not work in VIEWs or iTVFs, nor will it work against a table.
Instead of a column list you return a generic container like XML
with a known maximum of columns
One example for the first was this
DECLARE #str VARCHAR(1000)='This,is,a,string,with,n,elements,...';
SELECT p.*
FROM
(
SELECT A.[value]
,CONCAT('Column',A.[key]+1) AS ColumnName
FROM OPENJSON('["' + REPLACE(#str,',','","') + '"]') A
) t
PIVOT
(
MAX(t.[value]) FOR ColumnName IN(Column1,Column2,Column3,Column4,Column5,Column6,Column7,Column8,Column9 /*add as many as you need*/)
) p
Hint: My approach to split the string uses OPENJSON, not available before version 2016. But there are many other approaches you'll find easily. It's just an example to show you the combination of a splitter with PIVOT using a running index to build up a column name.
Unknown count of columns
And the same example with a dynamically created column list was this:
DECLARE #str VARCHAR(1000)='This,is,a,string,with,n,elements,...';
DECLARE #CountElements INT=LEN(#str)-LEN(REPLACE(#str,',',''))+1;
DECLARE #columnList NVARCHAR(MAX)=
STUFF((
SELECT TOP(#CountElements)
CONCAT(',Column',ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY (SELECT 1)))
FROM master..spt_values /*has a lot of rows*/
FOR XML PATH('')
),1,1,'');
DECLARE #Command NVARCHAR(MAX)=
N'SELECT p.*
FROM
(
SELECT A.[value]
,CONCAT(''Column'',A.[key]+1) AS ColumnName
FROM OPENJSON(''["'' + REPLACE(''' + #str + ''','','',''","'') + ''"]'') A
) t
PIVOT
(
MAX(t.[value]) FOR ColumnName IN(' + #columnList + ')
) p;';
EXEC(#Command);
Hint: The statement created is exactly the same as above. But the column list in the pivot's IN is created dynamically. This will work with (almost) any count of words generically.
If you need more help, please use the edit option of your question and provide some more details.
An inlineable approach for a table returning a generic container
If you need this against a table, you might try something along this:
DECLARE #tbl TABLE(ID INT IDENTITY,YourList NVARCHAR(MAX));
INSERT INTO #tbl VALUES('This,is,a,string,with,n,elements,...')
,('And,one,more');
SELECT *
,CAST('<x>' + REPLACE((SELECT t.YourList AS [*] FOR XML PATH('')),',','</x><x>') + '</x>' AS XML) AS Splitted
FROM #tbl t
This will return your list as an XML like
<x>This</x>
<x>is</x>
<x>a</x>
<x>string</x>
<x>with</x>
<x>n</x>
<x>elements</x>
<x>...</x>
You can grab - if needed - each element by its index like here
TheXml.value('/x[1]','nvarchar(max)') AS Element1
I want to convert multiple rows into a [single row, single column] and append comma (,) in between the values. I want to use one Select query with no declare statement and no Utility.
We can have any number of rows
Table:
ID
1
2
3
4
5
My desired Output: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
If you don't want to use DECLARE, you can use STUFF i FOR XML PATH(''). For example:
DECLARE #tab TABLE (Id varchar(10))
INSERT INTO #tab VALUES ('1'),('2'),('3'),('4')
SELECT STUFF((SELECT ', ' + Id FROM #tab FOR XML PATH('')),1,2,'')
I assume, your Id column is type of int or bigint so you will have to cast it to char or varchar.
In SQL Server 2017 you can use STRING_AGG.
DECLARE #tab TABLE (Id varchar(10))
INSERT INTO #tab VALUES ('1'),('2'),('3'),('4')
SELECT STRING_AGG (Id, ', ')
FROM #tab;
DECLARE #Output VARCHAR(MAX)
SELECT #Output = ISNULL(<value> + ',',<value>) FROM <table>
SELECT #Output
In SQL Server you can use COALESCE
DECLARE #number VARCHAR(MAX);
SET #number = NULL;
SELECT
#number = COALESCE(#number+',', '')+ID
FROM Table
Select #Number
On Microsoft SQL Server:
DECLARE #CSVList VARCHAR(MAX)
SELECT #CSVList = COALESCE(#CSVList + ', ', '') + CAST(ID AS NVARCHAR(100))
FROM YourTable
SELECT #CSVList
Please see the SQL DDL below:
create table dbo.Test(id int, name varchar(30))
INSERT INTO Test values (1, 'Mark')
INSERT INTO Test values (2,'Williams')
I am trying to return: 'Mark Williams' using an SQL SELECT. I have tried using an SQL Pivot, but it has not worked.
