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I have a SQL Server 2008 R2 column containing a string which I need to split by a comma. I have seen many answers on StackOverflow but none of them works in R2. I have made sure I have select permissions on any split function examples. Any help greatly appreciated.
I've used this SQL before which may work for you:-
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
and to use it:-
SELECT * FROM dbo.splitstring('91,12,65,78,56,789')
Instead of recursive CTEs and while loops, has anyone considered a more set-based approach? Note that this function was written for the question, which was based on SQL Server 2008 and comma as the delimiter. In SQL Server 2016 and above (and in compatibility level 130 and above), STRING_SPLIT() is a better option.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitString
(
#List nvarchar(max),
#Delim nvarchar(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN ( SELECT [Value] FROM
(
SELECT [Value] = LTRIM(RTRIM(SUBSTRING(#List, [Number],
CHARINDEX(#Delim, #List + #Delim, [Number]) - [Number])))
FROM (SELECT Number = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY name)
FROM sys.all_columns) AS x WHERE Number <= LEN(#List)
AND SUBSTRING(#Delim + #List, [Number], DATALENGTH(#Delim)/2) = #Delim
) AS y
);
GO
If you want to avoid the limitation of the length of the string being <= the number of rows in sys.all_columns (9,980 in model in SQL Server 2017; much higher in your own user databases), you can use other approaches for deriving the numbers, such as building your own table of numbers. You could also use a recursive CTE in cases where you can't use system tables or create your own:
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitString
(
#List nvarchar(max),
#Delim nvarchar(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE WITH SCHEMABINDING
AS
RETURN ( WITH n(n) AS (SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT n+1
FROM n WHERE n <= LEN(#List))
SELECT [Value] = SUBSTRING(#List, n,
CHARINDEX(#Delim, #List + #Delim, n) - n)
FROM n WHERE n <= LEN(#List)
AND SUBSTRING(#Delim + #List, n, DATALENGTH(#Delim)/2) = #Delim
);
GO
But you'll have to append OPTION (MAXRECURSION 0) (or MAXRECURSION <longest possible string length if < 32768>) to the outer query in order to avoid errors with recursion for strings > 100 characters. If that is also not a good alternative then see this answer as pointed out in the comments, or this answer if you need an ordered split string function.
(Also, the delimiter will have to be NCHAR(<=1228). Still researching why.)
More on split functions, why (and proof that) while loops and recursive CTEs don't scale, and better alternatives, if you're splitting strings coming from the application layer:
Splitting strings
Finally the wait is over in SQL Server 2016 they have introduced Split string function : STRING_SPLIT
select * From STRING_SPLIT ('a,b', ',') cs
All the other methods to split string like XML, Tally table, while loop, etc.. has been blown away by this STRING_SPLIT function.
Here is an excellent article with performance comparison : Performance Surprises and Assumptions : STRING_SPLIT
The easiest way to do this is by using XML format.
1. Converting string to rows without table
QUERY
DECLARE #String varchar(100) = 'String1,String2,String3'
-- To change ',' to any other delimeter, just change ',' to your desired one
DECLARE #Delimiter CHAR = ','
SELECT LTRIM(RTRIM(Split.a.value('.', 'VARCHAR(100)'))) 'Value'
FROM
(
SELECT CAST ('<M>' + REPLACE(#String, #Delimiter, '</M><M>') + '</M>' AS XML) AS Data
) AS A
CROSS APPLY Data.nodes ('/M') AS Split(a)
RESULT
x---------x
| Value |
x---------x
| String1 |
| String2 |
| String3 |
x---------x
2. Converting to rows from a table which have an ID for each CSV row
SOURCE TABLE
x-----x--------------------------x
| Id | Value |
x-----x--------------------------x
| 1 | String1,String2,String3 |
| 2 | String4,String5,String6 |
x-----x--------------------------x
QUERY
-- To change ',' to any other delimeter, just change ',' before '</M><M>' to your desired one
DECLARE #Delimiter CHAR = ','
SELECT ID,LTRIM(RTRIM(Split.a.value('.', 'VARCHAR(100)'))) 'Value'
FROM
(
SELECT ID,CAST ('<M>' + REPLACE(VALUE, #Delimiter, '</M><M>') + '</M>' AS XML) AS Data
FROM TABLENAME
) AS A
CROSS APPLY Data.nodes ('/M') AS Split(a)
RESULT
x-----x----------x
| Id | Value |
x-----x----------x
| 1 | String1 |
| 1 | String2 |
| 1 | String3 |
| 2 | String4 |
| 2 | String5 |
| 2 | String6 |
x-----x----------x
I needed a quick way to get rid of the +4 from a zip code.
UPDATE #Emails
SET ZIPCode = SUBSTRING(ZIPCode, 1, (CHARINDEX('-', ZIPCODE)-1))
WHERE ZIPCode LIKE '%-%'
No proc... no UDF... just one tight little inline command that does what it must. Not fancy, not elegant.
Change the delimiter as needed, etc, and it will work for anything.
if you replace
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit) > 0
with
WHILE LEN(#stringToSplit) > 0
you can eliminate that last insert after the while loop!
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE LEN(#stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit)
if #pos = 0
SELECT #pos = LEN(#stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
RETURN
END
The often used approach with XML elements breaks in case of forbidden characters. This is an approach to use this method with any kind of character, even with the semicolon as delimiter.
The trick is, first to use SELECT SomeString AS [*] FOR XML PATH('') to get all forbidden characters properly escaped. That's the reason, why I replace the delimiter to a magic value to avoid troubles with ; as delimiter.
DECLARE #Dummy TABLE (ID INT, SomeTextToSplit NVARCHAR(MAX))
INSERT INTO #Dummy VALUES
(1,N'A&B;C;D;E, F')
,(2,N'"C" & ''D'';<C>;D;E, F');
DECLARE #Delimiter NVARCHAR(10)=';'; --special effort needed (due to entities coding with "&code;")!
WITH Casted AS
(
SELECT *
,CAST(N'<x>' + REPLACE((SELECT REPLACE(SomeTextToSplit,#Delimiter,N'§§Split$me$here§§') AS [*] FOR XML PATH('')),N'§§Split$me$here§§',N'</x><x>') + N'</x>' AS XML) AS SplitMe
FROM #Dummy
)
SELECT Casted.ID
,x.value(N'.',N'nvarchar(max)') AS Part
FROM Casted
CROSS APPLY SplitMe.nodes(N'/x') AS A(x)
The result
ID Part
1 A&B
1 C
1 D
1 E, F
2 "C" & 'D'
2 <C>
2 D
2 E, F
All the functions for string splitting that use some kind of Loop-ing (iterations) have bad performance. They should be replaced with set-based solution.
This code executes excellent.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitStrings
(
#List NVARCHAR(MAX),
#Delimiter NVARCHAR(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE
WITH SCHEMABINDING
AS
RETURN
(
SELECT Item = y.i.value('(./text())[1]', 'nvarchar(4000)')
FROM
(
SELECT x = CONVERT(XML, '<i>'
+ REPLACE(#List, #Delimiter, '</i><i>')
+ '</i>').query('.')
) AS a CROSS APPLY x.nodes('i') AS y(i)
);
GO
I had to write something like this recently. Here's the solution I came up with. It's generalized for any delimiter string and I think it would perform slightly better:
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[SplitString]
( #string nvarchar(4000)
, #delim nvarchar(100) )
RETURNS
#result TABLE
( [Value] nvarchar(4000) NOT NULL
, [Index] int NOT NULL )
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #str nvarchar(4000)
, #pos int
, #prv int = 1
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delim, #string)
WHILE #pos > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #str = SUBSTRING(#string, #prv, #pos - #prv)
INSERT INTO #result SELECT #str, #prv
SELECT #prv = #pos + LEN(#delim)
, #pos = CHARINDEX(#delim, #string, #pos + 1)
END
INSERT INTO #result SELECT SUBSTRING(#string, #prv, 4000), #prv
RETURN
END
If you need a quick ad-hoc solution for common cases with minimum code, then this recursive CTE two-liner will do it:
DECLARE #s VARCHAR(200) = ',1,2,,3,,,4,,,,5,'
;WITH
a AS (SELECT i=-1, j=0 UNION ALL SELECT j, CHARINDEX(',', #s, j + 1) FROM a WHERE j > i),
b AS (SELECT SUBSTRING(#s, i+1, IIF(j>0, j, LEN(#s)+1)-i-1) s FROM a WHERE i >= 0)
SELECT * FROM b
Either use this as a stand-alone statement or just add the above CTEs to any of your queries and you will be able to join the resulting table b with others for use in any further expressions.
edit (by Shnugo)
If you add a counter, you will get a position index together with the List:
DECLARE #s VARCHAR(200) = '1,2333,344,4'
;WITH
a AS (SELECT n=0, i=-1, j=0 UNION ALL SELECT n+1, j, CHARINDEX(',', #s, j+1) FROM a WHERE j > i),
b AS (SELECT n, SUBSTRING(#s, i+1, IIF(j>0, j, LEN(#s)+1)-i-1) s FROM a WHERE i >= 0)
SELECT * FROM b;
The result:
n s
1 1
2 2333
3 344
4 4
I take the xml route by wrapping the values into elements (M but anything works):
declare #v nvarchar(max) = '100,201,abcde'
select
a.value('.', 'varchar(max)')
from
(select cast('<M>' + REPLACE(#v, ',', '</M><M>') + '</M>' AS XML) as col) as A
CROSS APPLY A.col.nodes ('/M') AS Split(a)
A solution using a CTE, if anyone should need that (apart from me, who obviously did, that is why I wrote it).
declare #StringToSplit varchar(100) = 'Test1,Test2,Test3';
declare #SplitChar varchar(10) = ',';
with StringToSplit as (
select
ltrim( rtrim( substring( #StringToSplit, 1, charindex( #SplitChar, #StringToSplit ) - 1 ) ) ) Head
, substring( #StringToSplit, charindex( #SplitChar, #StringToSplit ) + 1, len( #StringToSplit ) ) Tail
union all
select
ltrim( rtrim( substring( Tail, 1, charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) - 1 ) ) ) Head
, substring( Tail, charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) + 1, len( Tail ) ) Tail
from StringToSplit
where charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) > 0
union all
select
ltrim( rtrim( Tail ) ) Head
, '' Tail
from StringToSplit
where charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) = 0
and len( Tail ) > 0
)
select Head from StringToSplit
This is more narrowly-tailored. When I do this I usually have a comma-delimited list of unique ids (INT or BIGINT), which I want to cast as a table to use as an inner join to another table that has a primary key of INT or BIGINT. I want an in-line table-valued function returned so that I have the most efficient join possible.
Sample usage would be:
DECLARE #IDs VARCHAR(1000);
SET #IDs = ',99,206,124,8967,1,7,3,45234,2,889,987979,';
SELECT me.Value
FROM dbo.MyEnum me
INNER JOIN dbo.GetIntIdsTableFromDelimitedString(#IDs) ids ON me.PrimaryKey = ids.ID
I stole the idea from http://sqlrecords.blogspot.com/2012/11/converting-delimited-list-to-table.html, changing it to be in-line table-valued and cast as INT.
create function dbo.GetIntIDTableFromDelimitedString
(
#IDs VARCHAR(1000) --this parameter must start and end with a comma, eg ',123,456,'
--all items in list must be perfectly formatted or function will error
)
RETURNS TABLE AS
RETURN
SELECT
CAST(SUBSTRING(#IDs,Nums.number + 1,CHARINDEX(',',#IDs,(Nums.number+2)) - Nums.number - 1) AS INT) AS ID
FROM
[master].[dbo].[spt_values] Nums
WHERE Nums.Type = 'P'
AND Nums.number BETWEEN 1 AND DATALENGTH(#IDs)
AND SUBSTRING(#IDs,Nums.number,1) = ','
AND CHARINDEX(',',#IDs,(Nums.number+1)) > Nums.number;
GO
There is a correct version on here but I thought it would be nice to add a little fault tolerance in case they have a trailing comma as well as make it so you could use it not as a function but as part of a larger piece of code. Just in case you're only using it once time and don't need a function. This is also for integers (which is what I needed it for) so you might have to change your data types.
