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4265 votes
40 answers
5.3m views

How do I UPDATE from a SELECT in SQL Server?

In SQL Server, it is possible to insert rows into a table with an INSERT.. SELECT statement: INSERT INTO Table (col1, col2, col3) SELECT col1, col2, col3 FROM other_table WHERE sql = 'cool' Is it ...
jamesmhaley's user avatar
  • 44.9k
3268 votes
45 answers
3.8m views

How to add a column with a default value to an existing table in SQL Server?

How can I add a column with a default value to an existing table in SQL Server 2000 / SQL Server 2005?
Mathias's user avatar
  • 33.8k
2418 votes
48 answers
3.3m views

How to concatenate text from multiple rows into a single text string in SQL Server

Consider a database table holding names, with three rows: Peter Paul Mary Is there an easy way to turn this into a single string of Peter, Paul, Mary?
JohnnyM's user avatar
  • 29.2k
2016 votes
4 answers
3.4m views

Inserting multiple rows in a single SQL query? [duplicate]

I have multiple set of data to insert at once, say 4 rows. My table has three columns: Person, Id and Office. INSERT INTO MyTable VALUES ("John", 123, "Lloyds Office"); INSERT INTO MyTable VALUES ("...
user avatar
1841 votes
35 answers
2.6m views

Insert results of a stored procedure into a temporary table

How do I do a SELECT * INTO [temp table] FROM [stored procedure]? Not FROM [Table] and without defining [temp table]? Select all data from BusinessLine into tmpBusLine works fine. select * into ...
Ferdeen's user avatar
  • 21.6k
1840 votes
41 answers
564k views

Table Naming Dilemma: Singular vs. Plural Names [closed]

Academia has it that table names should be the singular of the entity that they store attributes of. I dislike any T-SQL that requires square brackets around names, but I have renamed a Users table ...
1792 votes
30 answers
4.6m views

How do I perform an IF...THEN in an SQL SELECT?

How do I perform an IF...THEN in an SQL SELECT statement? For example: SELECT IF(Obsolete = 'N' OR InStock = 'Y' ? 1 : 0) AS Saleable, * FROM Product
Eric Labashosky's user avatar
1754 votes
36 answers
4.0m views

Find all tables containing column with specified name

Is it possible to query for table names which contain columns being LIKE '%myName%'
gruber's user avatar
  • 29.2k
1739 votes
14 answers
2.1m views

How can I delete using INNER JOIN with SQL Server?

I want to delete using INNER JOIN in SQL Server 2008. But I get this error: Msg 156, Level 15, State 1, Line 15 Incorrect syntax near the keyword 'INNER'. My code: DELETE FROM WorkRecord2 INNER ...
nettoon493's user avatar
1627 votes
19 answers
2.2m views

How can I do an UPDATE statement with JOIN in SQL Server?

I need to update this table in SQL Server with data from its 'parent' table, see below: Table: sale id (int) udid (int) assid (int) Table: ud id (int) assid (int) sale.assid contains the ...
Ant Swift's user avatar
  • 20.6k
1435 votes
7 answers
985k views

What is the difference between JOIN and INNER JOIN?

Both these joins will give me the same results: SELECT * FROM table JOIN otherTable ON table.ID = otherTable.FK vs SELECT * FROM table INNER JOIN otherTable ON table.ID = otherTable.FK Is there ...
driis's user avatar
  • 163k
1378 votes
15 answers
1.8m views

How do I escape a single quote in SQL Server?

I am trying to insert some text data into a table in SQL Server 9. The text includes a single quote '. How do I escape that? I tried using two single quotes, but it threw me some errors. eg. insert ...
tim_wonil's user avatar
  • 15.4k
1373 votes
15 answers
1.2m views

How to get the identity of an inserted row?

How can I get the IDENTITY of an inserted row? I know about @@IDENTITY and IDENT_CURRENT and SCOPE_IDENTITY, but don't understand the implications or impacts attached to each. How do these differ, and ...
Oded's user avatar
  • 495k
1210 votes
29 answers
2.6m views

SQL Update from One Table to Another Based on a ID Match

I have a database with account numbers and card numbers. I match these to a file to update any card numbers to the account number so that I am only working with account numbers. I created a view ...
user avatar
1155 votes
47 answers
1.6m views

Exclude a column using SELECT * [except columnA] FROM tableA?

We all know that to select all columns from a table, we can use SELECT * FROM tableA Is there a way to exclude column(s) from a table without specifying all the columns? SELECT * [except columnA] ...
user avatar
1136 votes
15 answers
989k views

When should I use CROSS APPLY over INNER JOIN?

What is the main purpose of using CROSS APPLY? I have read (vaguely, through posts on the Internet) that cross apply can be more efficient when selecting over large data sets if you are partitioning. ...
Jeff Meatball Yang's user avatar
1107 votes
24 answers
2.5m views

Search text in stored procedure in SQL Server

I want to search a text from all my database stored procedures. I use the below SQL: SELECT DISTINCT o.name AS Object_Name, o.type_desc FROM sys.sql_modules m INNER JOIN ...
DharaPPatel's user avatar
  • 12.3k
1042 votes
24 answers
3.1m views

How can I get column names from a table in SQL Server?