Possibly more flexible than COALESCE would be to use the STUFF and FOR XML pattern:
SELECT TOP 1
STUFF((SELECT ' ' + Name AS [text()]
FROM dbo.Test
ORDER BY id
FOR XML PATH('')), 1, 1, '' ) Concatenated
FROM TEST
Try this:
DECLARE #Return VARCHAR(MAX)
SELECT #Return = COALESCE(#Return+' ','') + name
FROM dbo.TEST
SELECT #Return
DECLARE #NameList VARCHAR(8000)
SELECT #NameList = COALESCE(#NameList + ' ', '') + Name
FROM Test
SELECT #NameList
Read more COALESCE
Consider a situation we have two variables in SQL Server 2005's SP as below,
#string1 = 'a,b,c,d'
#string2 = 'c,d,e,f,g'
Is there a solution to get a new string out of that like (#string1 U #string2) without using any loops. i.e the final string should be like,
#string3 = 'a,b,c,d,e,f,g'
In case you need to do this as a set and not one row at a time. Given the following split function:
USE tempdb;
GO
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitStrings(#List nvarchar(max))
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN ( SELECT Item FROM
( SELECT Item = x.i.value(N'./text()[1]', N'nvarchar(max)')
FROM ( SELECT [XML] = CONVERT(xml, '<i>'
+ REPLACE(#List,',', '</i><i>') + '</i>').query('.')
) AS a CROSS APPLY [XML].nodes('i') AS x(i) ) AS y
WHERE Item IS NOT NULL
);
GO
Then with the following table and sample data, and string variable, you can get all of the results this way:
DECLARE #foo TABLE(ID INT IDENTITY(1,1), col NVARCHAR(MAX));
INSERT #foo(col) SELECT N'c,d,e,f,g';
INSERT #foo(col) SELECT N'c,e,b';
INSERT #foo(col) SELECT N'd,e,f,x,a,e';
DECLARE #string NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'a,b,c,d';
;WITH x AS
(
SELECT f.ID, c.Item FROM #foo AS f
CROSS APPLY dbo.SplitStrings(f.col) AS c
), y AS
(
SELECT ID, Item FROM x
UNION
SELECT x.ID, s.Item
FROM dbo.SplitStrings(#string) AS s
CROSS JOIN x
)
SELECT ID, Items = STUFF((SELECT ',' + Item
FROM y AS y2 WHERE y2.ID = y.ID
FOR XML PATH(''), TYPE).value(N'./text()[1]', N'nvarchar(max)'), 1, 1, N'')
FROM y
GROUP BY ID;
Results:
ID Items
-- ----------
1 a,b,c,d,e,f,g
2 a,b,c,d,e
3 a,b,c,d,e,f,x
On newer versions (SQL Server 2017+), the query is much simpler, and you don't need to create your own custom string-splitting function:
;WITH x AS
(
SELECT f.ID, c.value FROM #foo AS f
CROSS APPLY STRING_SPLIT
(
CONCAT(f.col, N',', #string), N','
) AS c GROUP BY f.ID, c.value
)
SELECT ID, STRING_AGG(value, N',')
WITHIN GROUP (ORDER BY value)
FROM x GROUP BY ID;
Example db<>fiddle
Now that all said, what you really should do is follow the previous advice and store these things in a related table in the first place. You can use the same type of splitting methodology to store the strings separately whenever an insert or update happens, instead of just dumping the CSV into a single column, and your applications shouldn't really have to change the way they're passing data into your procedures. But it sure will be easier to get the data out!
EDIT
Adding a potential solution for SQL Server 2008 that is a bit more convoluted but gets things done with one less loop (using a massive table scan and replace instead). I don't think this is any better than the solution above, and it is certainly less maintainable, but it is an option to test out should you find you are able to upgrade to 2008 or better (and also for any 2008+ users who come across this question).
SET NOCOUNT ON;
-- let's pretend this is our static table:
CREATE TABLE #x
(
ID int IDENTITY(1,1),
col nvarchar(max)
);
INSERT #x(col) VALUES(N'c,d,e,f,g'), (N'c,e,b'), (N'd,e,f,x,a,e');
-- and here is our parameter:
DECLARE #string nvarchar(max) = N'a,b,c,d';
The code:
DECLARE #sql nvarchar(max) = N'DECLARE #src TABLE(ID INT, col NVARCHAR(32));
DECLARE #dest TABLE(ID int, col nvarchar(32));';
SELECT #sql += '
INSERT #src VALUES(' + RTRIM(ID) + ','''
+ REPLACE(col, ',', '''),(' + RTRIM(ID) + ',''') + ''');'
FROM #x;
SELECT #sql += '
INSERT #dest VALUES(' + RTRIM(ID) + ','''
+ REPLACE(#string, ',', '''),(' + RTRIM(ID) + ',''') + ''');'
FROM #x;
SELECT #sql += '
WITH x AS (SELECT ID, col FROM #src UNION SELECT ID, col FROM #dest)
SELECT DISTINCT ID, Items = STUFF((SELECT '','' + col
FROM x AS x2 WHERE x2.ID = x.ID FOR XML PATH('''')), 1, 1, N'''')
FROM x;'
EXEC sys.sp_executesql #sql;
GO
DROP TABLE #x;
This is much trickier to do in 2005 (though not impossible) because you need to change the VALUES() clauses to UNION ALL...
Two ways you can do that:
Build a CLR function to do the job for you. Move the logic back to .NET code which is much easier platform for string manipulation.
