I've been tasked with coming up with a means of translating the following data:
date category amount
1/1/2012 ABC 1000.00
2/1/2012 DEF 500.00
2/1/2012 GHI 800.00
2/10/2012 DEF 700.00
3/1/2012 ABC 1100.00
into the following:
date ABC DEF GHI
1/1/2012 1000.00
2/1/2012 500.00
2/1/2012 800.00
2/10/2012 700.00
3/1/2012 1100.00
The blank spots can be NULLs or blanks, either is fine, and the categories would need to be dynamic. Another possible caveat to this is that we'll be running the query in a limited capacity, which means temp tables are out. I've tried to research and have landed on PIVOT but as I've never used that before I really don't understand it, despite my best efforts to figure it out. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Dynamic SQL PIVOT:
create table temp
(
date datetime,
category varchar(3),
amount money
)
insert into temp values ('1/1/2012', 'ABC', 1000.00)
insert into temp values ('2/1/2012', 'DEF', 500.00)
insert into temp values ('2/1/2012', 'GHI', 800.00)
insert into temp values ('2/10/2012', 'DEF', 700.00)
insert into temp values ('3/1/2012', 'ABC', 1100.00)
DECLARE #cols AS NVARCHAR(MAX),
#query AS NVARCHAR(MAX);
SET #cols = STUFF((SELECT distinct ',' + QUOTENAME(c.category)
FROM temp c
FOR XML PATH(''), TYPE
).value('.', 'NVARCHAR(MAX)')
,1,1,'')
set #query = 'SELECT date, ' + #cols + ' from
(
select date
, amount
, category
from temp
) x
pivot
(
max(amount)
for category in (' + #cols + ')
) p '
execute(#query)
drop table temp
Results:
Date ABC DEF GHI
2012-01-01 00:00:00.000 1000.00 NULL NULL
2012-02-01 00:00:00.000 NULL 500.00 800.00
2012-02-10 00:00:00.000 NULL 700.00 NULL
2012-03-01 00:00:00.000 1100.00 NULL NULL
Dynamic SQL PIVOT
Different approach for creating columns string
create table #temp
(
date datetime,
category varchar(3),
amount money
)
insert into #temp values ('1/1/2012', 'ABC', 1000.00)
insert into #temp values ('2/1/2012', 'DEF', 500.00)
insert into #temp values ('2/1/2012', 'GHI', 800.00)
insert into #temp values ('2/10/2012', 'DEF', 700.00)
insert into #temp values ('3/1/2012', 'ABC', 1100.00)
DECLARE #cols AS NVARCHAR(MAX)='';
DECLARE #query AS NVARCHAR(MAX)='';
SELECT #cols = #cols + QUOTENAME(category) + ',' FROM (select distinct category from #temp ) as tmp
select #cols = substring(#cols, 0, len(#cols)) --trim "," at end
set #query =
'SELECT * from
(
select date, amount, category from #temp
) src
pivot
(
max(amount) for category in (' + #cols + ')
) piv'
execute(#query)
drop table #temp
Result
date ABC DEF GHI
2012-01-01 00:00:00.000 1000.00 NULL NULL
2012-02-01 00:00:00.000 NULL 500.00 800.00
2012-02-10 00:00:00.000 NULL 700.00 NULL
2012-03-01 00:00:00.000 1100.00 NULL NULL
I know this question is older but I was looking thru the answers and thought that I might be able to expand on the "dynamic" portion of the problem and possibly help someone out.
First and foremost I built this solution to solve a problem a couple of coworkers were having with inconstant and large data sets needing to be pivoted quickly.
This solution requires the creation of a stored procedure so if that is out of the question for your needs please stop reading now.
This procedure is going to take in the key variables of a pivot statement to dynamically create pivot statements for varying tables, column names and aggregates. The Static column is used as the group by / identity column for the pivot(this can be stripped out of the code if not necessary but is pretty common in pivot statements and was necessary to solve the original issue), the pivot column is where the end resultant column names will be generated from, and the value column is what the aggregate will be applied to. The Table parameter is the name of the table including the schema (schema.tablename) this portion of the code could use some love because it is not as clean as I would like it to be. It worked for me because my usage was not publicly facing and sql injection was not a concern. The Aggregate parameter will accept any standard sql aggregate 'AVG', 'SUM', 'MAX' etc. The code also defaults to MAX as an aggregate this is not necessary but the audience this was originally built for did not understand pivots and were typically using max as an aggregate.