I want to query the name of all columns of a table. I found how to do this in: Oracle MySQL PostgreSQL But I also need to know: how can this be done in Microsoft SQL Server (2008 in my case)?
odiseh's user avatar
  • 26k
1011 votes
25 answers
1.7m views

Reset identity seed after deleting records in SQL Server

I have inserted records into a SQL Server database table. The table had a primary key defined and the auto increment identity seed is set to “Yes”. This is done primarily because in SQL Azure, each ...
xorpower's user avatar
  • 18.5k
996 votes
19 answers
788k views

Function vs. Stored Procedure in SQL Server

When should I use a function rather than a stored procedure in SQL, and vice versa? What is the purpose of each?
Tarik's user avatar
  • 80.8k
986 votes
32 answers
976k views

How can I list all foreign keys referencing a given table in SQL Server?

I need to remove a highly referenced table in a SQL Server database. How can I get a list of all the foreign key constraints I will need to remove in order to drop the table? (SQL answers preferable ...
chillitom's user avatar
  • 25.3k
945 votes
10 answers
850k views

How to Join to first row

I'll use a concrete, but hypothetical, example. Each Order normally has only one line item: Orders: OrderGUID OrderNumber ========= ============ {FFB2...} STL-7442-1 {3EC6...} MPT-...
Ian Boyd's user avatar
  • 252k
896 votes
14 answers
1.2m views

Should I use != or <> for not equal in T-SQL?

I have seen SQL that uses both != and <> for not equal. What is the preferred syntax and why? I like !=, because <> reminds me of Visual Basic.
Bob The Janitor's user avatar
891 votes
17 answers
663k views

DateTime2 vs DateTime in SQL Server

Which one: datetime datetime2 is the recommended way to store date and time in SQL Server 2008+? I'm aware of differences in precision (and storage space probably), but ignoring those for now, is ...
Mikeon's user avatar
  • 10.6k
879 votes
13 answers
526k views

Count(*) vs Count(1) - SQL Server

Just wondering if any of you people use Count(1) over Count(*) and if there is a noticeable difference in performance or if this is just a legacy habit that has been brought forward from days gone ...
super9's user avatar
  • 29.7k
813 votes
13 answers
1.1m views

SQL update query using joins

I have to update a field with a value which is returned by a join of 3 tables. Example: select im.itemid ,im.sku as iSku ,gm.SKU as GSKU ,mm.ManufacturerId as ManuId ,mm....
Shyju's user avatar
  • 217k
803 votes
11 answers
1.5m views

Rename column SQL Server 2008

I am using SQL Server 2008 and Navicat. I need to rename a column in a table using SQL. ALTER TABLE table_name RENAME COLUMN old_name to new_name; This statement doesn't work.
Serhio g. Lazin's user avatar
778 votes
19 answers
998k views

Get top 1 row of each group

I have a table which I want to get the latest entry for each group. Here's the table: DocumentStatusLogs Table ID DocumentID Status DateCreated 2 1 S1 7/29/2011 3 1 S2 7/30/2011 6 1 S1 8/02/2011 ...
kazinix's user avatar
  • 29.7k
752 votes
15 answers
1.5m views

How to select all records from one table that do not exist in another table?

table1 (id, name) table2 (id, name) Query: SELECT name FROM table2 -- that are not in table1 already
z-boss's user avatar
  • 17.4k
738 votes
22 answers
930k views

Solutions for INSERT OR UPDATE on SQL Server

Assume a table structure of MyTable(KEY, datafield1, datafield2...). Often I want to either update an existing record, or insert a new record if it doesn't exist. Essentially: IF (key exists) run ...
Chris Cudmore's user avatar
698 votes
11 answers
1.5m views

How to insert a line break in a SQL Server VARCHAR/NVARCHAR string

I didn't see any similar questions asked on this topic, and I had to research this for something I'm working on right now. Thought I would post the answer for it in case anyone else had the same ...
Mark Struzinski's user avatar
639 votes
31 answers
671k views

Is there a Max function in SQL Server that takes two values like Math.Max in .NET?