DECLARE #StringToSeperate VARCHAR(10)
SET #StringToSeperate = '1,2,5'
--SELECT #StringToSeperate IDs INTO #Test
DROP TABLE #IDs
CREATE TABLE #IDs (ID int)
DECLARE #CommaSeperatedValue NVARCHAR(255) = ''
DECLARE #Position INT = LEN(#StringToSeperate)
--Add Each Value
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #StringToSeperate) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #Position = CHARINDEX(',', #StringToSeperate)
SELECT #CommaSeperatedValue = SUBSTRING(#StringToSeperate, 1, #Position-1)
INSERT INTO #IDs
SELECT #CommaSeperatedValue
SELECT #StringToSeperate = SUBSTRING(#StringToSeperate, #Position+1, LEN(#StringToSeperate)-#Position)
END
--Add Last Value
IF (LEN(LTRIM(RTRIM(#StringToSeperate)))>0)
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #IDs
SELECT SUBSTRING(#StringToSeperate, 1, #Position)
END
SELECT * FROM #IDs
I modified +Andy Robinson's function a little bit. Now you can select only required part from returning table:
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([numOrder] [tinyint] , [Name] [nvarchar] (500)) AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
DECLARE #orderNum INT
SET #orderNum=0
WHILE CHARINDEX('.', #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #orderNum=#orderNum+1;
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX('.', #stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #orderNum,#name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
SELECT #orderNum=#orderNum+1;
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #orderNum, #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
Usage:
SELECT Name FROM dbo.splitstring('ELIS.YD.CRP1.1.CBA.MDSP.T389.BT') WHERE numOrder=5
Simples
DECLARE #String varchar(100) = '11,21,84,85,87'
SELECT * FROM TB_PAPEL WHERE CD_PAPEL IN (SELECT value FROM STRING_SPLIT(#String, ','))
-- EQUIVALENTE
SELECT * FROM TB_PAPEL WHERE CD_PAPEL IN (11,21,84,85,87)
here is a version that can split on a pattern using patindex, a simple adaptation of the post above. I had a case where I needed to split a string that contained multiple separator chars.
alter FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(1000), #splitPattern varchar(10) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE PATINDEX(#splitPattern, #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = PATINDEX(#splitPattern, #stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
select * from dbo.splitstring('stringa/stringb/x,y,z','%[/,]%');
result looks like this
stringa
stringb
x
y
z
Personnaly I use this function :
ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].[CUST_SplitString]
(
#String NVARCHAR(4000),
#Delimiter NCHAR(1)
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN
(
WITH Split(stpos,endpos)
AS(
SELECT 0 AS stpos, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter,#String) AS endpos
UNION ALL
SELECT endpos+1, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter,#String,endpos+1)
FROM Split
WHERE endpos > 0
)
SELECT 'Id' = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY (SELECT 1)),
'Data' = SUBSTRING(#String,stpos,COALESCE(NULLIF(endpos,0),LEN(#String)+1)-stpos)
FROM Split
)
I have developed a double Splitter (Takes two split characters) as requested Here. Could be of some value in this thread seeing its the most referenced for queries relating to string splitting.
CREATE FUNCTION uft_DoubleSplitter
(
-- Add the parameters for the function here
#String VARCHAR(4000),
#Splitter1 CHAR,
#Splitter2 CHAR
)
RETURNS #Result TABLE (Id INT,MId INT,SValue VARCHAR(4000))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #FResult TABLE(Id INT IDENTITY(1, 1),
SValue VARCHAR(4000))
DECLARE #SResult TABLE(Id INT IDENTITY(1, 1),
MId INT,
SValue VARCHAR(4000))
SET #String = #String+#Splitter1
WHILE CHARINDEX(#Splitter1, #String) > 0
BEGIN
DECLARE #WorkingString VARCHAR(4000) = NULL
SET #WorkingString = SUBSTRING(#String, 1, CHARINDEX(#Splitter1, #String) - 1)
--Print #workingString
INSERT INTO #FResult
SELECT CASE
WHEN #WorkingString = '' THEN NULL
ELSE #WorkingString
END
SET #String = SUBSTRING(#String, LEN(#WorkingString) + 2, LEN(#String))
END
IF ISNULL(#Splitter2, '') != ''
BEGIN
DECLARE #OStartLoop INT
DECLARE #OEndLoop INT
SELECT #OStartLoop = MIN(Id),
#OEndLoop = MAX(Id)
FROM #FResult
WHILE #OStartLoop <= #OEndLoop
BEGIN
DECLARE #iString VARCHAR(4000)
DECLARE #iMId INT
SELECT #iString = SValue+#Splitter2,
#iMId = Id
FROM #FResult
WHERE Id = #OStartLoop
WHILE CHARINDEX(#Splitter2, #iString) > 0
BEGIN
DECLARE #iWorkingString VARCHAR(4000) = NULL
SET #IWorkingString = SUBSTRING(#iString, 1, CHARINDEX(#Splitter2, #iString) - 1)
INSERT INTO #SResult
SELECT #iMId,
CASE
WHEN #iWorkingString = '' THEN NULL
ELSE #iWorkingString
END
SET #iString = SUBSTRING(#iString, LEN(#iWorkingString) + 2, LEN(#iString))
END
SET #OStartLoop = #OStartLoop + 1
END
INSERT INTO #Result
SELECT MId AS PrimarySplitID,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY MId ORDER BY Mid, Id) AS SecondarySplitID ,
SValue
FROM #SResult
END
ELSE
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #Result
SELECT Id AS PrimarySplitID,
NULL AS SecondarySplitID,
SValue
FROM #FResult
END
RETURN
Usage:
--FirstSplit
SELECT * FROM uft_DoubleSplitter('ValueA=ValueB=ValueC=ValueD==ValueE&ValueA=ValueB=ValueC===ValueE&ValueA=ValueB==ValueD===','&',NULL)
--Second Split
SELECT * FROM uft_DoubleSplitter('ValueA=ValueB=ValueC=ValueD==ValueE&ValueA=ValueB=ValueC===ValueE&ValueA=ValueB==ValueD===','&','=')
Possible Usage (Get second value of each split):
SELECT fn.SValue
FROM uft_DoubleSplitter('ValueA=ValueB=ValueC=ValueD==ValueE&ValueA=ValueB=ValueC===ValueE&ValueA=ValueB==ValueD===', '&', '=')AS fn
WHERE fn.mid = 2
A recursive cte based solution
declare #T table (iden int identity, col1 varchar(100));
insert into #T(col1) values
('ROOT/South America/Lima/Test/Test2')
, ('ROOT/South America/Peru/Test/Test2')
, ('ROOT//South America/Venuzuala ')
, ('RtT/South America / ')
, ('ROOT/South Americas// ');
declare #split char(1) = '/';
select #split as split;
with cte as
( select t.iden, case when SUBSTRING(REVERSE(rtrim(t.col1)), 1, 1) = #split then LTRIM(RTRIM(t.col1)) else LTRIM(RTRIM(t.col1)) + #split end as col1, 0 as pos , 1 as cnt
from #T t
union all
select t.iden, t.col1 , charindex(#split, t.col1, t.pos + 1), cnt + 1
from cte t
where charindex(#split, t.col1, t.pos + 1) > 0
)
select t1.*, t2.pos, t2.cnt
, ltrim(rtrim(SUBSTRING(t1.col1, t1.pos+1, t2.pos-t1.pos-1))) as bingo
from cte t1
join cte t2
on t2.iden = t1.iden
and t2.cnt = t1.cnt+1
and t2.pos > t1.pos
order by t1.iden, t1.cnt;
With all due respect to #AviG this is the bug free version of function deviced by him to return all the tokens in full.
IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.objects WHERE type = 'TF' AND name = 'TF_SplitString')
DROP FUNCTION [dbo].[TF_SplitString]
GO
-- =============================================
-- Author: AviG
-- Amendments: Parameterize the delimeter and included the missing chars in last token - Gemunu Wickremasinghe
-- Description: Tabel valued function that Breaks the delimeted string by given delimeter and returns a tabel having split results
-- Usage
-- select * from [dbo].[TF_SplitString]('token1,token2,,,,,,,,token969',',')
-- 969 items should be returned
-- select * from [dbo].[TF_SplitString]('4672978261,4672978255',',')
-- 2 items should be returned
-- =============================================
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.TF_SplitString
( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) ,
#delimeter char = ','
)
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE LEN(#stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delimeter, #stringToSplit)
if #pos = 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = LEN(#stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos)
END
else
BEGIN
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
RETURN
END
This is based on Andy Robertson's answer, I needed a delimiter other than comma.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit nvarchar(MAX), #delim nvarchar(max))
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([value] [nvarchar] (MAX))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #value NVARCHAR(max)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE CHARINDEX(#delim, #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delim, #stringToSplit)
SELECT #value = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos - 1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #value
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos + LEN(#delim), LEN(#stringToSplit) - #pos)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
GO
And to use it:
SELECT * FROM dbo.splitstring('test1 test2 test3', ' ');
(Tested on SQL Server 2008 R2)
EDIT: correct test code
ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].func_split_string
(
#input as varchar(max),
#delimiter as varchar(10) = ";"
)
RETURNS #result TABLE
(
id smallint identity(1,1),
csv_value varchar(max) not null
)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #pos AS INT;
DECLARE #string AS VARCHAR(MAX) = '';
WHILE LEN(#input) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delimiter,#input);
IF(#pos<=0)
select #pos = len(#input)
IF(#pos <> LEN(#input))
SELECT #string = SUBSTRING(#input, 1, #pos-1);
ELSE
SELECT #string = SUBSTRING(#input, 1, #pos);
INSERT INTO #result SELECT #string
SELECT #input = SUBSTRING(#input, #pos+len(#delimiter), LEN(#input)-#pos)
END
RETURN
END
You can Use this function:
CREATE FUNCTION SplitString
(
#Input NVARCHAR(MAX),
#Character CHAR(1)
)
RETURNS #Output TABLE (
Item NVARCHAR(1000)
)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #StartIndex INT, #EndIndex INT
SET #StartIndex = 1
IF SUBSTRING(#Input, LEN(#Input) - 1, LEN(#Input)) <> #Character
BEGIN
SET #Input = #Input + #Character
END
WHILE CHARINDEX(#Character, #Input) > 0
BEGIN
SET #EndIndex = CHARINDEX(#Character, #Input)
INSERT INTO #Output(Item)
SELECT SUBSTRING(#Input, #StartIndex, #EndIndex - 1)
SET #Input = SUBSTRING(#Input, #EndIndex + 1, LEN(#Input))
END
RETURN
END
GO
Here is an example that you can use as function or also you can put the same logic in procedure.
--SELECT * from [dbo].fn_SplitString ;
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[fn_SplitString]
(#CSV VARCHAR(MAX), #Delimeter VARCHAR(100) = ',')
RETURNS #retTable TABLE
(
[value] VARCHAR(MAX) NULL
)AS
BEGIN
DECLARE
#vCSV VARCHAR (MAX) = #CSV,
#vDelimeter VARCHAR (100) = #Delimeter;
IF #vDelimeter = ';'
BEGIN
SET #vCSV = REPLACE(#vCSV, ';', '~!~#~');
SET #vDelimeter = REPLACE(#vDelimeter, ';', '~!~#~');
END;
SET #vCSV = REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(#vCSV, '&', '&'), '<', '<'), '>', '>'), '''', '''), '"', '"');
DECLARE #xml XML;
SET #xml = '<i>' + REPLACE(#vCSV, #vDelimeter, '</i><i>') + '</i>';
INSERT INTO #retTable
SELECT
x.i.value('.', 'varchar(max)') AS COLUMNNAME
FROM #xml.nodes('//i')AS x(i);
RETURN;
END;
/*
Answer to T-SQL split string
Based on answers from Andy Robinson and AviG
Enhanced functionality ref: LEN function not including trailing spaces in SQL Server
This 'file' should be valid as both a markdown file and an SQL file
*/
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( --CREATE OR ALTER
#stringToSplit NVARCHAR(MAX)
) RETURNS #returnList TABLE ([Item] NVARCHAR (MAX))
AS BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(MAX)
DECLARE #pos BIGINT
SET #stringToSplit = #stringToSplit + ',' -- this should allow entries that end with a `,` to have a blank value in that "column"
WHILE ((LEN(#stringToSplit+'_') > 1)) BEGIN -- `+'_'` gets around LEN trimming terminal spaces. See URL referenced above
SET #pos = COALESCE(NULLIF(CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit),0),LEN(#stringToSplit+'_')) -- COALESCE grabs first non-null value
SET #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1) --MAX size of string of type nvarchar is 4000
SET #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, 4000) -- With SUBSTRING fn (MS web): "If start is greater than the number of characters in the value expression, a zero-length expression is returned."
INSERT INTO #returnList SELECT #name --additional debugging parameters below can be added
-- + ' pos:' + CAST(#pos as nvarchar) + ' remain:''' + #stringToSplit + '''(' + CAST(LEN(#stringToSplit+'_')-1 as nvarchar) + ')'
END
RETURN
END
GO
/*
Test cases: see URL referenced as "enhanced functionality" above
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,,b')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
b | 1
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,,')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
| 0
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,, ')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
| 1
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,, c ')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
c | 3
*/
The easiest way:
Install SQL Server 2016
Use STRING_SPLIT https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt684588.aspx
It works even in express edition :).
I have a SQL Server 2008 R2 column containing a string which I need to split by a comma. I have seen many answers on StackOverflow but none of them works in R2. I have made sure I have select permissions on any split function examples. Any help greatly appreciated.