Lets start with the code to create the stored procedure. This code should work in all versions of SSMS 2005 and above but I have not tested it in 2005 or 2016 but I can not see why it would not work.
create PROCEDURE [dbo].[USP_DYNAMIC_PIVOT]
(
#STATIC_COLUMN VARCHAR(255),
#PIVOT_COLUMN VARCHAR(255),
#VALUE_COLUMN VARCHAR(255),
#TABLE VARCHAR(255),
#AGGREGATE VARCHAR(20) = null
)
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
declare #AVAIABLE_TO_PIVOT NVARCHAR(MAX),
#SQLSTRING NVARCHAR(MAX),
#PIVOT_SQL_STRING NVARCHAR(MAX),
#TEMPVARCOLUMNS NVARCHAR(MAX),
#TABLESQL NVARCHAR(MAX)
if isnull(#AGGREGATE,'') = ''
begin
SET #AGGREGATE = 'MAX'
end
SET #PIVOT_SQL_STRING = 'SELECT top 1 STUFF((SELECT distinct '', '' + CAST(''[''+CONVERT(VARCHAR,'+ #PIVOT_COLUMN+')+'']'' AS VARCHAR(50)) [text()]
FROM '+#TABLE+'
WHERE ISNULL('+#PIVOT_COLUMN+','''') <> ''''
FOR XML PATH(''''), TYPE)
.value(''.'',''NVARCHAR(MAX)''),1,2,'' '') as PIVOT_VALUES
from '+#TABLE+' ma
ORDER BY ' + #PIVOT_COLUMN + ''
declare #TAB AS TABLE(COL NVARCHAR(MAX) )
INSERT INTO #TAB EXEC SP_EXECUTESQL #PIVOT_SQL_STRING, #AVAIABLE_TO_PIVOT
SET #AVAIABLE_TO_PIVOT = (SELECT * FROM #TAB)
SET #TEMPVARCOLUMNS = (SELECT replace(#AVAIABLE_TO_PIVOT,',',' nvarchar(255) null,') + ' nvarchar(255) null')
SET #SQLSTRING = 'DECLARE #RETURN_TABLE TABLE ('+#STATIC_COLUMN+' NVARCHAR(255) NULL,'+#TEMPVARCOLUMNS+')
INSERT INTO #RETURN_TABLE('+#STATIC_COLUMN+','+#AVAIABLE_TO_PIVOT+')
select * from (
SELECT ' + #STATIC_COLUMN + ' , ' + #PIVOT_COLUMN + ', ' + #VALUE_COLUMN + ' FROM '+#TABLE+' ) a
PIVOT
(
'+#AGGREGATE+'('+#VALUE_COLUMN+')
FOR '+#PIVOT_COLUMN+' IN ('+#AVAIABLE_TO_PIVOT+')
) piv
SELECT * FROM #RETURN_TABLE'
EXEC SP_EXECUTESQL #SQLSTRING
END
Next we will get our data ready for the example. I have taken the data example from the accepted answer with the addition of a couple of data elements to use in this proof of concept to show the varied outputs of the aggregate change.
create table temp
(
date datetime,
category varchar(3),
amount money
)
insert into temp values ('1/1/2012', 'ABC', 1000.00)
insert into temp values ('1/1/2012', 'ABC', 2000.00) -- added
insert into temp values ('2/1/2012', 'DEF', 500.00)
insert into temp values ('2/1/2012', 'DEF', 1500.00) -- added
insert into temp values ('2/1/2012', 'GHI', 800.00)
insert into temp values ('2/10/2012', 'DEF', 700.00)
insert into temp values ('2/10/2012', 'DEF', 800.00) -- addded
insert into temp values ('3/1/2012', 'ABC', 1100.00)
The following examples show the varied execution statements showing the varied aggregates as a simple example. I did not opt to change the static, pivot, and value columns to keep the example simple. You should be able to just copy and paste the code to start messing with it yourself
exec [dbo].[USP_DYNAMIC_PIVOT] 'date','category','amount','dbo.temp','sum'
exec [dbo].[USP_DYNAMIC_PIVOT] 'date','category','amount','dbo.temp','max'
exec [dbo].[USP_DYNAMIC_PIVOT] 'date','category','amount','dbo.temp','avg'
exec [dbo].[USP_DYNAMIC_PIVOT] 'date','category','amount','dbo.temp','min'
This execution returns the following data sets respectively.