I want to write a query like this: SELECT o.OrderId, MAX(o.NegotiatedPrice, o.SuggestedPrice) FROM Order o But this isn't how the MAX function works, right? It is an aggregate function so it ...
skb's user avatar
  • 30.6k
639 votes
11 answers
1.9m views

NOT IN vs NOT EXISTS

Which of these queries is the faster? NOT EXISTS: SELECT ProductID, ProductName FROM Northwind..Products p WHERE NOT EXISTS ( SELECT 1 FROM Northwind..[Order Details] od WHERE p....
ilitirit's user avatar
  • 16.3k
613 votes
9 answers
1.3m views

UPDATE and REPLACE part of a string

I've got a table with two columns, ID and Value. I want to change a part of some strings in the second column. Example of Table: ID Value --------------------------------- 1 c:...
aston_zh's user avatar
  • 6,693
609 votes
23 answers
998k views

Best approach to remove time part of datetime in SQL Server

Which method provides the best performance when removing the time portion from a datetime field in SQL Server? a) select DATEADD(dd, DATEDIFF(dd, 0, getdate()), 0) or b) select cast(convert(char(11)...
Stephen Perelson's user avatar
607 votes
11 answers
3.1m views

OR is not supported with CASE Statement in SQL Server

The OR operator in the WHEN clause of a CASE statement is not supported. How can I do this? CASE ebv.db_no WHEN 22978 OR 23218 OR 23219 THEN 'WECS 9500' ELSE 'WECS 9520' END as wecs_system
Werner's user avatar
  • 6,185
605 votes
19 answers
682k views

What is the best way to paginate results in SQL Server

What is the best way (performance wise) to paginate results in SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008, 2012 if you also want to get the total number of results (before paginating)?
Panagiotis Korros's user avatar
598 votes
7 answers
1.6m views

Selecting COUNT(*) with DISTINCT

In SQL Server 2005 I have a table cm_production that lists all the code that's been put into production. The table has a ticket_number, program_type, program_name and push_number along with some other ...
somacore's user avatar
  • 6,504
589 votes
13 answers
849k views

Is it possible to specify condition in Count()?

Is it possible to specify a condition in Count()? I would like to count only the rows that have, for example, "Manager" in the Position column. I want to do it in the count statement, not using WHERE;...
agnieszka's user avatar
  • 15.2k
567 votes
21 answers
1.4m views

Adding an identity to an existing column

I need to change the primary key of a table to an identity column, and there's already a number of rows in table. I've got a script to clean up the IDs to ensure they're sequential starting at 1, ...
Kirschstein's user avatar
  • 14.7k
533 votes
46 answers
954k views

How do I split a delimited string so I can access individual items?

Using SQL Server, how do I split a string so I can access item x? Take a string "Hello John Smith". How can I split the string by space and access the item at index 1 which should return "John"?
GateKiller's user avatar
532 votes
33 answers
1.3m views

Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table 'table' when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF

I have the below error when I execute the following script. What is the error about, and how it can be resolved? Insert table(OperationID,OpDescription,FilterID) values (20,'Hierachy Update',1) ...
user avatar
527 votes
24 answers
872k views

SQL MAX of multiple columns?

How do you return 1 value per row of the max of several columns: TableName [Number, Date1, Date2, Date3, Cost] I need to return something like this: [Number, Most_Recent_Date, Cost] Query?
BenB's user avatar
  • 10.5k
516 votes
9 answers
610k views

how can I Update top 100 records in sql server

I want to update the top 100 records in SQL Server. I have a table T1 with fields F1 and F2. T1 has 200 records. I want to update the F1 field in the top 100 records. How can I update based on TOP ...
Rajesh's user avatar
  • 6,419
515 votes
3 answers
1.0m views

Nested select statement in SQL Server

Why doesn't the following work? SELECT name FROM (SELECT name FROM agentinformation) I guess my understanding of SQL is wrong, because I would have thought this would return the same thing as ...
Brennan Vincent's user avatar
507 votes
4 answers
456k views

What is the meaning of the prefix N in T-SQL statements and when should I use it?

I have seen prefix N in some insert T-SQL queries. Many people have used N before inserting the value in a table. I searched, but I was not able to understand what is the purpose of including the N ...
Kartik Patel's user avatar
  • 9,413
505 votes
8 answers
896k views

How Stuff and 'For Xml Path' work in SQL Server?

Table is: Id Name 1 aaa 1 bbb 1 ccc 1 ddd 1 eee Required output: Id abc 1 aaa,bbb,ccc,ddd,eee Query: SELECT ID, abc = STUFF( (SELECT ',' + name FROM temp1 FOR XML PATH (...
Puneet Chawla's user avatar
503 votes
8 answers
2.0m views

How do I query for all dates greater than a certain date in SQL Server?

I'm trying: SELECT * FROM dbo.March2010 A WHERE A.Date >= 2010-04-01; A.Date looks like: 2010-03-04 00:00:00.000 However, this is not working. Can anyone provide a reference for why?
Eric Francis's user avatar
  • 23.7k
500 votes
11 answers
525k views

Exporting data In SQL Server as INSERT INTO

I am using SQL Server 2008 Management Studio and have a table I want to migrate to a different db server. Is there any option to export the data as an insert into SQL script??
Jack Kada's user avatar
  • 24.9k
496 votes
5 answers
1.4m views

Efficiently convert rows to columns in sql server

I'm looking for an efficient way to convert rows to columns in SQL server, I heard that PIVOT is not very fast, and I need to deal with lot of records. This is my example: Id Value ColumnName 1 John ...
tbag's user avatar
  • 5,003

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