I've used this SQL before which may work for you:-
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
and to use it:-
SELECT * FROM dbo.splitstring('91,12,65,78,56,789')
Instead of recursive CTEs and while loops, has anyone considered a more set-based approach? Note that this function was written for the question, which was based on SQL Server 2008 and comma as the delimiter. In SQL Server 2016 and above (and in compatibility level 130 and above), STRING_SPLIT() is a better option.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitString
(
#List nvarchar(max),
#Delim nvarchar(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN ( SELECT [Value] FROM
(
SELECT [Value] = LTRIM(RTRIM(SUBSTRING(#List, [Number],
CHARINDEX(#Delim, #List + #Delim, [Number]) - [Number])))
FROM (SELECT Number = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY name)
FROM sys.all_columns) AS x WHERE Number <= LEN(#List)
AND SUBSTRING(#Delim + #List, [Number], DATALENGTH(#Delim)/2) = #Delim
) AS y
);
GO
If you want to avoid the limitation of the length of the string being <= the number of rows in sys.all_columns (9,980 in model in SQL Server 2017; much higher in your own user databases), you can use other approaches for deriving the numbers, such as building your own table of numbers. You could also use a recursive CTE in cases where you can't use system tables or create your own:
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitString
(
#List nvarchar(max),
#Delim nvarchar(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE WITH SCHEMABINDING
AS
RETURN ( WITH n(n) AS (SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT n+1
FROM n WHERE n <= LEN(#List))
SELECT [Value] = SUBSTRING(#List, n,
CHARINDEX(#Delim, #List + #Delim, n) - n)
FROM n WHERE n <= LEN(#List)
AND SUBSTRING(#Delim + #List, n, DATALENGTH(#Delim)/2) = #Delim
);
GO
But you'll have to append OPTION (MAXRECURSION 0) (or MAXRECURSION <longest possible string length if < 32768>) to the outer query in order to avoid errors with recursion for strings > 100 characters. If that is also not a good alternative then see this answer as pointed out in the comments, or this answer if you need an ordered split string function.
(Also, the delimiter will have to be NCHAR(<=1228). Still researching why.)
More on split functions, why (and proof that) while loops and recursive CTEs don't scale, and better alternatives, if you're splitting strings coming from the application layer:
Splitting strings
Finally the wait is over in SQL Server 2016 they have introduced Split string function : STRING_SPLIT
select * From STRING_SPLIT ('a,b', ',') cs
All the other methods to split string like XML, Tally table, while loop, etc.. has been blown away by this STRING_SPLIT function.
Here is an excellent article with performance comparison : Performance Surprises and Assumptions : STRING_SPLIT
The easiest way to do this is by using XML format.
1. Converting string to rows without table
QUERY
DECLARE #String varchar(100) = 'String1,String2,String3'
-- To change ',' to any other delimeter, just change ',' to your desired one
DECLARE #Delimiter CHAR = ','
SELECT LTRIM(RTRIM(Split.a.value('.', 'VARCHAR(100)'))) 'Value'
FROM
(
SELECT CAST ('<M>' + REPLACE(#String, #Delimiter, '</M><M>') + '</M>' AS XML) AS Data
) AS A
CROSS APPLY Data.nodes ('/M') AS Split(a)
RESULT
x---------x
| Value |
x---------x
| String1 |
| String2 |
| String3 |
x---------x
2. Converting to rows from a table which have an ID for each CSV row
SOURCE TABLE
x-----x--------------------------x
| Id | Value |
x-----x--------------------------x
| 1 | String1,String2,String3 |
| 2 | String4,String5,String6 |
x-----x--------------------------x
QUERY
-- To change ',' to any other delimeter, just change ',' before '</M><M>' to your desired one
DECLARE #Delimiter CHAR = ','
SELECT ID,LTRIM(RTRIM(Split.a.value('.', 'VARCHAR(100)'))) 'Value'
FROM
(
SELECT ID,CAST ('<M>' + REPLACE(VALUE, #Delimiter, '</M><M>') + '</M>' AS XML) AS Data
FROM TABLENAME
) AS A
CROSS APPLY Data.nodes ('/M') AS Split(a)
RESULT
x-----x----------x
| Id | Value |
x-----x----------x
| 1 | String1 |
| 1 | String2 |
| 1 | String3 |
| 2 | String4 |
| 2 | String5 |
| 2 | String6 |
x-----x----------x
I needed a quick way to get rid of the +4 from a zip code.
UPDATE #Emails
SET ZIPCode = SUBSTRING(ZIPCode, 1, (CHARINDEX('-', ZIPCODE)-1))
WHERE ZIPCode LIKE '%-%'
No proc... no UDF... just one tight little inline command that does what it must. Not fancy, not elegant.
Change the delimiter as needed, etc, and it will work for anything.
if you replace
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit) > 0
with
WHILE LEN(#stringToSplit) > 0
you can eliminate that last insert after the while loop!
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE LEN(#stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit)
if #pos = 0
SELECT #pos = LEN(#stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
RETURN
END
The often used approach with XML elements breaks in case of forbidden characters. This is an approach to use this method with any kind of character, even with the semicolon as delimiter.
The trick is, first to use SELECT SomeString AS [*] FOR XML PATH('') to get all forbidden characters properly escaped. That's the reason, why I replace the delimiter to a magic value to avoid troubles with ; as delimiter.
DECLARE #Dummy TABLE (ID INT, SomeTextToSplit NVARCHAR(MAX))
INSERT INTO #Dummy VALUES
(1,N'A&B;C;D;E, F')
,(2,N'"C" & ''D'';<C>;D;E, F');
DECLARE #Delimiter NVARCHAR(10)=';'; --special effort needed (due to entities coding with "&code;")!
WITH Casted AS
(
SELECT *
,CAST(N'<x>' + REPLACE((SELECT REPLACE(SomeTextToSplit,#Delimiter,N'§§Split$me$here§§') AS [*] FOR XML PATH('')),N'§§Split$me$here§§',N'</x><x>') + N'</x>' AS XML) AS SplitMe
FROM #Dummy
)
SELECT Casted.ID
,x.value(N'.',N'nvarchar(max)') AS Part
FROM Casted
CROSS APPLY SplitMe.nodes(N'/x') AS A(x)
The result
ID Part
1 A&B
1 C
1 D
1 E, F
2 "C" & 'D'
2 <C>
2 D
2 E, F
All the functions for string splitting that use some kind of Loop-ing (iterations) have bad performance. They should be replaced with set-based solution.
This code executes excellent.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitStrings
(
#List NVARCHAR(MAX),
#Delimiter NVARCHAR(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE
WITH SCHEMABINDING
AS
RETURN
(
SELECT Item = y.i.value('(./text())[1]', 'nvarchar(4000)')
FROM
(
SELECT x = CONVERT(XML, '<i>'
+ REPLACE(#List, #Delimiter, '</i><i>')
+ '</i>').query('.')
) AS a CROSS APPLY x.nodes('i') AS y(i)
);
GO
I had to write something like this recently. Here's the solution I came up with. It's generalized for any delimiter string and I think it would perform slightly better:
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[SplitString]
( #string nvarchar(4000)
, #delim nvarchar(100) )
RETURNS
#result TABLE
( [Value] nvarchar(4000) NOT NULL
, [Index] int NOT NULL )
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #str nvarchar(4000)
, #pos int
, #prv int = 1
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delim, #string)
WHILE #pos > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #str = SUBSTRING(#string, #prv, #pos - #prv)
INSERT INTO #result SELECT #str, #prv
SELECT #prv = #pos + LEN(#delim)
, #pos = CHARINDEX(#delim, #string, #pos + 1)
END
INSERT INTO #result SELECT SUBSTRING(#string, #prv, 4000), #prv
RETURN
END
If you need a quick ad-hoc solution for common cases with minimum code, then this recursive CTE two-liner will do it:
DECLARE #s VARCHAR(200) = ',1,2,,3,,,4,,,,5,'
;WITH
a AS (SELECT i=-1, j=0 UNION ALL SELECT j, CHARINDEX(',', #s, j + 1) FROM a WHERE j > i),
b AS (SELECT SUBSTRING(#s, i+1, IIF(j>0, j, LEN(#s)+1)-i-1) s FROM a WHERE i >= 0)
SELECT * FROM b
Either use this as a stand-alone statement or just add the above CTEs to any of your queries and you will be able to join the resulting table b with others for use in any further expressions.
edit (by Shnugo)
If you add a counter, you will get a position index together with the List:
DECLARE #s VARCHAR(200) = '1,2333,344,4'
;WITH
a AS (SELECT n=0, i=-1, j=0 UNION ALL SELECT n+1, j, CHARINDEX(',', #s, j+1) FROM a WHERE j > i),
b AS (SELECT n, SUBSTRING(#s, i+1, IIF(j>0, j, LEN(#s)+1)-i-1) s FROM a WHERE i >= 0)
SELECT * FROM b;
The result:
n s
1 1
2 2333
3 344
4 4
I take the xml route by wrapping the values into elements (M but anything works):
declare #v nvarchar(max) = '100,201,abcde'
select
a.value('.', 'varchar(max)')
from
(select cast('<M>' + REPLACE(#v, ',', '</M><M>') + '</M>' AS XML) as col) as A
CROSS APPLY A.col.nodes ('/M') AS Split(a)
A solution using a CTE, if anyone should need that (apart from me, who obviously did, that is why I wrote it).
declare #StringToSplit varchar(100) = 'Test1,Test2,Test3';
declare #SplitChar varchar(10) = ',';
with StringToSplit as (
select
ltrim( rtrim( substring( #StringToSplit, 1, charindex( #SplitChar, #StringToSplit ) - 1 ) ) ) Head
, substring( #StringToSplit, charindex( #SplitChar, #StringToSplit ) + 1, len( #StringToSplit ) ) Tail
union all
select
ltrim( rtrim( substring( Tail, 1, charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) - 1 ) ) ) Head
, substring( Tail, charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) + 1, len( Tail ) ) Tail
from StringToSplit
where charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) > 0
union all
select
ltrim( rtrim( Tail ) ) Head
, '' Tail
from StringToSplit
where charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) = 0
and len( Tail ) > 0
)
select Head from StringToSplit
This is more narrowly-tailored. When I do this I usually have a comma-delimited list of unique ids (INT or BIGINT), which I want to cast as a table to use as an inner join to another table that has a primary key of INT or BIGINT. I want an in-line table-valued function returned so that I have the most efficient join possible.
Sample usage would be:
DECLARE #IDs VARCHAR(1000);
SET #IDs = ',99,206,124,8967,1,7,3,45234,2,889,987979,';
SELECT me.Value
FROM dbo.MyEnum me
INNER JOIN dbo.GetIntIdsTableFromDelimitedString(#IDs) ids ON me.PrimaryKey = ids.ID
I stole the idea from http://sqlrecords.blogspot.com/2012/11/converting-delimited-list-to-table.html, changing it to be in-line table-valued and cast as INT.
create function dbo.GetIntIDTableFromDelimitedString
(
#IDs VARCHAR(1000) --this parameter must start and end with a comma, eg ',123,456,'
--all items in list must be perfectly formatted or function will error
)
RETURNS TABLE AS
RETURN
SELECT
CAST(SUBSTRING(#IDs,Nums.number + 1,CHARINDEX(',',#IDs,(Nums.number+2)) - Nums.number - 1) AS INT) AS ID
FROM
[master].[dbo].[spt_values] Nums
WHERE Nums.Type = 'P'
AND Nums.number BETWEEN 1 AND DATALENGTH(#IDs)
AND SUBSTRING(#IDs,Nums.number,1) = ','
AND CHARINDEX(',',#IDs,(Nums.number+1)) > Nums.number;
GO
There is a correct version on here but I thought it would be nice to add a little fault tolerance in case they have a trailing comma as well as make it so you could use it not as a function but as part of a larger piece of code. Just in case you're only using it once time and don't need a function. This is also for integers (which is what I needed it for) so you might have to change your data types.