Updated version for SQL Server 2017 using STRING_AGG function to construct the pivot column list:
create table temp
(
date datetime,
category varchar(3),
amount money
);
insert into temp values ('20120101', 'ABC', 1000.00);
insert into temp values ('20120201', 'DEF', 500.00);
insert into temp values ('20120201', 'GHI', 800.00);
insert into temp values ('20120210', 'DEF', 700.00);
insert into temp values ('20120301', 'ABC', 1100.00);
DECLARE #cols AS NVARCHAR(MAX),
#query AS NVARCHAR(MAX);
SET #cols = (SELECT STRING_AGG(category,',') FROM (SELECT DISTINCT category FROM temp WHERE category IS NOT NULL)t);
set #query = 'SELECT date, ' + #cols + ' from
(
select date
, amount
, category
from temp
) x
pivot
(
max(amount)
for category in (' + #cols + ')
) p ';
execute(#query);
drop table temp;
There's my solution cleaning up the unnecesary null values
DECLARE #cols AS NVARCHAR(MAX),
#maxcols AS NVARCHAR(MAX),
#query AS NVARCHAR(MAX)
select #cols = STUFF((SELECT ',' + QUOTENAME(CodigoFormaPago)
from PO_FormasPago
order by CodigoFormaPago
FOR XML PATH(''), TYPE
).value('.', 'NVARCHAR(MAX)')
,1,1,'')
select #maxcols = STUFF((SELECT ',MAX(' + QUOTENAME(CodigoFormaPago) + ') as ' + QUOTENAME(CodigoFormaPago)
from PO_FormasPago
order by CodigoFormaPago
FOR XML PATH(''), TYPE
).value('.', 'NVARCHAR(MAX)')
,1,1,'')
set #query = 'SELECT CodigoProducto, DenominacionProducto, ' + #maxcols + '
FROM
(
SELECT
CodigoProducto, DenominacionProducto,
' + #cols + ' from
(
SELECT
p.CodigoProducto as CodigoProducto,
p.DenominacionProducto as DenominacionProducto,
fpp.CantidadCuotas as CantidadCuotas,
fpp.IdFormaPago as IdFormaPago,
fp.CodigoFormaPago as CodigoFormaPago
FROM
PR_Producto p
LEFT JOIN PR_FormasPagoProducto fpp
ON fpp.IdProducto = p.IdProducto
LEFT JOIN PO_FormasPago fp
ON fpp.IdFormaPago = fp.IdFormaPago
) xp
pivot
(
MAX(CantidadCuotas)
for CodigoFormaPago in (' + #cols + ')
) p
) xx
GROUP BY CodigoProducto, DenominacionProducto'
t #query;
execute(#query);
The below code provides the results which replaces NULL to zero in the output.
