Need to separate information - tsql

Question

I have a ClientID formatted as a link to the file, it looks like:
Doe, John (W21135446).
I need to separate out this to be:
Last Name First Name File Number
Doe John W2135446
Including removing the () around the file number. How do I write the T-SQL code to do this for me?

Answer 1

I was able to achieve this using the CHARINDEX() and some string-manipulating system functions.
SELECT val.ClientID,
LTRIM(RTRIM(LEFT(ClientID, CHARINDEX(',', ClientID)-1))) AS LastName,
LTRIM(RTRIM(SUBSTRING(ClientID, CHARINDEX(',', ClientID) + 2, CHARINDEX('(', val.ClientID) - (CHARINDEX(',', ClientID)+2)))) AS FirstName,
LTRIM(RTRIM(SUBSTRING(ClientID, CHARINDEX('(', ClientID)+1, (CHARINDEX(')', val.ClientID) - CHARINDEX('(', ClientID)-1)))) AS FileNumber
FROM (VALUES ('Doe, John (W21135446)')) AS val (ClientID);
There are some notable caveats that always accompany working with strings like this: any name value with a comma (something like "Jones, Jr") will break, same with unexpected positions of the characters "(" and ")". So long as all of your data matches this exact pattern, this should help you get the job done.
I used the LTRIM() and RTRIM() functions to remove any leading or trailing spaces because I don't entirely trust my string-math, but they're not required so long as you verify your starting and ending points. Also, pay close attention to the arithmetic groupings and order of operations.
Output:
ClientID
LastName
FirstName
FileNumber
Doe, John (W21135446)
Doe
John
W21135446

Answer 2

There are a few ways to tackle this depending on what version of SQL Server you are on. Each of these:
DECLARE #string VARCHAR(1000) = 'Doe, John (W21135446).'
--==== 1. CHARINDEX + APPLY
SELECT
ClientId = #string,
LastName = SUBSTRING(#string, i1.Pos+1, i2.Pos-i1.Pos-1),
FirstName = SUBSTRING(#string, 0, i1.Pos),
FileNumer = SUBSTRING(#string, i2.Pos+1, i1.ln-i2.Pos-2)
FROM (VALUES(CHARINDEX(',',#string),LEN(#string))) AS i1(Pos,Ln)
CROSS APPLY (VALUES(CHARINDEX('(',#string,i1.Pos))) AS i2(Pos);
--==== 2. DELIMITEDSPLIT8K + CROSS TAB APPLY
SELECT
ClientId = #string,
LastName = MAX(CASE s.ItemNumber WHEN 1 THEN TRIM(',() .' FROM s.item) END),
FirstName = MAX(CASE s.ItemNumber WHEN 2 THEN TRIM(',() .' FROM s.item) END),
FileNumber = MAX(CASE s.ItemNumber WHEN 3 THEN TRIM(',() .' FROM s.item) END)
FROM dbo.DelimitedSplit8K(#string,' ') AS s;
Both Return:
ClientId LastName FirstName FileNumer
----------------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Doe, John (W21135446). John Doe W21135446
Against a table:
--==== Sample Data
DECLARE #strings TABLE (ClientID VARCHAR(100));
INSERT #strings VALUES('Doe, John (W21135446).'),('Smith, Fred (X21139999).'),
('White, Walter (BCH20XD0).'),('Black, Jack (998877).')
--==== 1. CHARINDEX + APPLY
SELECT itvf_extract.*
FROM #strings AS s
CROSS APPLY
(
SELECT
ClientId = s.ClientID,
LastName = TRIM(SUBSTRING(s.ClientID, i1.Pos+1, i2.Pos-i1.Pos-1)),
FirstName = TRIM(SUBSTRING(s.ClientID, 0, i1.Pos)),
FileNumber = SUBSTRING(s.ClientID, i2.Pos+1, i1.ln-i2.Pos-2)
FROM (VALUES(CHARINDEX(',',s.ClientID), LEN(s.ClientID))) AS i1(Pos,Ln)
CROSS APPLY (VALUES(CHARINDEX('(',s.ClientID, i1.Pos))) AS i2(Pos)
) AS itvf_extract;
--==== 2. DELIMITEDSPLIT8K + CROSS TAB APPLY
SELECT
ClientId = s.ClientID,
LastName = MAX(CASE sp.ItemNumber WHEN 1 THEN TRIM(',() .' FROM sp.item) END),
FirstName = MAX(CASE sp.ItemNumber WHEN 2 THEN TRIM(',() .' FROM sp.item) END),
FileNumber = MAX(CASE sp.ItemNumber WHEN 3 THEN TRIM(',() .' FROM sp.item) END)
FROM #strings AS s
CROSS APPLY dbo.DelimitedSplit8K(s.ClientID,' ') AS sp
GROUP BY s.ClientID;
Both Return:
ClientId LastName FirstName FileNumber
-------------------------- --------- ---------- -----------
Doe, John (W21135446). John Doe W21135446
Smith, Fred (X21139999). Fred Smith X21139999
White, Walter (BCH20XD0). Walter White BCH20XD0
Black, Jack (998877). Jack Black 998877

Answer 3

have a play.....reasonably flexible for up to a 4 part split
CREATE TABLE #yourtable(
reference VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY
);
INSERT INTO #yourtable(reference) VALUES
('Doe, John (W21135446)'),
('(Doe), John [W21135446]'),
('Jones [Bill] (W2)'),
('{Smith}, Fred, 684664')
;
WITH CTE AS (
SELECT reference,
REPLACE(
TRIM(REPLACE(TRANSLATE(reference,'()|[]{},',REPLICATE('*',8)),'*','')) ,' ','.' )AS extracted
FROM #yourtable
)
SELECT
reference,
PARSENAME(extracted,3) as Lastname,
PARSENAME(extracted,2) as Firstname,
PARSENAME(extracted,1) as FileNo
FROM CTE
drop table #yourtable