If you have to use SQL Server, then you will need to:
"explode" the two strings into two tables, this function might help: http://blog.logiclabz.com/sql-server/split-function-in-sql-server-to-break-comma-separated-strings-into-table.aspx
Get a unique list of strings from the two tables. (simple query)
"implode" the two string tables into a variable (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/194852/concatenate-many-rows-into-a-single-text-string)
Found this function dbo.Split in a related answer, which you can use like this:
declare #string1 nvarchar(50) = 'a,b,c,d'
declare #string2 nvarchar(50) = 'c,d,e,f,g'
select * from dbo.split(#string1, ',')
select * from dbo.split(#string2, ',')
declare #data nvarchar(100) = ''
select #data = #data + ',' + Data from (
select Data from dbo.split(#string1, ',')
union
select Data from dbo.split(#string2, ',')
) as d
select substring(#data, 2, LEN(#data))
The last SELECT returns
a,b,c,d,e,f,g
How about
set #string3 = #string1+','+#string2
Sorry, wasn't clear you wanted only unique occurrences. What version of SQL server are you using? String manipulation functions vary per version.
If you don't mind a UDF to split the string, try this:
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.Split
(
#RowData nvarchar(2000),
#SplitOn nvarchar(5)
)
RETURNS #RtnValue table
(
Id int identity(1,1),
Data nvarchar(100)
)
AS
BEGIN
Declare #Cnt int
declare #data varchar(100)
Set #Cnt = 1
While (Charindex(#SplitOn,#RowData)>0)
Begin
Insert Into #RtnValue (data)
Select ltrim(rtrim(Substring(#RowData,1,Charindex(#SplitOn,#RowData)-1)))
Set #RowData = Substring(#RowData,Charindex(#SplitOn,#RowData)+1,len(#RowData))
Set #Cnt = #Cnt + 1
End
Insert Into #RtnValue (data)
Select Data = ltrim(rtrim(#RowData))
Return
END
and the code to use the UDF
go
#string1 = 'a,b,c,d'
#string2 = 'c,d,e,f,g'
declare #string3 varchar(200)
set #string3 = ''
select #string3 = #string3+data+','
from ( select data,min(id) as Id from dbo.split(#string1+','+#string2,',')
group by data ) xx
order by xx.id
print left(#string3,len(#string3)-1)
The following SQL function will convert a comma separated list to a table variable...
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[udfCsvToTable]( #CsvString VARCHAR( 8000))
-- Converts a comman separated value into a table variable
RETURNS #tbl TABLE( [Value] VARCHAR( 100) COLLATE DATABASE_DEFAULT NOT NULL)
AS BEGIN
DECLARE #Text VARCHAR( 100)
SET #CsvString = RTRIM( LTRIM( #CsvString))
SET #CsvString = REPLACE( #CsvString, CHAR( 9), '')
SET #CsvString = REPLACE( #CsvString, CHAR( 10), '')
SET #CsvString = REPLACE( #CsvString, CHAR( 13), '')
IF LEN( #CsvString) < 1 RETURN
WHILE LEN( #CsvString) > 0 BEGIN
IF CHARINDEX( ',', #CsvString) > 0 BEGIN
SET #Text = LEFT( #CsvString, CHARINDEX( ',', #CsvString) - 1)
SET #CsvString = LTRIM( RTRIM( RIGHT( #CsvString, LEN( #CsvString) - CHARINDEX( ',', #CsvString))))
END
ELSE BEGIN
SET #Text = #CsvString
SET #CsvString = ''
END
INSERT #tbl VALUES( LTRIM( RTRIM( #Text)))
END
RETURN
END
You can then union the two tables together, like so...
SELECT * FROM udfCsvToTable('a,b,c,d')
UNION
SELECT * FROM udfCsvToTable('c,d,e,f,g')
Which will give you a result set of:
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
I'm running a query using "EXEC sp_helptext Object", but it returns multiple lines with a column name Text. I'm trying to concatenate that value into a single string but I'm having trouble trying to figure out the best way to do it using T-SQL.
You can try something like this
DECLARE #Table TABLE(
Val VARCHAR(MAX)
)
INSERT INTO #Table EXEC sp_helptext 'sp_configure'
DECLARE #Val VARCHAR(MAX)
SELECT #Val = COALESCE(#Val + ' ' + Val, Val)
FROM #Table
SELECT #Val
This will bring back everything in one line, so you might want to use line breaks instead.
Assuming SQL Server 2005 and above (which is implied by varchar(max) in astander's answer), why not simply use one of these
SELECT OBJECT_DEFINITION('MyObject')
SELECT definition FROM sys.sql_modules WHERE object_id = OBJECT_ID('MyObject')
This is not very glamorous, but it works ...
DECLARE #Table TABLE(
Val VARCHAR(MAX)
)
INSERT INTO #Table EXEC sp_helptext 'sp_configure'
DECLARE #Val VARCHAR(MAX)
SET #Val = ''
SELECT #Val = #Val + REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(Val, CHAR(10), ''), CHAR(13), ''), CHAR(9), '')
FROM #Table
-- Replaces line breaks and tab keystrokes.
SELECT #Val