DECLARE #StringToSeperate VARCHAR(10)
SET #StringToSeperate = '1,2,5'
--SELECT #StringToSeperate IDs INTO #Test
DROP TABLE #IDs
CREATE TABLE #IDs (ID int)
DECLARE #CommaSeperatedValue NVARCHAR(255) = ''
DECLARE #Position INT = LEN(#StringToSeperate)
--Add Each Value
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #StringToSeperate) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #Position = CHARINDEX(',', #StringToSeperate)
SELECT #CommaSeperatedValue = SUBSTRING(#StringToSeperate, 1, #Position-1)
INSERT INTO #IDs
SELECT #CommaSeperatedValue
SELECT #StringToSeperate = SUBSTRING(#StringToSeperate, #Position+1, LEN(#StringToSeperate)-#Position)
END
--Add Last Value
IF (LEN(LTRIM(RTRIM(#StringToSeperate)))>0)
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #IDs
SELECT SUBSTRING(#StringToSeperate, 1, #Position)
END
SELECT * FROM #IDs
I modified +Andy Robinson's function a little bit. Now you can select only required part from returning table:
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([numOrder] [tinyint] , [Name] [nvarchar] (500)) AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
DECLARE #orderNum INT
SET #orderNum=0
WHILE CHARINDEX('.', #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #orderNum=#orderNum+1;
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX('.', #stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #orderNum,#name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
SELECT #orderNum=#orderNum+1;
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #orderNum, #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
Usage:
SELECT Name FROM dbo.splitstring('ELIS.YD.CRP1.1.CBA.MDSP.T389.BT') WHERE numOrder=5
Simples
DECLARE #String varchar(100) = '11,21,84,85,87'
SELECT * FROM TB_PAPEL WHERE CD_PAPEL IN (SELECT value FROM STRING_SPLIT(#String, ','))
-- EQUIVALENTE
SELECT * FROM TB_PAPEL WHERE CD_PAPEL IN (11,21,84,85,87)
here is a version that can split on a pattern using patindex, a simple adaptation of the post above. I had a case where I needed to split a string that contained multiple separator chars.
alter FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(1000), #splitPattern varchar(10) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE PATINDEX(#splitPattern, #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = PATINDEX(#splitPattern, #stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
select * from dbo.splitstring('stringa/stringb/x,y,z','%[/,]%');
result looks like this
stringa
stringb
x
y
z
Personnaly I use this function :
ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].[CUST_SplitString]
(
#String NVARCHAR(4000),
#Delimiter NCHAR(1)
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN
(
WITH Split(stpos,endpos)
AS(
SELECT 0 AS stpos, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter,#String) AS endpos
UNION ALL
SELECT endpos+1, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter,#String,endpos+1)
FROM Split
WHERE endpos > 0
)
SELECT 'Id' = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY (SELECT 1)),
'Data' = SUBSTRING(#String,stpos,COALESCE(NULLIF(endpos,0),LEN(#String)+1)-stpos)
FROM Split
)
I have developed a double Splitter (Takes two split characters) as requested Here. Could be of some value in this thread seeing its the most referenced for queries relating to string splitting.
CREATE FUNCTION uft_DoubleSplitter
(
-- Add the parameters for the function here
#String VARCHAR(4000),
#Splitter1 CHAR,
#Splitter2 CHAR
)
RETURNS #Result TABLE (Id INT,MId INT,SValue VARCHAR(4000))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #FResult TABLE(Id INT IDENTITY(1, 1),
SValue VARCHAR(4000))
DECLARE #SResult TABLE(Id INT IDENTITY(1, 1),
MId INT,
SValue VARCHAR(4000))
SET #String = #String+#Splitter1
WHILE CHARINDEX(#Splitter1, #String) > 0
BEGIN
DECLARE #WorkingString VARCHAR(4000) = NULL
SET #WorkingString = SUBSTRING(#String, 1, CHARINDEX(#Splitter1, #String) - 1)
--Print #workingString
INSERT INTO #FResult
SELECT CASE
WHEN #WorkingString = '' THEN NULL
ELSE #WorkingString
END
SET #String = SUBSTRING(#String, LEN(#WorkingString) + 2, LEN(#String))
END
IF ISNULL(#Splitter2, '') != ''
BEGIN
DECLARE #OStartLoop INT
DECLARE #OEndLoop INT
SELECT #OStartLoop = MIN(Id),
#OEndLoop = MAX(Id)
FROM #FResult
WHILE #OStartLoop <= #OEndLoop
BEGIN
DECLARE #iString VARCHAR(4000)
DECLARE #iMId INT
SELECT #iString = SValue+#Splitter2,
#iMId = Id
FROM #FResult
WHERE Id = #OStartLoop
WHILE CHARINDEX(#Splitter2, #iString) > 0
BEGIN
DECLARE #iWorkingString VARCHAR(4000) = NULL
SET #IWorkingString = SUBSTRING(#iString, 1, CHARINDEX(#Splitter2, #iString) - 1)
INSERT INTO #SResult
SELECT #iMId,
CASE
WHEN #iWorkingString = '' THEN NULL
ELSE #iWorkingString
END
SET #iString = SUBSTRING(#iString, LEN(#iWorkingString) + 2, LEN(#iString))
END
SET #OStartLoop = #OStartLoop + 1
END
INSERT INTO #Result
SELECT MId AS PrimarySplitID,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY MId ORDER BY Mid, Id) AS SecondarySplitID ,
SValue
FROM #SResult
END
ELSE
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #Result
SELECT Id AS PrimarySplitID,
NULL AS SecondarySplitID,
SValue
FROM #FResult
END
RETURN
Usage:
--FirstSplit
SELECT * FROM uft_DoubleSplitter('ValueA=ValueB=ValueC=ValueD==ValueE&ValueA=ValueB=ValueC===ValueE&ValueA=ValueB==ValueD===','&',NULL)
--Second Split
SELECT * FROM uft_DoubleSplitter('ValueA=ValueB=ValueC=ValueD==ValueE&ValueA=ValueB=ValueC===ValueE&ValueA=ValueB==ValueD===','&','=')
Possible Usage (Get second value of each split):
SELECT fn.SValue
FROM uft_DoubleSplitter('ValueA=ValueB=ValueC=ValueD==ValueE&ValueA=ValueB=ValueC===ValueE&ValueA=ValueB==ValueD===', '&', '=')AS fn
WHERE fn.mid = 2
A recursive cte based solution
declare #T table (iden int identity, col1 varchar(100));
insert into #T(col1) values
('ROOT/South America/Lima/Test/Test2')
, ('ROOT/South America/Peru/Test/Test2')
, ('ROOT//South America/Venuzuala ')
, ('RtT/South America / ')
, ('ROOT/South Americas// ');
declare #split char(1) = '/';
select #split as split;
with cte as
( select t.iden, case when SUBSTRING(REVERSE(rtrim(t.col1)), 1, 1) = #split then LTRIM(RTRIM(t.col1)) else LTRIM(RTRIM(t.col1)) + #split end as col1, 0 as pos , 1 as cnt
from #T t
union all
select t.iden, t.col1 , charindex(#split, t.col1, t.pos + 1), cnt + 1
from cte t
where charindex(#split, t.col1, t.pos + 1) > 0
)
select t1.*, t2.pos, t2.cnt
, ltrim(rtrim(SUBSTRING(t1.col1, t1.pos+1, t2.pos-t1.pos-1))) as bingo
from cte t1
join cte t2
on t2.iden = t1.iden
and t2.cnt = t1.cnt+1
and t2.pos > t1.pos
order by t1.iden, t1.cnt;
With all due respect to #AviG this is the bug free version of function deviced by him to return all the tokens in full.
IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.objects WHERE type = 'TF' AND name = 'TF_SplitString')
DROP FUNCTION [dbo].[TF_SplitString]
GO
-- =============================================
-- Author: AviG
-- Amendments: Parameterize the delimeter and included the missing chars in last token - Gemunu Wickremasinghe
-- Description: Tabel valued function that Breaks the delimeted string by given delimeter and returns a tabel having split results
-- Usage
-- select * from [dbo].[TF_SplitString]('token1,token2,,,,,,,,token969',',')
-- 969 items should be returned
-- select * from [dbo].[TF_SplitString]('4672978261,4672978255',',')
-- 2 items should be returned
-- =============================================
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.TF_SplitString
( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) ,
#delimeter char = ','
)
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE LEN(#stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delimeter, #stringToSplit)
if #pos = 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = LEN(#stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos)
END
else
BEGIN
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
RETURN
END
This is based on Andy Robertson's answer, I needed a delimiter other than comma.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit nvarchar(MAX), #delim nvarchar(max))
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([value] [nvarchar] (MAX))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #value NVARCHAR(max)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE CHARINDEX(#delim, #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delim, #stringToSplit)
SELECT #value = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos - 1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #value
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos + LEN(#delim), LEN(#stringToSplit) - #pos)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
GO
And to use it:
SELECT * FROM dbo.splitstring('test1 test2 test3', ' ');
(Tested on SQL Server 2008 R2)
EDIT: correct test code
ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].func_split_string
(
#input as varchar(max),
#delimiter as varchar(10) = ";"
)
RETURNS #result TABLE
(
id smallint identity(1,1),
csv_value varchar(max) not null
)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #pos AS INT;
DECLARE #string AS VARCHAR(MAX) = '';
WHILE LEN(#input) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delimiter,#input);
IF(#pos<=0)
select #pos = len(#input)
IF(#pos <> LEN(#input))
SELECT #string = SUBSTRING(#input, 1, #pos-1);
ELSE
SELECT #string = SUBSTRING(#input, 1, #pos);
INSERT INTO #result SELECT #string
SELECT #input = SUBSTRING(#input, #pos+len(#delimiter), LEN(#input)-#pos)
END
RETURN
END
You can Use this function:
CREATE FUNCTION SplitString
(
#Input NVARCHAR(MAX),
#Character CHAR(1)
)
RETURNS #Output TABLE (
Item NVARCHAR(1000)
)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #StartIndex INT, #EndIndex INT
SET #StartIndex = 1
IF SUBSTRING(#Input, LEN(#Input) - 1, LEN(#Input)) <> #Character
BEGIN
SET #Input = #Input + #Character
END
WHILE CHARINDEX(#Character, #Input) > 0
BEGIN
SET #EndIndex = CHARINDEX(#Character, #Input)
INSERT INTO #Output(Item)
SELECT SUBSTRING(#Input, #StartIndex, #EndIndex - 1)
SET #Input = SUBSTRING(#Input, #EndIndex + 1, LEN(#Input))
END
RETURN
END
GO
Here is an example that you can use as function or also you can put the same logic in procedure.
--SELECT * from [dbo].fn_SplitString ;
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[fn_SplitString]
(#CSV VARCHAR(MAX), #Delimeter VARCHAR(100) = ',')
RETURNS #retTable TABLE
(
[value] VARCHAR(MAX) NULL
)AS
BEGIN
DECLARE
#vCSV VARCHAR (MAX) = #CSV,
#vDelimeter VARCHAR (100) = #Delimeter;
IF #vDelimeter = ';'
BEGIN
SET #vCSV = REPLACE(#vCSV, ';', '~!~#~');
SET #vDelimeter = REPLACE(#vDelimeter, ';', '~!~#~');
END;
SET #vCSV = REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(#vCSV, '&', '&'), '<', '<'), '>', '>'), '''', '''), '"', '"');
DECLARE #xml XML;
SET #xml = '<i>' + REPLACE(#vCSV, #vDelimeter, '</i><i>') + '</i>';
INSERT INTO #retTable
SELECT
x.i.value('.', 'varchar(max)') AS COLUMNNAME
FROM #xml.nodes('//i')AS x(i);
RETURN;
END;
/*
Answer to T-SQL split string
Based on answers from Andy Robinson and AviG
Enhanced functionality ref: LEN function not including trailing spaces in SQL Server
This 'file' should be valid as both a markdown file and an SQL file
*/
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( --CREATE OR ALTER
#stringToSplit NVARCHAR(MAX)
) RETURNS #returnList TABLE ([Item] NVARCHAR (MAX))
AS BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(MAX)
DECLARE #pos BIGINT
SET #stringToSplit = #stringToSplit + ',' -- this should allow entries that end with a `,` to have a blank value in that "column"
WHILE ((LEN(#stringToSplit+'_') > 1)) BEGIN -- `+'_'` gets around LEN trimming terminal spaces. See URL referenced above
SET #pos = COALESCE(NULLIF(CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit),0),LEN(#stringToSplit+'_')) -- COALESCE grabs first non-null value
SET #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1) --MAX size of string of type nvarchar is 4000
SET #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, 4000) -- With SUBSTRING fn (MS web): "If start is greater than the number of characters in the value expression, a zero-length expression is returned."
INSERT INTO #returnList SELECT #name --additional debugging parameters below can be added
-- + ' pos:' + CAST(#pos as nvarchar) + ' remain:''' + #stringToSplit + '''(' + CAST(LEN(#stringToSplit+'_')-1 as nvarchar) + ')'
END
RETURN
END
GO
/*
Test cases: see URL referenced as "enhanced functionality" above
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,,b')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
b | 1
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,,')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
| 0
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,, ')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
| 1
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,, c ')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
c | 3
*/
The easiest way:
Install SQL Server 2016
Use STRING_SPLIT https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt684588.aspx
It works even in express edition :).
I have a SQL Server 2008 R2 column containing a string which I need to split by a comma. I have seen many answers on StackOverflow but none of them works in R2. I have made sure I have select permissions on any split function examples. Any help greatly appreciated.