Table creation and data insertion:
create table test_table
(
date nvarchar(10),
category char(3),
amount money
)
insert into test_table values ('1/1/2012','ABC',1000.00)
insert into test_table values ('2/1/2012','DEF',500.00)
insert into test_table values ('2/1/2012','GHI',800.00)
insert into test_table values ('2/10/2012','DEF',700.00)
insert into test_table values ('3/1/2012','ABC',1100.00)
Query to generate the exact results which also replaces NULL with zeros:
DECLARE #DynamicPivotQuery AS NVARCHAR(MAX),
#PivotColumnNames AS NVARCHAR(MAX),
#PivotSelectColumnNames AS NVARCHAR(MAX)
--Get distinct values of the PIVOT Column
SELECT #PivotColumnNames= ISNULL(#PivotColumnNames + ',','')
+ QUOTENAME(category)
FROM (SELECT DISTINCT category FROM test_table) AS cat
--Get distinct values of the PIVOT Column with isnull
SELECT #PivotSelectColumnNames
= ISNULL(#PivotSelectColumnNames + ',','')
+ 'ISNULL(' + QUOTENAME(category) + ', 0) AS '
+ QUOTENAME(category)
FROM (SELECT DISTINCT category FROM test_table) AS cat
--Prepare the PIVOT query using the dynamic
SET #DynamicPivotQuery =
N'SELECT date, ' + #PivotSelectColumnNames + '
FROM test_table
pivot(sum(amount) for category in (' + #PivotColumnNames + ')) as pvt';
--Execute the Dynamic Pivot Query
EXEC sp_executesql #DynamicPivotQuery
OUTPUT :
A version of Taryn's answer with performance improvements:
Data
CREATE TABLE dbo.Temp
(
[date] datetime NOT NULL,
category nchar(3) NOT NULL,
amount money NOT NULL,
INDEX [CX dbo.Temp date] CLUSTERED ([date]),
INDEX [IX dbo.Temp category] NONCLUSTERED (category)
);
INSERT dbo.Temp
([date], category, amount)
VALUES
({D '2012-01-01'}, N'ABC', $1000.00),
({D '2012-01-02'}, N'DEF', $500.00),
({D '2012-01-02'}, N'GHI', $800.00),
({D '2012-02-10'}, N'DEF', $700.00),
({D '2012-03-01'}, N'ABC', $1100.00);
Dynamic pivot
DECLARE
#Delimiter nvarchar(4000) = N',',
#DelimiterLength bigint,
#Columns nvarchar(max),
#Query nvarchar(max);
SET #DelimiterLength = LEN(REPLACE(#Delimiter, SPACE(1), N'#'));
-- Before SQL Server 2017
SET #Columns =
STUFF
(
(
SELECT
[text()] = #Delimiter,
[text()] = QUOTENAME(T.category)
FROM dbo.Temp AS T
WHERE T.category IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY T.category
ORDER BY T.category
FOR XML PATH (''), TYPE
)
.value(N'text()[1]', N'nvarchar(max)'),
1, #DelimiterLength, SPACE(0)
);
-- Alternative for SQL Server 2017+ and database compatibility level 110+
SELECT #Columns =
STRING_AGG(CONVERT(nvarchar(max), QUOTENAME(T.category)), N',')
WITHIN GROUP (ORDER BY T.category)
FROM
(
SELECT T2.category
FROM dbo.Temp AS T2
WHERE T2.category IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY T2.category
) AS T;
IF #Columns IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
SET #Query =
N'SELECT [date], ' +
#Columns +
N'
FROM
(
SELECT [date], amount, category
FROM dbo.Temp
) AS S
PIVOT
(
MAX(amount)
FOR category IN (' +
#Columns +
N')
) AS P;';
EXECUTE sys.sp_executesql #Query;
END;
Execution plans
Results
date
ABC
DEF
GHI
2012-01-01 00:00:00.000
1000.00
NULL
NULL
2012-01-02 00:00:00.000
NULL
500.00
800.00
2012-02-10 00:00:00.000
NULL
700.00
NULL
2012-03-01 00:00:00.000
1100.00
NULL
NULL
CREATE TABLE #PivotExample(
[ID] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
[Description] [nvarchar](50) NULL,
[ClientId] [smallint] NOT NULL,
)
GO
INSERT #PivotExample ([ID],[Description], [ClientId]) VALUES ('ACI1','ACI1Desc1',1008)
INSERT #PivotExample ([ID],[Description], [ClientId]) VALUES ('ACI1','ACI1Desc2',2000)
INSERT #PivotExample ([ID],[Description], [ClientId]) VALUES ('ACI1','ACI1Desc3',3000)
INSERT #PivotExample ([ID],[Description], [ClientId]) VALUES ('ACI1','ACI1Desc4',4000)
INSERT #PivotExample ([ID],[Description], [ClientId]) VALUES ('ACI2','ACI2Desc1',5000)
INSERT #PivotExample ([ID],[Description], [ClientId]) VALUES ('ACI2','ACI2Desc2',6000)
INSERT #PivotExample ([ID],[Description], [ClientId]) VALUES ('ACI2','ACI2Desc3', 7000)
SELECT * FROM #PivotExample
--Declare necessary variables
DECLARE #SQLQuery AS NVARCHAR(MAX)
DECLARE #PivotColumns AS NVARCHAR(MAX)
--Get unique values of pivot column
SELECT #PivotColumns= COALESCE(#PivotColumns + ',','') + QUOTENAME([Description])
FROM (SELECT DISTINCT [Description] FROM [dbo].#PivotExample) AS PivotExample
--SELECT #PivotColumns
--Create the dynamic query with all the values for
--pivot column at runtime
SET #SQLQuery =
N' -- Your pivoted result comes here
SELECT ID, ' + #PivotColumns + '
FROM
(
-- Source table should in a inner query
SELECT ID,[Description],[ClientId]
FROM #PivotExample
)AS P
PIVOT
(
-- Select the values from derived table P
SUM(ClientId)
FOR [Description] IN (' + #PivotColumns + ')
)AS PVTTable'
--SELECT #SQLQuery
--Execute dynamic query
EXEC sp_executesql #SQLQuery
Drop table #PivotExample
Fully generic way that will work in non-traditional MS SQL environments (e.g. Azure Synapse Analytics Serverless SQL Pools) - it's in a SPROC but no need to use as such...
