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Combine columns into One with Delimiter

  • June 6, 2013 at 1:09 pm

    #276032

    I have the following:

    Create table Table_1

    (

    [col1] varchar(10) null,

    [col2] varchar(10) null,

    )

    Insert Table_1(col1, col2)

    values ('Bill','Smith'),('Bill',null),(null,'Smith')

    select rtrim(isnull(col1+'/',''))+rtrim(isnull(col2+'','')) as firsttry from Table_1

    This returns:

    Bill/Smith

    Bill/

    Smith

    I am trying to remove the trailing '/' if col2 is null from col1.

    Was playing around with Reverse but couldn't get it to work...

    Any ideas would be appreciated.

    Thanks

  • June 6, 2013 at 1:16 pm

    #1621889

    It's not an elegant solution but it works

    select isnull(col1,'') + ISNULL( RIGHT( col1 + col2 + '/', 1), '') +rtrim(isnull(col2,'')) as firsttry from Table_1

    Luis C.
    General Disclaimer:
    Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

    How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2

  • June 6, 2013 at 1:20 pm

    #1621891

    Just another option

    select CASE WHEN col1 + col2 IS NULL

    THEN COALESCE( col1, col2, '')

    ELSE col1 + '/' + col2 END as secondtry

    from Table_1

    Luis C.
    General Disclaimer:
    Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

    How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2

  • June 6, 2013 at 1:21 pm

    #1621892

    my verison is kinda of wordy but works with a case statement:

    SELECT

    CASE

    WHEN RTRIM(ISNULL(col1, '')) <> ''

    AND RTRIM(ISNULL(col2, '')) <> ''

    THEN RTRIM(ISNULL(col1, ''))

    + '/'

    + RTRIM(ISNULL(col2, ''))

    ELSE RTRIM(ISNULL(col1, ''))

    + ''

    + RTRIM(ISNULL(col2, ''))

    END AS firsttry

    FROM Table_1

    Lowell

    --help us help you! If you post a question, make sure you include a CREATE TABLE... statement and INSERT INTO... statement into that table to give the volunteers here representative data. with your description of the problem, we can provide a tested, verifiable solution to your question! asking the question the right way gets you a tested answer the fastest way possible!

  • June 6, 2013 at 1:21 pm

    #1621893

    Here is another:

    select stuff(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', ''), LEN(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', '')), 1, '')

    from Table_1

    _______________________________________________________________

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    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • June 6, 2013 at 1:34 pm

    #1621895

    Sean Lange (6/6/2013)

    Here is another:

    select stuff(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', ''), LEN(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', '')), 1, '')

    from Table_1

    Sean, you gave me an idea.

    select stuff(isnull('/' + col1, '') + isnull('/' + col2, ''), 1, 1, '')

    from Table_1

    Luis C.
    General Disclaimer:
    Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

    How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2

  • June 6, 2013 at 1:42 pm

    #1621897

    Luis Cazares (6/6/2013)

    Sean Lange (6/6/2013)

    Here is another:

    select stuff(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', ''), LEN(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', '')), 1, '')

    from Table_1

    Sean, you gave me an idea.

    select stuff(isnull('/' + col1, '') + isnull('/' + col2, ''), 1, 1, '')

    from Table_1

    I like it!!! Turned it around and avoided the whole len check. Great approach.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • June 6, 2013 at 9:53 pm

    #1621953

    Luis Cazares (6/6/2013)

    Sean Lange (6/6/2013)

    Here is another:

    select stuff(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', ''), LEN(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', '')), 1, '')

    from Table_1

    Sean, you gave me an idea.

    select stuff(isnull('/' + col1, '') + isnull('/' + col2, ''), 1, 1, '')

    from Table_1

    No wonder my post count is so low lately. Between you, Sean, and some of the other heavy hitters, I don't have much to do anymore. Well done!

    If you're guaranteed to have only 2 columns, a slight variation on the COALESCE approach would work. Haven't checked it for performance, but it might be a little faster because it only does 2 concatenations instead of 3.

    SELECT COALESCE(Col1+'/'+Col2,Col1,Col2)

    --Jeff Moden

    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • June 6, 2013 at 10:39 pm

    #1621958

    Jeff Moden (6/6/2013)

    Luis Cazares (6/6/2013)

    Sean Lange (6/6/2013)

    Here is another:

    select stuff(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', ''), LEN(isnull(col1 + '/', '') + isnull(col2 + '/', '')), 1, '')

    from Table_1

    Sean, you gave me an idea.

    select stuff(isnull('/' + col1, '') + isnull('/' + col2, ''), 1, 1, '')

    from Table_1

    No wonder my post count is so low lately. Between you, Sean, and some of the other heavy hitters, I don't have much to do anymore. Well done!

    If you're guaranteed to have only 2 columns, a slight variation on the COALESCE approach would work. Haven't checked it for performance, but it might be a little faster because it only does 2 concatenations instead of 3.

    SELECT COALESCE(Col1+'/'+Col2,Col1,Col2)

    How come neither of us got that simple and effective solution? I need to go back to practice the KISS mantra.

    Luis C.
    General Disclaimer:
    Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

    How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2

  • June 6, 2013 at 10:51 pm

    #1621961

    Luis Cazares (6/6/2013)

    How come neither of us got that simple and effective solution? I need to go back to practice the KISS mantra.

    BWAAA-HAAA!!! I have null idea of what you're talking about. 😀

    --Jeff Moden

    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • June 6, 2013 at 11:03 pm

    #1621962

    P.S. The 3 operand COALESCE will work fine if you want to return a NULL if both names are NULL. If, however, you want it to return an empty string if both names are NULL, just add '' as the 4th operand.

    --Jeff Moden

    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • June 7, 2013 at 7:36 am

    #1622063

    Wow that is super slick Jeff. Don't why none of the rest of us thought about that.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • June 7, 2013 at 7:49 am

    #1622071

    I just get lucky with being lazy, sometimes. Thanks for the feedback, Sean.

    --Jeff Moden

    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • June 7, 2013 at 8:02 am

    #1622077

    Jeff Moden (6/7/2013)

    I just get lucky with being lazy, sometimes. Thanks for the feedback, Sean.

    Nobody is consistently that lucky, that indicates a fair amount of skill laying under all that luck. 😉

    _______________________________________________________________

    Need help? Help us help you.

    Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

    Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
    Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
    Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

  • June 7, 2013 at 8:15 am

    #1622082

    Excellent solutions.

    This is just a small part of the massive procedure I am currently modifying but performance of this piece has improved.

    Thanks all.

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