I've used this SQL before which may work for you:-
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
and to use it:-
SELECT * FROM dbo.splitstring('91,12,65,78,56,789')
Instead of recursive CTEs and while loops, has anyone considered a more set-based approach? Note that this function was written for the question, which was based on SQL Server 2008 and comma as the delimiter. In SQL Server 2016 and above (and in compatibility level 130 and above), STRING_SPLIT() is a better option.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitString
(
#List nvarchar(max),
#Delim nvarchar(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN ( SELECT [Value] FROM
(
SELECT [Value] = LTRIM(RTRIM(SUBSTRING(#List, [Number],
CHARINDEX(#Delim, #List + #Delim, [Number]) - [Number])))
FROM (SELECT Number = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY name)
FROM sys.all_columns) AS x WHERE Number <= LEN(#List)
AND SUBSTRING(#Delim + #List, [Number], DATALENGTH(#Delim)/2) = #Delim
) AS y
);
GO
If you want to avoid the limitation of the length of the string being <= the number of rows in sys.all_columns (9,980 in model in SQL Server 2017; much higher in your own user databases), you can use other approaches for deriving the numbers, such as building your own table of numbers. You could also use a recursive CTE in cases where you can't use system tables or create your own:
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitString
(
#List nvarchar(max),
#Delim nvarchar(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE WITH SCHEMABINDING
AS
RETURN ( WITH n(n) AS (SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT n+1
FROM n WHERE n <= LEN(#List))
SELECT [Value] = SUBSTRING(#List, n,
CHARINDEX(#Delim, #List + #Delim, n) - n)
FROM n WHERE n <= LEN(#List)
AND SUBSTRING(#Delim + #List, n, DATALENGTH(#Delim)/2) = #Delim
);
GO
But you'll have to append OPTION (MAXRECURSION 0) (or MAXRECURSION <longest possible string length if < 32768>) to the outer query in order to avoid errors with recursion for strings > 100 characters. If that is also not a good alternative then see this answer as pointed out in the comments, or this answer if you need an ordered split string function.
(Also, the delimiter will have to be NCHAR(<=1228). Still researching why.)
More on split functions, why (and proof that) while loops and recursive CTEs don't scale, and better alternatives, if you're splitting strings coming from the application layer:
Splitting strings
Finally the wait is over in SQL Server 2016 they have introduced Split string function : STRING_SPLIT
select * From STRING_SPLIT ('a,b', ',') cs
All the other methods to split string like XML, Tally table, while loop, etc.. has been blown away by this STRING_SPLIT function.
Here is an excellent article with performance comparison : Performance Surprises and Assumptions : STRING_SPLIT
The easiest way to do this is by using XML format.
1. Converting string to rows without table
QUERY
DECLARE #String varchar(100) = 'String1,String2,String3'
-- To change ',' to any other delimeter, just change ',' to your desired one
DECLARE #Delimiter CHAR = ','
SELECT LTRIM(RTRIM(Split.a.value('.', 'VARCHAR(100)'))) 'Value'
FROM
(
SELECT CAST ('<M>' + REPLACE(#String, #Delimiter, '</M><M>') + '</M>' AS XML) AS Data
) AS A
CROSS APPLY Data.nodes ('/M') AS Split(a)
RESULT
x---------x
| Value |
x---------x
| String1 |
| String2 |
| String3 |
x---------x
2. Converting to rows from a table which have an ID for each CSV row
SOURCE TABLE
x-----x--------------------------x
| Id | Value |
x-----x--------------------------x
| 1 | String1,String2,String3 |
| 2 | String4,String5,String6 |
x-----x--------------------------x
QUERY
-- To change ',' to any other delimeter, just change ',' before '</M><M>' to your desired one
DECLARE #Delimiter CHAR = ','
SELECT ID,LTRIM(RTRIM(Split.a.value('.', 'VARCHAR(100)'))) 'Value'
FROM
(
SELECT ID,CAST ('<M>' + REPLACE(VALUE, #Delimiter, '</M><M>') + '</M>' AS XML) AS Data
FROM TABLENAME
) AS A
CROSS APPLY Data.nodes ('/M') AS Split(a)
RESULT
x-----x----------x
| Id | Value |
x-----x----------x
| 1 | String1 |
| 1 | String2 |
| 1 | String3 |
| 2 | String4 |
| 2 | String5 |
| 2 | String6 |
x-----x----------x
I needed a quick way to get rid of the +4 from a zip code.
UPDATE #Emails
SET ZIPCode = SUBSTRING(ZIPCode, 1, (CHARINDEX('-', ZIPCODE)-1))
WHERE ZIPCode LIKE '%-%'
No proc... no UDF... just one tight little inline command that does what it must. Not fancy, not elegant.
Change the delimiter as needed, etc, and it will work for anything.
if you replace
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit) > 0
with
WHILE LEN(#stringToSplit) > 0
you can eliminate that last insert after the while loop!
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE LEN(#stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit)
if #pos = 0
SELECT #pos = LEN(#stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
RETURN
END
The often used approach with XML elements breaks in case of forbidden characters. This is an approach to use this method with any kind of character, even with the semicolon as delimiter.
The trick is, first to use SELECT SomeString AS [*] FOR XML PATH('') to get all forbidden characters properly escaped. That's the reason, why I replace the delimiter to a magic value to avoid troubles with ; as delimiter.
DECLARE #Dummy TABLE (ID INT, SomeTextToSplit NVARCHAR(MAX))
INSERT INTO #Dummy VALUES
(1,N'A&B;C;D;E, F')
,(2,N'"C" & ''D'';<C>;D;E, F');
DECLARE #Delimiter NVARCHAR(10)=';'; --special effort needed (due to entities coding with "&code;")!
WITH Casted AS
(
SELECT *
,CAST(N'<x>' + REPLACE((SELECT REPLACE(SomeTextToSplit,#Delimiter,N'§§Split$me$here§§') AS [*] FOR XML PATH('')),N'§§Split$me$here§§',N'</x><x>') + N'</x>' AS XML) AS SplitMe
FROM #Dummy
)
SELECT Casted.ID
,x.value(N'.',N'nvarchar(max)') AS Part
FROM Casted
CROSS APPLY SplitMe.nodes(N'/x') AS A(x)
The result
ID Part
1 A&B
1 C
1 D
1 E, F
2 "C" & 'D'
2 <C>
2 D
2 E, F
All the functions for string splitting that use some kind of Loop-ing (iterations) have bad performance. They should be replaced with set-based solution.
This code executes excellent.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitStrings
(
#List NVARCHAR(MAX),
#Delimiter NVARCHAR(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE
WITH SCHEMABINDING
AS
RETURN
(
SELECT Item = y.i.value('(./text())[1]', 'nvarchar(4000)')
FROM
(
SELECT x = CONVERT(XML, '<i>'
+ REPLACE(#List, #Delimiter, '</i><i>')
+ '</i>').query('.')
) AS a CROSS APPLY x.nodes('i') AS y(i)
);
GO
I had to write something like this recently. Here's the solution I came up with. It's generalized for any delimiter string and I think it would perform slightly better:
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[SplitString]
( #string nvarchar(4000)
, #delim nvarchar(100) )
RETURNS
#result TABLE
( [Value] nvarchar(4000) NOT NULL
, [Index] int NOT NULL )
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #str nvarchar(4000)
, #pos int
, #prv int = 1
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delim, #string)
WHILE #pos > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #str = SUBSTRING(#string, #prv, #pos - #prv)
INSERT INTO #result SELECT #str, #prv
SELECT #prv = #pos + LEN(#delim)
, #pos = CHARINDEX(#delim, #string, #pos + 1)
END
INSERT INTO #result SELECT SUBSTRING(#string, #prv, 4000), #prv
RETURN
END
If you need a quick ad-hoc solution for common cases with minimum code, then this recursive CTE two-liner will do it:
DECLARE #s VARCHAR(200) = ',1,2,,3,,,4,,,,5,'
;WITH
a AS (SELECT i=-1, j=0 UNION ALL SELECT j, CHARINDEX(',', #s, j + 1) FROM a WHERE j > i),
b AS (SELECT SUBSTRING(#s, i+1, IIF(j>0, j, LEN(#s)+1)-i-1) s FROM a WHERE i >= 0)
SELECT * FROM b
Either use this as a stand-alone statement or just add the above CTEs to any of your queries and you will be able to join the resulting table b with others for use in any further expressions.
edit (by Shnugo)
If you add a counter, you will get a position index together with the List:
DECLARE #s VARCHAR(200) = '1,2333,344,4'
;WITH
a AS (SELECT n=0, i=-1, j=0 UNION ALL SELECT n+1, j, CHARINDEX(',', #s, j+1) FROM a WHERE j > i),
b AS (SELECT n, SUBSTRING(#s, i+1, IIF(j>0, j, LEN(#s)+1)-i-1) s FROM a WHERE i >= 0)
SELECT * FROM b;
The result:
n s
1 1
2 2333
3 344
4 4
I take the xml route by wrapping the values into elements (M but anything works):
declare #v nvarchar(max) = '100,201,abcde'
select
a.value('.', 'varchar(max)')
from
(select cast('<M>' + REPLACE(#v, ',', '</M><M>') + '</M>' AS XML) as col) as A
CROSS APPLY A.col.nodes ('/M') AS Split(a)
A solution using a CTE, if anyone should need that (apart from me, who obviously did, that is why I wrote it).
declare #StringToSplit varchar(100) = 'Test1,Test2,Test3';
declare #SplitChar varchar(10) = ',';
with StringToSplit as (
select
ltrim( rtrim( substring( #StringToSplit, 1, charindex( #SplitChar, #StringToSplit ) - 1 ) ) ) Head
, substring( #StringToSplit, charindex( #SplitChar, #StringToSplit ) + 1, len( #StringToSplit ) ) Tail
union all
select
ltrim( rtrim( substring( Tail, 1, charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) - 1 ) ) ) Head
, substring( Tail, charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) + 1, len( Tail ) ) Tail
from StringToSplit
where charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) > 0
union all
select
ltrim( rtrim( Tail ) ) Head
, '' Tail
from StringToSplit
where charindex( #SplitChar, Tail ) = 0
and len( Tail ) > 0
)
select Head from StringToSplit
This is more narrowly-tailored. When I do this I usually have a comma-delimited list of unique ids (INT or BIGINT), which I want to cast as a table to use as an inner join to another table that has a primary key of INT or BIGINT. I want an in-line table-valued function returned so that I have the most efficient join possible.
Sample usage would be:
DECLARE #IDs VARCHAR(1000);
SET #IDs = ',99,206,124,8967,1,7,3,45234,2,889,987979,';
SELECT me.Value
FROM dbo.MyEnum me
INNER JOIN dbo.GetIntIdsTableFromDelimitedString(#IDs) ids ON me.PrimaryKey = ids.ID
I stole the idea from http://sqlrecords.blogspot.com/2012/11/converting-delimited-list-to-table.html, changing it to be in-line table-valued and cast as INT.
create function dbo.GetIntIDTableFromDelimitedString
(
#IDs VARCHAR(1000) --this parameter must start and end with a comma, eg ',123,456,'
--all items in list must be perfectly formatted or function will error
)
RETURNS TABLE AS
RETURN
SELECT
CAST(SUBSTRING(#IDs,Nums.number + 1,CHARINDEX(',',#IDs,(Nums.number+2)) - Nums.number - 1) AS INT) AS ID
FROM
[master].[dbo].[spt_values] Nums
WHERE Nums.Type = 'P'
AND Nums.number BETWEEN 1 AND DATALENGTH(#IDs)
AND SUBSTRING(#IDs,Nums.number,1) = ','
AND CHARINDEX(',',#IDs,(Nums.number+1)) > Nums.number;
GO
There is a correct version on here but I thought it would be nice to add a little fault tolerance in case they have a trailing comma as well as make it so you could use it not as a function but as part of a larger piece of code. Just in case you're only using it once time and don't need a function. This is also for integers (which is what I needed it for) so you might have to change your data types.
DECLARE #StringToSeperate VARCHAR(10)
SET #StringToSeperate = '1,2,5'
--SELECT #StringToSeperate IDs INTO #Test
DROP TABLE #IDs
CREATE TABLE #IDs (ID int)
DECLARE #CommaSeperatedValue NVARCHAR(255) = ''
DECLARE #Position INT = LEN(#StringToSeperate)
--Add Each Value
WHILE CHARINDEX(',', #StringToSeperate) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #Position = CHARINDEX(',', #StringToSeperate)
SELECT #CommaSeperatedValue = SUBSTRING(#StringToSeperate, 1, #Position-1)
INSERT INTO #IDs
SELECT #CommaSeperatedValue
SELECT #StringToSeperate = SUBSTRING(#StringToSeperate, #Position+1, LEN(#StringToSeperate)-#Position)
END
--Add Last Value
IF (LEN(LTRIM(RTRIM(#StringToSeperate)))>0)
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #IDs
SELECT SUBSTRING(#StringToSeperate, 1, #Position)
END
SELECT * FROM #IDs
I modified +Andy Robinson's function a little bit. Now you can select only required part from returning table:
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([numOrder] [tinyint] , [Name] [nvarchar] (500)) AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
DECLARE #orderNum INT
SET #orderNum=0
WHILE CHARINDEX('.', #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #orderNum=#orderNum+1;
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX('.', #stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #orderNum,#name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
SELECT #orderNum=#orderNum+1;
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #orderNum, #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
Usage:
SELECT Name FROM dbo.splitstring('ELIS.YD.CRP1.1.CBA.MDSP.T389.BT') WHERE numOrder=5
Simples
DECLARE #String varchar(100) = '11,21,84,85,87'
SELECT * FROM TB_PAPEL WHERE CD_PAPEL IN (SELECT value FROM STRING_SPLIT(#String, ','))
-- EQUIVALENTE
SELECT * FROM TB_PAPEL WHERE CD_PAPEL IN (11,21,84,85,87)
here is a version that can split on a pattern using patindex, a simple adaptation of the post above. I had a case where I needed to split a string that contained multiple separator chars.
alter FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(1000), #splitPattern varchar(10) )
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE PATINDEX(#splitPattern, #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = PATINDEX(#splitPattern, #stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
select * from dbo.splitstring('stringa/stringb/x,y,z','%[/,]%');
result looks like this
stringa
stringb
x
y
z
Personnaly I use this function :
ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].[CUST_SplitString]
(
#String NVARCHAR(4000),
#Delimiter NCHAR(1)
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN
(
WITH Split(stpos,endpos)
AS(
SELECT 0 AS stpos, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter,#String) AS endpos
UNION ALL
SELECT endpos+1, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter,#String,endpos+1)
FROM Split
WHERE endpos > 0
)
SELECT 'Id' = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY (SELECT 1)),
'Data' = SUBSTRING(#String,stpos,COALESCE(NULLIF(endpos,0),LEN(#String)+1)-stpos)
FROM Split
)
I have developed a double Splitter (Takes two split characters) as requested Here. Could be of some value in this thread seeing its the most referenced for queries relating to string splitting.