-- DROP PROCEDURE IF EXISTS
if object_id('dbo.usp_generic_pivot') is not null
DROP PROCEDURE dbo.usp_generic_pivot
GO;
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.usp_generic_pivot (
#source NVARCHAR (100), -- table or view object name
#pivotCol NVARCHAR (100), -- the column to pivot
#pivotAggCol NVARCHAR (100), -- the column with the values for the pivot
#pivotAggFunc NVARCHAR (20), -- the aggregate function to apply to those values
#leadCols NVARCHAR (100) -- comma seprated list of other columns to keep and order by
)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #pivotedColumns NVARCHAR(MAX)
DECLARE #tsql NVARCHAR(MAX)
SET #tsql = CONCAT('SELECT #pivotedColumns = STRING_AGG(qname, '','') FROM (SELECT DISTINCT QUOTENAME(', #pivotCol,') AS qname FROM ',#source, ') AS qnames')
EXEC sp_executesql #tsql, N'#pivotedColumns nvarchar(max) out', #pivotedColumns out
SET #tsql = CONCAT ( 'SELECT ', #leadCols, ',', #pivotedColumns,' FROM ',' ( SELECT ',#leadCols,',',
#pivotAggCol,',', #pivotCol, ' FROM ', #source, ') as t ',
' PIVOT (', #pivotAggFunc, '(', #pivotAggCol, ')',' FOR ', #pivotCol,
' IN (', #pivotedColumns,')) as pvt ',' ORDER BY ', #leadCols)
EXEC (#tsql)
END
GO;
-- TEST EXAMPLE
EXEC dbo.usp_generic_pivot
#source = '[your_db].[dbo].[form_answers]',
#pivotCol = 'question',
#pivotAggCol = 'answer',
#pivotAggFunc = 'MAX',
#leadCols = 'candidate_id, candidate_name'
GO;
I can someone help me turn this sql into a stored proc..
select * from voilets
where cfrw = 'F16'
UNION
(select *
from voilets
where cfrw in ('B05','B12','R02','F01','F16','F17','U11','U03','U04','U21'))
ORDER BY DSCA
Where 'F16 is a variable called #default
and
'B05','B12','R02','F01','F16','F17','U11','U03','U04','U21' is an array of #voilets
This is not working for me:
#sCarrierSelect varchar(max)
AS
BEGIN
declare #SQL nvarchar(4000)
set #SQL = '
select * from voilets
where t_cfrw = ' + #default + '
UNION
(select *
from carriers
where t_cfrw in (' + #voilets+'))
ORDER BY T_DSCA
'
print #SQL
exec sp_executesql #SQL
END
IF you SQL Server IS >=2008 then:
USE tempdb;
GO
CREATE TABLE voilets
(cfrw char(3), DSCA int)
go
INSERT INTO voilets VALUES ('R02', 2)
INSERT INTO voilets VALUES ('F16', 5)
INSERT INTO voilets VALUES ('F16', 4)
INSERT INTO voilets VALUES ('X77', 9)
go
CREATE TYPE myType AS TABLE (id CHAR(3));
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE usp_myProc
#default char(3),
#voiletsTVP myType READONLY
AS
select * from voilets
where cfrw = #default
UNION
(select *
from voilets
where cfrw in (SELECT * FROM #voiletsTVP))
ORDER BY DSCA
GO
-------------------------
DECLARE #default char(3)
SET #default='F16'
DECLARE #voiletsTVP AS myType;
INSERT INTO #voiletsTVP SELECT * FROM (VALUES ('B05'),('B12'),('R02'),('F01'),('F16'),('F17'),('U11'),('U03'),('U04'),('U21')) q(x)
EXEC usp_myProc #default,#voiletsTVP
GO
Result-set:
cfrw DSCA
R02 2
F16 4
F16 5
Performing that safely in a sproc is actually quite tricky; there are a few common approaches:
use a udf to split a string on a token - google for "split udf" (there will be many), and join on the results
use a table valued parameter
Personally, I rarely use sprocs these days; I'd use dapper:
List<string> foo = ...
var items = conn.Query<SomeType>(
"select * from [table] where colName in #foo", new { foo }).ToList();
Most LINQ providers and ORMs will have options here too, involving Contains etc.
You can learn about Passing Arrays in SQL Parameters using XML Data Type in SQL Server 2005
See sample:
/* for this xml:
<list>
<item>42</item>
<item>73</item>
<item>2007</item>
</list>
*/
CREATE FUNCTION [lm].[SplitList]
(
#list AS XML
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN
(
SELECT tempTable.item.value('.', 'VARCHAR(MAX)') AS Item
FROM #list.nodes('list/item') tempTable(item)
);
Why not use a sql CLR function to split your values, passing those into your procedure. Here is a very good and fast split string implementation: CLR Split String. If you can't use sql clr, then look online for 'sql split string'. Whichever you use you put the result of that work into a temporary table and join that to your main table.
I've got semicolon-separated values in a column Values in my table:
Values
1;2;3;4;5
I would like to transform it in a procedure to have there values as rows:
Values
1
2
3
4
5
How could I do it in T-SQL?
Solution 1(using xml):
declare #str varchar(20)
declare #xml as xml
set #str= '1;2;3;4;5'
SET #xml = cast(('<x>'+replace(#str,';' ,'</x><x>')+'</x>') as xml)
SELECT col.value('.', 'varchar(10)') as value FROM #xml.nodes('x') as tbl(col)
Solution 2(using recursive cte)
declare #str as varchar(100)
declare #delimiter as char(1)
set #delimiter = ';'
set #str = '1;2;3;4;5' -- original data
set #str = #delimiter + #str + #delimiter
;with num_cte as
(
select 1 as rn
union all
select rn +1 as rn
from num_cte
where rn <= len(#str)
)
, get_delimiter_pos_cte as
(
select
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY rn) as rowid,
rn as delimiterpos
from num_cte
cross apply( select substring(#str,rn,1) AS chars) splittedchars
where chars = #delimiter
)
select substring(#str,a.delimiterpos+1 ,c2.delimiterpos - a.delimiterpos - 1) as Countries
from get_delimiter_pos_cte a
inner join get_delimiter_pos_cte c2 on c2.rowid = a.rowid+1
option(maxrecursion 0)
The thing that struck me as possibly leaving room for an additional answer, or additional improvement was that most of the answers/links given were how to split values like this for a single scalar value as opposed to how to apply that kind of splitting logic for a column of values in a table.
I include both a numbers table solution and an XML solution. The XML solution was inspired by the earlier post priyanka.sarkar. I think that a numbers table solution, using an actual numbers table instead of the CTE as in the below solution is probably the fastest, but the XML approach deserves to be developed upon because it's really nice looking.
So, here goes my attempt.