CREATE FUNCTION uft_DoubleSplitter
(
-- Add the parameters for the function here
#String VARCHAR(4000),
#Splitter1 CHAR,
#Splitter2 CHAR
)
RETURNS #Result TABLE (Id INT,MId INT,SValue VARCHAR(4000))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #FResult TABLE(Id INT IDENTITY(1, 1),
SValue VARCHAR(4000))
DECLARE #SResult TABLE(Id INT IDENTITY(1, 1),
MId INT,
SValue VARCHAR(4000))
SET #String = #String+#Splitter1
WHILE CHARINDEX(#Splitter1, #String) > 0
BEGIN
DECLARE #WorkingString VARCHAR(4000) = NULL
SET #WorkingString = SUBSTRING(#String, 1, CHARINDEX(#Splitter1, #String) - 1)
--Print #workingString
INSERT INTO #FResult
SELECT CASE
WHEN #WorkingString = '' THEN NULL
ELSE #WorkingString
END
SET #String = SUBSTRING(#String, LEN(#WorkingString) + 2, LEN(#String))
END
IF ISNULL(#Splitter2, '') != ''
BEGIN
DECLARE #OStartLoop INT
DECLARE #OEndLoop INT
SELECT #OStartLoop = MIN(Id),
#OEndLoop = MAX(Id)
FROM #FResult
WHILE #OStartLoop <= #OEndLoop
BEGIN
DECLARE #iString VARCHAR(4000)
DECLARE #iMId INT
SELECT #iString = SValue+#Splitter2,
#iMId = Id
FROM #FResult
WHERE Id = #OStartLoop
WHILE CHARINDEX(#Splitter2, #iString) > 0
BEGIN
DECLARE #iWorkingString VARCHAR(4000) = NULL
SET #IWorkingString = SUBSTRING(#iString, 1, CHARINDEX(#Splitter2, #iString) - 1)
INSERT INTO #SResult
SELECT #iMId,
CASE
WHEN #iWorkingString = '' THEN NULL
ELSE #iWorkingString
END
SET #iString = SUBSTRING(#iString, LEN(#iWorkingString) + 2, LEN(#iString))
END
SET #OStartLoop = #OStartLoop + 1
END
INSERT INTO #Result
SELECT MId AS PrimarySplitID,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY MId ORDER BY Mid, Id) AS SecondarySplitID ,
SValue
FROM #SResult
END
ELSE
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #Result
SELECT Id AS PrimarySplitID,
NULL AS SecondarySplitID,
SValue
FROM #FResult
END
RETURN
Usage:
--FirstSplit
SELECT * FROM uft_DoubleSplitter('ValueA=ValueB=ValueC=ValueD==ValueE&ValueA=ValueB=ValueC===ValueE&ValueA=ValueB==ValueD===','&',NULL)
--Second Split
SELECT * FROM uft_DoubleSplitter('ValueA=ValueB=ValueC=ValueD==ValueE&ValueA=ValueB=ValueC===ValueE&ValueA=ValueB==ValueD===','&','=')
Possible Usage (Get second value of each split):
SELECT fn.SValue
FROM uft_DoubleSplitter('ValueA=ValueB=ValueC=ValueD==ValueE&ValueA=ValueB=ValueC===ValueE&ValueA=ValueB==ValueD===', '&', '=')AS fn
WHERE fn.mid = 2
A recursive cte based solution
declare #T table (iden int identity, col1 varchar(100));
insert into #T(col1) values
('ROOT/South America/Lima/Test/Test2')
, ('ROOT/South America/Peru/Test/Test2')
, ('ROOT//South America/Venuzuala ')
, ('RtT/South America / ')
, ('ROOT/South Americas// ');
declare #split char(1) = '/';
select #split as split;
with cte as
( select t.iden, case when SUBSTRING(REVERSE(rtrim(t.col1)), 1, 1) = #split then LTRIM(RTRIM(t.col1)) else LTRIM(RTRIM(t.col1)) + #split end as col1, 0 as pos , 1 as cnt
from #T t
union all
select t.iden, t.col1 , charindex(#split, t.col1, t.pos + 1), cnt + 1
from cte t
where charindex(#split, t.col1, t.pos + 1) > 0
)
select t1.*, t2.pos, t2.cnt
, ltrim(rtrim(SUBSTRING(t1.col1, t1.pos+1, t2.pos-t1.pos-1))) as bingo
from cte t1
join cte t2
on t2.iden = t1.iden
and t2.cnt = t1.cnt+1
and t2.pos > t1.pos
order by t1.iden, t1.cnt;
With all due respect to #AviG this is the bug free version of function deviced by him to return all the tokens in full.
IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.objects WHERE type = 'TF' AND name = 'TF_SplitString')
DROP FUNCTION [dbo].[TF_SplitString]
GO
-- =============================================
-- Author: AviG
-- Amendments: Parameterize the delimeter and included the missing chars in last token - Gemunu Wickremasinghe
-- Description: Tabel valued function that Breaks the delimeted string by given delimeter and returns a tabel having split results
-- Usage
-- select * from [dbo].[TF_SplitString]('token1,token2,,,,,,,,token969',',')
-- 969 items should be returned
-- select * from [dbo].[TF_SplitString]('4672978261,4672978255',',')
-- 2 items should be returned
-- =============================================
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.TF_SplitString
( #stringToSplit VARCHAR(MAX) ,
#delimeter char = ','
)
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([Name] [nvarchar] (500))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(255)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE LEN(#stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delimeter, #stringToSplit)
if #pos = 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = LEN(#stringToSplit)
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos)
END
else
BEGIN
SELECT #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #name
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, LEN(#stringToSplit)-#pos)
END
RETURN
END
This is based on Andy Robertson's answer, I needed a delimiter other than comma.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( #stringToSplit nvarchar(MAX), #delim nvarchar(max))
RETURNS
#returnList TABLE ([value] [nvarchar] (MAX))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #value NVARCHAR(max)
DECLARE #pos INT
WHILE CHARINDEX(#delim, #stringToSplit) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delim, #stringToSplit)
SELECT #value = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos - 1)
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #value
SELECT #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos + LEN(#delim), LEN(#stringToSplit) - #pos)
END
INSERT INTO #returnList
SELECT #stringToSplit
RETURN
END
GO
And to use it:
SELECT * FROM dbo.splitstring('test1 test2 test3', ' ');
(Tested on SQL Server 2008 R2)
EDIT: correct test code
ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].func_split_string
(
#input as varchar(max),
#delimiter as varchar(10) = ";"
)
RETURNS #result TABLE
(
id smallint identity(1,1),
csv_value varchar(max) not null
)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #pos AS INT;
DECLARE #string AS VARCHAR(MAX) = '';
WHILE LEN(#input) > 0
BEGIN
SELECT #pos = CHARINDEX(#delimiter,#input);
IF(#pos<=0)
select #pos = len(#input)
IF(#pos <> LEN(#input))
SELECT #string = SUBSTRING(#input, 1, #pos-1);
ELSE
SELECT #string = SUBSTRING(#input, 1, #pos);
INSERT INTO #result SELECT #string
SELECT #input = SUBSTRING(#input, #pos+len(#delimiter), LEN(#input)-#pos)
END
RETURN
END
You can Use this function:
CREATE FUNCTION SplitString
(
#Input NVARCHAR(MAX),
#Character CHAR(1)
)
RETURNS #Output TABLE (
Item NVARCHAR(1000)
)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #StartIndex INT, #EndIndex INT
SET #StartIndex = 1
IF SUBSTRING(#Input, LEN(#Input) - 1, LEN(#Input)) <> #Character
BEGIN
SET #Input = #Input + #Character
END
WHILE CHARINDEX(#Character, #Input) > 0
BEGIN
SET #EndIndex = CHARINDEX(#Character, #Input)
INSERT INTO #Output(Item)
SELECT SUBSTRING(#Input, #StartIndex, #EndIndex - 1)
SET #Input = SUBSTRING(#Input, #EndIndex + 1, LEN(#Input))
END
RETURN
END
GO
Here is an example that you can use as function or also you can put the same logic in procedure.
--SELECT * from [dbo].fn_SplitString ;
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[fn_SplitString]
(#CSV VARCHAR(MAX), #Delimeter VARCHAR(100) = ',')
RETURNS #retTable TABLE
(
[value] VARCHAR(MAX) NULL
)AS
BEGIN
DECLARE
#vCSV VARCHAR (MAX) = #CSV,
#vDelimeter VARCHAR (100) = #Delimeter;
IF #vDelimeter = ';'
BEGIN
SET #vCSV = REPLACE(#vCSV, ';', '~!~#~');
SET #vDelimeter = REPLACE(#vDelimeter, ';', '~!~#~');
END;
SET #vCSV = REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(#vCSV, '&', '&'), '<', '<'), '>', '>'), '''', '''), '"', '"');
DECLARE #xml XML;
SET #xml = '<i>' + REPLACE(#vCSV, #vDelimeter, '</i><i>') + '</i>';
INSERT INTO #retTable
SELECT
x.i.value('.', 'varchar(max)') AS COLUMNNAME
FROM #xml.nodes('//i')AS x(i);
RETURN;
END;
/*
Answer to T-SQL split string
Based on answers from Andy Robinson and AviG
Enhanced functionality ref: LEN function not including trailing spaces in SQL Server
This 'file' should be valid as both a markdown file and an SQL file
*/
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.splitstring ( --CREATE OR ALTER
#stringToSplit NVARCHAR(MAX)
) RETURNS #returnList TABLE ([Item] NVARCHAR (MAX))
AS BEGIN
DECLARE #name NVARCHAR(MAX)
DECLARE #pos BIGINT
SET #stringToSplit = #stringToSplit + ',' -- this should allow entries that end with a `,` to have a blank value in that "column"
WHILE ((LEN(#stringToSplit+'_') > 1)) BEGIN -- `+'_'` gets around LEN trimming terminal spaces. See URL referenced above
SET #pos = COALESCE(NULLIF(CHARINDEX(',', #stringToSplit),0),LEN(#stringToSplit+'_')) -- COALESCE grabs first non-null value
SET #name = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, 1, #pos-1) --MAX size of string of type nvarchar is 4000
SET #stringToSplit = SUBSTRING(#stringToSplit, #pos+1, 4000) -- With SUBSTRING fn (MS web): "If start is greater than the number of characters in the value expression, a zero-length expression is returned."
INSERT INTO #returnList SELECT #name --additional debugging parameters below can be added
-- + ' pos:' + CAST(#pos as nvarchar) + ' remain:''' + #stringToSplit + '''(' + CAST(LEN(#stringToSplit+'_')-1 as nvarchar) + ')'
END
RETURN
END
GO
/*
Test cases: see URL referenced as "enhanced functionality" above
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,,b')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
b | 1
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,,')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
| 0
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,, ')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
| 1
SELECT *,LEN(Item+'_')-1 'L' from splitstring('a,, c ')
Item | L
--- | ---
a | 1
| 0
c | 3
*/
The easiest way:
Install SQL Server 2016
Use STRING_SPLIT https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt684588.aspx
It works even in express edition :).
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"?
I don't believe SQL Server has a built-in split function, so other than a UDF, the only other answer I know is to hijack the PARSENAME function:
SELECT PARSENAME(REPLACE('Hello John Smith', ' ', '.'), 2)
PARSENAME takes a string and splits it on the period character. It takes a number as its second argument, and that number specifies which segment of the string to return (working from back to front).
SELECT PARSENAME(REPLACE('Hello John Smith', ' ', '.'), 3) --return Hello
Obvious problem is when the string already contains a period. I still think using a UDF is the best way...any other suggestions?
You may find the solution in SQL User Defined Function to Parse a Delimited String helpful (from The Code Project).
You can use this simple logic:
Declare #products varchar(200) = '1|20|3|343|44|6|8765'
Declare #individual varchar(20) = null
WHILE LEN(#products) > 0
BEGIN
IF PATINDEX('%|%', #products) > 0
BEGIN
SET #individual = SUBSTRING(#products,
0,
PATINDEX('%|%', #products))
SELECT #individual
SET #products = SUBSTRING(#products,
LEN(#individual + '|') + 1,
LEN(#products))
END
ELSE
BEGIN
SET #individual = #products
SET #products = NULL
SELECT #individual
END
END
First, create a function (using CTE, common table expression does away with the need for a temp table)
create function dbo.SplitString
(
#str nvarchar(4000),
#separator char(1)
)
returns table
AS
return (
with tokens(p, a, b) AS (
select
1,
1,
charindex(#separator, #str)
union all
select
p + 1,
b + 1,
charindex(#separator, #str, b + 1)
from tokens
where b > 0
)
select
p-1 zeroBasedOccurance,
substring(
#str,
a,
case when b > 0 then b-a ELSE 4000 end)
AS s
from tokens
)
GO
Then, use it as any table (or modify it to fit within your existing stored proc) like this.
select s
from dbo.SplitString('Hello John Smith', ' ')
where zeroBasedOccurance=1
Update
Previous version would fail for input string longer than 4000 chars. This version takes care of the limitation:
create function dbo.SplitString
(
#str nvarchar(max),
#separator char(1)
)
returns table
AS
return (
with tokens(p, a, b) AS (
select
cast(1 as bigint),
cast(1 as bigint),
charindex(#separator, #str)
union all
select
p + 1,
b + 1,
charindex(#separator, #str, b + 1)
from tokens
where b > 0
)
select
p-1 ItemIndex,
substring(
#str,
a,
case when b > 0 then b-a ELSE LEN(#str) end)
AS s
from tokens
);
GO
Usage remains the same.
Most of the solutions here use while loops or recursive CTEs. A set-based approach will be superior, I promise, if you can use a delimiter other than a space:
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[SplitString]
(
#List NVARCHAR(MAX),
#Delim VARCHAR(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN ( SELECT [Value], idx = RANK() OVER (ORDER BY n) FROM
(
SELECT n = Number,
[Value] = LTRIM(RTRIM(SUBSTRING(#List, [Number],
CHARINDEX(#Delim, #List + #Delim, [Number]) - [Number])))
FROM (SELECT Number = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY name)
FROM sys.all_objects) AS x
WHERE Number <= LEN(#List)
AND SUBSTRING(#Delim + #List, [Number], LEN(#Delim)) = #Delim
) AS y
);
Sample usage:
SELECT Value FROM dbo.SplitString('foo,bar,blat,foo,splunge',',')
WHERE idx = 3;
Results:
----
blat
You could also add the idx you want as an argument to the function, but I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader.
You can't do this with just the native STRING_SPLIT function added in SQL Server 2016, because there is no guarantee that the output will be rendered in the order of the original list. In other words, if you pass in 3,6,1 the result will likely be in that order, but it could be 1,3,6. I have asked for the community's help in improving the built-in function here:
Please help with STRING_SPLIT improvements
With enough qualitative feedback, they may actually consider making some of these enhancements:
STRING_SPLIT is not feature complete
More on split functions, why (and proof that) while loops and recursive CTEs don't scale, and better alternatives, if splitting strings coming from the application layer:
Split strings the right way – or the next best way
Splitting Strings : A Follow-Up
Splitting Strings : Now with less T-SQL
Comparing string splitting / concatenation methods
Processing a list of integers : my approach
Splitting a list of integers : another roundup
More on splitting lists : custom delimiters, preventing duplicates, and maintaining order
Removing Duplicates from Strings in SQL Server
On SQL Server 2016 or above, though, you should look at STRING_SPLIT() and STRING_AGG():
Performance Surprises and Assumptions : STRING_SPLIT()
STRING_SPLIT() in SQL Server 2016 : Follow-Up #1
STRING_SPLIT() in SQL Server 2016 : Follow-Up #2
SQL Server v.Next : STRING_AGG() performance
Solve old problems with SQL Server’s new STRING_AGG and STRING_SPLIT functions
You can leverage a Number table to do the string parsing.
Create a physical numbers table:
create table dbo.Numbers (N int primary key);
insert into dbo.Numbers
select top 1000 row_number() over(order by number) from master..spt_values
go
Create test table with 1000000 rows
create table #yak (i int identity(1,1) primary key, array varchar(50))
insert into #yak(array)
select 'a,b,c' from dbo.Numbers n cross join dbo.Numbers nn
go
Create the function
create function [dbo].[ufn_ParseArray]
( #Input nvarchar(4000),
#Delimiter char(1) = ',',
#BaseIdent int
)
returns table as
return
( select row_number() over (order by n asc) + (#BaseIdent - 1) [i],
substring(#Input, n, charindex(#Delimiter, #Input + #Delimiter, n) - n) s
from dbo.Numbers
where n <= convert(int, len(#Input)) and
substring(#Delimiter + #Input, n, 1) = #Delimiter
)
go
Usage (outputs 3mil rows in 40s on my laptop)
select *
from #yak
cross apply dbo.ufn_ParseArray(array, ',', 1)
cleanup
drop table dbo.Numbers;
drop function [dbo].[ufn_ParseArray]
Performance here is not amazing, but calling a function over a million row table is not the best idea. If performing a string split over many rows I would avoid the function.
This question is not about a string split approach, but about how to get the nth element.
All answers here are doing some kind of string splitting using recursion, CTEs, multiple CHARINDEX, REVERSE and PATINDEX, inventing functions, call for CLR methods, number tables, CROSS APPLYs ... Most answers cover many lines of code.
But - if you really want nothing more than an approach to get the nth element - this can be done as real one-liner, no UDF, not even a sub-select... And as an extra benefit: type safe
Get part 2 delimited by a space:
DECLARE #input NVARCHAR(100)=N'part1 part2 part3';
SELECT CAST(N'<x>' + REPLACE(#input,N' ',N'</x><x>') + N'</x>' AS XML).value('/x[2]','nvarchar(max)')
Of course you can use variables for delimiter and position (use sql:column to retrieve the position directly from a query's value):
DECLARE #dlmt NVARCHAR(10)=N' ';
DECLARE #pos INT = 2;
SELECT CAST(N'<x>' + REPLACE(#input,#dlmt,N'</x><x>') + N'</x>' AS XML).value('/x[sql:variable("#pos")][1]','nvarchar(max)')
If your string might include forbidden characters (especially one among &><), you still can do it this way. Just use FOR XML PATH on your string first to replace all forbidden characters with the fitting escape sequence implicitly.
It's a very special case if - additionally - your delimiter is the semicolon. In this case I replace the delimiter first to '#DLMT#', and replace this to the XML tags finally:
SET #input=N'Some <, > and &;Other äöü#€;One more';
SET #dlmt=N';';
SELECT CAST(N'<x>' + REPLACE((SELECT REPLACE(#input,#dlmt,'#DLMT#') AS [*] FOR XML PATH('')),N'#DLMT#',N'</x><x>') + N'</x>' AS XML).value('/x[sql:variable("#pos")][1]','nvarchar(max)');
UPDATE for SQL-Server 2016+
Regretfully the developers forgot to return the part's index with STRING_SPLIT. But, using SQL-Server 2016+, there is JSON_VALUE and OPENJSON.
With JSON_VALUE we can pass in the position as the index' array.
For OPENJSON the documentation states clearly:
When OPENJSON parses a JSON array, the function returns the indexes of the elements in the JSON text as keys.
A string like 1,2,3 needs nothing more than brackets: [1,2,3].
A string of words like this is an example needs to be ["this","is","an","example"].
These are very easy string operations. Just try it out:
DECLARE #str VARCHAR(100)='Hello John Smith';
DECLARE #position INT = 2;
--We can build the json-path '$[1]' using CONCAT
SELECT JSON_VALUE('["' + REPLACE(#str,' ','","') + '"]',CONCAT('$[',#position-1,']'));
--See this for a position safe string-splitter (zero-based):
SELECT JsonArray.[key] AS [Position]
,JsonArray.[value] AS [Part]
FROM OPENJSON('["' + REPLACE(#str,' ','","') + '"]') JsonArray
In this post I tested various approaches and found, that OPENJSON is really fast. Even much faster than the famous "delimitedSplit8k()" method...
UPDATE 2 - Get the values type-safe
We can use an array within an array simply by using doubled [[]]. This allows for a typed WITH-clause:
DECLARE #SomeDelimitedString VARCHAR(100)='part1|1|20190920';
DECLARE #JsonArray NVARCHAR(MAX)=CONCAT('[["',REPLACE(#SomeDelimitedString,'|','","'),'"]]');
SELECT #SomeDelimitedString AS TheOriginal
,#JsonArray AS TransformedToJSON
,ValuesFromTheArray.*
FROM OPENJSON(#JsonArray)
WITH(TheFirstFragment VARCHAR(100) '$[0]'
,TheSecondFragment INT '$[1]'
,TheThirdFragment DATE '$[2]') ValuesFromTheArray
Here is a UDF which will do it. It will return a table of the delimited values, haven't tried all scenarios on it but your example works fine.
CREATE FUNCTION SplitString
(
-- Add the parameters for the function here
#myString varchar(500),
#deliminator varchar(10)
)
RETURNS
#ReturnTable TABLE
(
-- Add the column definitions for the TABLE variable here
[id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[part] [varchar](50) NULL
)
AS
BEGIN
Declare #iSpaces int
Declare #part varchar(50)
--initialize spaces
Select #iSpaces = charindex(#deliminator,#myString,0)
While #iSpaces > 0
Begin
Select #part = substring(#myString,0,charindex(#deliminator,#myString,0))
Insert Into #ReturnTable(part)
Select #part
Select #myString = substring(#mystring,charindex(#deliminator,#myString,0)+ len(#deliminator),len(#myString) - charindex(' ',#myString,0))
Select #iSpaces = charindex(#deliminator,#myString,0)
end
If len(#myString) > 0
Insert Into #ReturnTable
Select #myString
RETURN
END
GO
You would call it like this:
Select * From SplitString('Hello John Smith',' ')
Edit: Updated solution to handle delimters with a len>1 as in :
select * From SplitString('Hello**John**Smith','**')
Here I post a simple way of solution
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[split](
#delimited NVARCHAR(MAX),
#delimiter NVARCHAR(100)
) RETURNS #t TABLE (id INT IDENTITY(1,1), val NVARCHAR(MAX))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #xml XML
SET #xml = N'<t>' + REPLACE(#delimited,#delimiter,'</t><t>') + '</t>'
INSERT INTO #t(val)
SELECT r.value('.','varchar(MAX)') as item
FROM #xml.nodes('/t') as records(r)
RETURN
END
Execute the function like this
select * from dbo.split('Hello John Smith',' ')
In my opinion you guys are making it way too complicated. Just create a CLR UDF and be done with it.
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Data.SqlTypes;
using Microsoft.SqlServer.Server;
using System.Collections.Generic;
public partial class UserDefinedFunctions {
[SqlFunction]
public static SqlString SearchString(string Search) {
List<string> SearchWords = new List<string>();
foreach (string s in Search.Split(new char[] { ' ' })) {
if (!s.ToLower().Equals("or") && !s.ToLower().Equals("and")) {
SearchWords.Add(s);
}
}
return new SqlString(string.Join(" OR ", SearchWords.ToArray()));
}
};
What about using string and values() statement?
DECLARE #str varchar(max)
SET #str = 'Hello John Smith'
DECLARE #separator varchar(max)
SET #separator = ' '
DECLARE #Splited TABLE(id int IDENTITY(1,1), item varchar(max))
SET #str = REPLACE(#str, #separator, '''),(''')
SET #str = 'SELECT * FROM (VALUES(''' + #str + ''')) AS V(A)'
INSERT INTO #Splited
EXEC(#str)
SELECT * FROM #Splited
Result-set achieved.
id item
1 Hello
2 John
3 Smith
I use the answer of frederic but this did not work in SQL Server 2005
I modified it and I'm using select with union all and it works
DECLARE #str varchar(max)
SET #str = 'Hello John Smith how are you'
DECLARE #separator varchar(max)
SET #separator = ' '
DECLARE #Splited table(id int IDENTITY(1,1), item varchar(max))
SET #str = REPLACE(#str, #separator, ''' UNION ALL SELECT ''')
SET #str = ' SELECT ''' + #str + ''' '
INSERT INTO #Splited
EXEC(#str)
SELECT * FROM #Splited
And the result-set is:
id item
1 Hello
2 John
3 Smith
4 how
5 are
6 you
This pattern works fine and you can generalize
Convert(xml,'<n>'+Replace(FIELD,'.','</n><n>')+'</n>').value('(/n[INDEX])','TYPE')
^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^
note FIELD, INDEX and TYPE.