CREATE PROCEDURE PARSE_DELIMITED_VALUES
AS
WITH FIRST_NUMBERS (N) AS (
SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1
), SECOND_NUMBERS (N) AS (
SELECT E1.N
FROM FIRST_NUMBERS E1
CROSS JOIN FIRST_NUMBERS E2
), THIRD_NUMBERS (N) AS (
SELECT E1.N
FROM SECOND_NUMBERS E1
CROSS JOIN SECOND_NUMBERS E2
), FOURTH_NUMBERS (N) AS (
SELECT E1.N
FROM THIRD_NUMBERS E1
CROSS JOIN THIRD_NUMBERS E2
), FIFTH_NUMBERS (N) AS (
SELECT E1.N
FROM FOURTH_NUMBERS E1
CROSS JOIN FOURTH_NUMBERS E2
), NUMBERS (N) AS (
SELECT N
FROM NUMBERS
WHERE N <= 8000 /*adjust these as needed to come up with a max number equal to the max character length allowed in the Values column*/
/*or better yet, if you can, just remove this first...numbers... header stuff so long as you create a temp or permanent table that contains the same numbers to work with*/
)
SELECT SUBSTRING(
MYTABLE.Values,
CASE
WHEN NUMBERS.NUMBER = 1 THEN 1
ELSE NUMBERS.NUMBER + 1
END,
CASE CHARINDEX(';', MYTABLE.Values, NUMBERS.NUMBER + 1)
WHEN 0 THEN LEN('^' + MYTABLE.Values + '^') - 2 + 1
ELSE CHARINDEX(';', MYTABLE.Values, NUMBERS.NUMBER + 1)
END
- CASE
WHEN NUMBERS.NUMBER = 1 THEN 1
ELSE NUMBERS.NUMBER + 1
END
) AS PARSED_VALUE
FROM MYTABLE
INNER JOIN NUMBERS
ON NUMBERS.NUMBER <= LEN('^' + MYTABLE.Values + '^') - 2
AND (
NUMBERS.NUMBER = 1
OR SUBSTRING(MYTABLE.Values, NUMBERS.NUMBER, 1) = ';'
)
GO
-- if your values column can contain NULL values I would change the join at the end as follows:
--from INNER JOIN NUMBERS
--to LEFT OUTER JOIN NUMBERS
The above would probably be most performant if the WITH NUMBERS ... CTEs were replaced by a temporary or permanent table containing the same numeric values.
On the other hand the CTE does the job and keeps it more in one place.
CREATE PROCEDURE PARSE_DELIMITED_VALUES
AS
SELECT E.x.value('.', 'VARCHAR(MAX)') AS PARSED_VALUE
FROM (
SELECT CAST('<x>' + REPLACE(Values, ';', '</x><x>') + '</x>' AS XML) my_x
FROM MYTABLE
) TT
CROSS APPLY my_x.nodes('/x') AS E(x)
GO
-- if your values column can contain NULL values I would change the join at the end as follows:
from `CROSS APPLY`
to `OUTER APPLY`
It's not the most elegant approach, but this might be worth a try. It creates a Sql Command as a string, and at the end executes it.
DECLARE #Values VARCHAR(8000)
-- Flatten all values lists into one string
SET #Values = REPLACE(REPLACE((SELECT [Value] FROM [dbo.MyTable] FOR XML PATH('')), '<Value>', ''), '</Value>', ';')
SET #Values = SUBSTRING(#Values, 0, LEN(#Values))
DECLARE #SeparatorIndex INT
SET #SeparatorIndex = (SELECT TOP 1 PATINDEX('%[;]%', #Values))
DECLARE #InsertClause VARCHAR(50)
SET #InsertClause = 'INSERT INTO [dbo.MyTable] VALUES ('
DECLARE #SQL VARCHAR(500)
SET #SQL = #InsertClause + SUBSTRING(#Values, 0, #SeparatorIndex) + '); '
SET #Values = RIGHT(#Values, LEN(#Values) - (#SeparatorIndex - 1))
SET #SQL = REPLACE(#SQL + (SELECT (REPLACE(#Values, ';', '); ' + #InsertClause))) + ')', '; )', '')
EXEC (#SQL)
The command ends up (in Sql Server 2005) as:
INSERT INTO [dbo.MyTable] VALUES (1); INSERT INTO [dbo.MyTable] VALUES (2); INSERT INTO [dbo.MyTable] VALUES (3); INSERT INTO [dbo.MyTable] VALUES (4); INSERT INTO [dbo.MyTable] VALUES (5) ...'
Do you actually mean, "rows," as in, "tuples," (so you can insert the data into another table, one element per row) or do you mean you want the data displayed vertically?
I'd think a string Replace (look up T-SQL's String Functions) would do the trick, no? Depending on the output target, you'd replace ; with CRLF or . You could even use Replace to create dynamic SQL Insert statements that could be executed by the SP to do row inserts (if that was your intent).
For presentation purposes, this is bad practice.
If it is purely for presentation and you are permitted, I'd output everything as XML then XSLT it any way you want. Honestly, I don't remember the last time I operated directly on a recordset. I always output to XML.