Let some table with identifiers like
sys.message.1234.warning.A45
sys.message.1235.error.O98
....
Then, you can write
SELECT Source = q.value('(/n[1])', 'varchar(10)'),
RecordType = q.value('(/n[2])', 'varchar(20)'),
RecordNumber = q.value('(/n[3])', 'int'),
Status = q.value('(/n[4])', 'varchar(5)')
FROM (
SELECT q = Convert(xml,'<n>'+Replace(fieldName,'.','</n><n>')+'</n>')
FROM some_TABLE
) Q
splitting and casting all parts.
Yet another get n'th part of string by delimeter function:
create function GetStringPartByDelimeter (
#value as nvarchar(max),
#delimeter as nvarchar(max),
#position as int
) returns NVARCHAR(MAX)
AS BEGIN
declare #startPos as int
declare #endPos as int
set #endPos = -1
while (#position > 0 and #endPos != 0) begin
set #startPos = #endPos + 1
set #endPos = charindex(#delimeter, #value, #startPos)
if(#position = 1) begin
if(#endPos = 0)
set #endPos = len(#value) + 1
return substring(#value, #startPos, #endPos - #startPos)
end
set #position = #position - 1
end
return null
end
and the usage:
select dbo.GetStringPartByDelimeter ('a;b;c;d;e', ';', 3)
which returns:
c
If your database has compatibility level of 130 or higher then you can use the STRING_SPLIT function along with OFFSET FETCH clauses to get the specific item by index.
To get the item at index N (zero based), you can use the following code
SELECT value
FROM STRING_SPLIT('Hello John Smith',' ')
ORDER BY (SELECT NULL)
OFFSET N ROWS
FETCH NEXT 1 ROWS ONLY
To check the compatibility level of your database, execute this code:
SELECT compatibility_level
FROM sys.databases WHERE name = 'YourDBName';
Try this:
CREATE function [SplitWordList]
(
#list varchar(8000)
)
returns #t table
(
Word varchar(50) not null,
Position int identity(1,1) not null
)
as begin
declare
#pos int,
#lpos int,
#item varchar(100),
#ignore varchar(100),
#dl int,
#a1 int,
#a2 int,
#z1 int,
#z2 int,
#n1 int,
#n2 int,
#c varchar(1),
#a smallint
select
#a1 = ascii('a'),
#a2 = ascii('A'),
#z1 = ascii('z'),
#z2 = ascii('Z'),
#n1 = ascii('0'),
#n2 = ascii('9')
set #ignore = '''"'
set #pos = 1
set #dl = datalength(#list)
set #lpos = 1
set #item = ''
while (#pos <= #dl) begin
set #c = substring(#list, #pos, 1)
if (#ignore not like '%' + #c + '%') begin
set #a = ascii(#c)
if ((#a >= #a1) and (#a <= #z1))
or ((#a >= #a2) and (#a <= #z2))
or ((#a >= #n1) and (#a <= #n2))
begin
set #item = #item + #c
end else if (#item > '') begin
insert into #t values (#item)
set #item = ''
end
end
set #pos = #pos + 1
end
if (#item > '') begin
insert into #t values (#item)
end
return
end
Test it like this:
select * from SplitWordList('Hello John Smith')
I was looking for the solution on net and the below works for me.
Ref.
And you call the function like this :
SELECT * FROM dbo.split('ram shyam hari gopal',' ')
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[Split](#String VARCHAR(8000), #Delimiter CHAR(1))
RETURNS #temptable TABLE (items VARCHAR(8000))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #idx INT
DECLARE #slice VARCHAR(8000)
SELECT #idx = 1
IF len(#String)<1 OR #String IS NULL RETURN
WHILE #idx!= 0
BEGIN
SET #idx = charindex(#Delimiter,#String)
IF #idx!=0
SET #slice = LEFT(#String,#idx - 1)
ELSE
SET #slice = #String
IF(len(#slice)>0)
INSERT INTO #temptable(Items) VALUES(#slice)
SET #String = RIGHT(#String,len(#String) - #idx)
IF len(#String) = 0 break
END
RETURN
END
The following example uses a recursive CTE
Update 18.09.2013
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitStrings_CTE(#List nvarchar(max), #Delimiter nvarchar(1))
RETURNS #returns TABLE (val nvarchar(max), [level] int, PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED([level]))
AS
BEGIN
;WITH cte AS
(
SELECT SUBSTRING(#List, 0, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter, #List + #Delimiter)) AS val,
CAST(STUFF(#List + #Delimiter, 1, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter, #List + #Delimiter), '') AS nvarchar(max)) AS stval,
1 AS [level]
UNION ALL
SELECT SUBSTRING(stval, 0, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter, stval)),
CAST(STUFF(stval, 1, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter, stval), '') AS nvarchar(max)),
[level] + 1
FROM cte
WHERE stval != ''
)
INSERT #returns
SELECT REPLACE(val, ' ','' ) AS val, [level]
FROM cte
WHERE val > ''
RETURN
END
Demo on SQLFiddle
Alter Function dbo.fn_Split
(
#Expression nvarchar(max),
#Delimiter nvarchar(20) = ',',
#Qualifier char(1) = Null
)
RETURNS #Results TABLE (id int IDENTITY(1,1), value nvarchar(max))
AS
BEGIN
/* USAGE
Select * From dbo.fn_Split('apple pear grape banana orange honeydew cantalope 3 2 1 4', ' ', Null)
Select * From dbo.fn_Split('1,abc,"Doe, John",4', ',', '"')
Select * From dbo.fn_Split('Hello 0,"&""&&&&', ',', '"')
*/
-- Declare Variables
DECLARE
#X xml,
#Temp nvarchar(max),
#Temp2 nvarchar(max),
#Start int,
#End int
-- HTML Encode #Expression
Select #Expression = (Select #Expression For XML Path(''))
-- Find all occurences of #Delimiter within #Qualifier and replace with |||***|||
While PATINDEX('%' + #Qualifier + '%', #Expression) > 0 AND Len(IsNull(#Qualifier, '')) > 0
BEGIN
Select
-- Starting character position of #Qualifier
#Start = PATINDEX('%' + #Qualifier + '%', #Expression),
-- #Expression starting at the #Start position
#Temp = SubString(#Expression, #Start + 1, LEN(#Expression)-#Start+1),
-- Next position of #Qualifier within #Expression
#End = PATINDEX('%' + #Qualifier + '%', #Temp) - 1,
-- The part of Expression found between the #Qualifiers
#Temp2 = Case When #End < 0 Then #Temp Else Left(#Temp, #End) End,
-- New #Expression
#Expression = REPLACE(#Expression,
#Qualifier + #Temp2 + Case When #End < 0 Then '' Else #Qualifier End,
Replace(#Temp2, #Delimiter, '|||***|||')
)
END
-- Replace all occurences of #Delimiter within #Expression with '</fn_Split><fn_Split>'
-- And convert it to XML so we can select from it
SET
#X = Cast('<fn_Split>' +
Replace(#Expression, #Delimiter, '</fn_Split><fn_Split>') +
'</fn_Split>' as xml)
-- Insert into our returnable table replacing '|||***|||' back to #Delimiter
INSERT #Results
SELECT
"Value" = LTRIM(RTrim(Replace(C.value('.', 'nvarchar(max)'), '|||***|||', #Delimiter)))
FROM
#X.nodes('fn_Split') as X(C)
-- Return our temp table
RETURN
END
You can split a string in SQL without needing a function:
DECLARE #bla varchar(MAX)
SET #bla = 'BED40DFC-F468-46DD-8017-00EF2FA3E4A4,64B59FC5-3F4D-4B0E-9A48-01F3D4F220B0,A611A108-97CA-42F3-A2E1-057165339719,E72D95EA-578F-45FC-88E5-075F66FD726C'
-- http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14712864/how-to-query-values-from-xml-nodes
SELECT
x.XmlCol.value('.', 'varchar(36)') AS val
FROM
(
SELECT
CAST('<e>' + REPLACE(#bla, ',', '</e><e>') + '</e>' AS xml) AS RawXml
) AS b
CROSS APPLY b.RawXml.nodes('e') x(XmlCol);
If you need to support arbitrary strings (with xml special characters)
DECLARE #bla NVARCHAR(MAX)
SET #bla = '<html>unsafe & safe Utf8CharsDon''tGetEncoded ÄöÜ - "Conex"<html>,Barnes & Noble,abc,def,ghi'
-- http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14712864/how-to-query-values-from-xml-nodes
SELECT
x.XmlCol.value('.', 'nvarchar(MAX)') AS val
FROM
(
SELECT
CAST('<e>' + REPLACE((SELECT #bla FOR XML PATH('')), ',', '</e><e>') + '</e>' AS xml) AS RawXml
) AS b
CROSS APPLY b.RawXml.nodes('e') x(XmlCol);
In Azure SQL Database (based on Microsoft SQL Server but not exactly the same thing) the signature of STRING_SPLIT function looks like:
STRING_SPLIT ( string , separator [ , enable_ordinal ] )
When enable_ordinal flag is set to 1 the result will include a column named ordinal that consists of the 1‑based position of the substring within the input string:
SELECT *
FROM STRING_SPLIT('hello john smith', ' ', 1)
| value | ordinal |
|-------|---------|
| hello | 1 |
| john | 2 |
| smith | 3 |
This allows us to do this:
SELECT value
FROM STRING_SPLIT('hello john smith', ' ', 1)
WHERE ordinal = 2
| value |
|-------|
| john |
If enable_ordinal is not available then there is a trick which assumes that the substrings within the input string are unique. In this scenario, CHAR_INDEX could be used to find the position of the substring within the input string:
SELECT value, ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY CHARINDEX(value, input_str)) AS ord_pos
FROM (VALUES
('hello john smith')
) AS x(input_str)
CROSS APPLY STRING_SPLIT(input_str, ' ')
| value | ord_pos |
|-------+---------|
| hello | 1 |
| john | 2 |
| smith | 3 |
I know it's an old Question, but i think some one can benefit from my solution.
select
SUBSTRING(column_name,1,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)-1)
,SUBSTRING(SUBSTRING(column_name,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)+1,LEN(column_name))
,1
,CHARINDEX(' ',SUBSTRING(column_name,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)+1,LEN(column_name)),1)-1)
,SUBSTRING(SUBSTRING(column_name,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)+1,LEN(column_name))
,CHARINDEX(' ',SUBSTRING(column_name,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)+1,LEN(column_name)),1)+1
,LEN(column_name))
from table_name
SQL FIDDLE
Advantages:
It separates all the 3 sub-strings deliminator by ' '.
One must not use while loop, as it decreases the performance.
No need to Pivot as all the resultant sub-string will be displayed in
one Row
Limitations:
One must know the total no. of spaces (sub-string).
Note: the solution can give sub-string up to to N.
To overcame the limitation we can use the following ref.
But again the above solution can't be use in a table (Actaully i wasn't able to use it).
Again i hope this solution can help some-one.
Update: In case of Records > 50000 it is not advisable to use LOOPS as it will degrade the Performance
Pure set-based solution using TVF with recursive CTE. You can JOIN and APPLY this function to any dataset.
create function [dbo].[SplitStringToResultSet] (#value varchar(max), #separator char(1))
returns table
as return
with r as (
select value, cast(null as varchar(max)) [x], -1 [no] from (select rtrim(cast(#value as varchar(max))) [value]) as j
union all
select right(value, len(value)-case charindex(#separator, value) when 0 then len(value) else charindex(#separator, value) end) [value]
, left(r.[value], case charindex(#separator, r.value) when 0 then len(r.value) else abs(charindex(#separator, r.[value])-1) end ) [x]
, [no] + 1 [no]
from r where value > '')
select ltrim(x) [value], [no] [index] from r where x is not null;
go
Usage:
select *
from [dbo].[SplitStringToResultSet]('Hello John Smith', ' ')
where [index] = 1;
Result:
value index
-------------
John 1
Almost all the other answers are replacing the string being split which wastes CPU cycles and performs unnecessary memory allocations.
I cover a much better way to do a string split here: http://www.digitalruby.com/split-string-sql-server/
Here is the code:
SET NOCOUNT ON
-- You will want to change nvarchar(MAX) to nvarchar(50), varchar(50) or whatever matches exactly with the string column you will be searching against
DECLARE #SplitStringTable TABLE (Value nvarchar(MAX) NOT NULL)
DECLARE #StringToSplit nvarchar(MAX) = 'your|string|to|split|here'
DECLARE #SplitEndPos int
DECLARE #SplitValue nvarchar(MAX)
DECLARE #SplitDelim nvarchar(1) = '|'
DECLARE #SplitStartPos int = 1
SET #SplitEndPos = CHARINDEX(#SplitDelim, #StringToSplit, #SplitStartPos)
WHILE #SplitEndPos > 0
BEGIN
SET #SplitValue = SUBSTRING(#StringToSplit, #SplitStartPos, (#SplitEndPos - #SplitStartPos))
INSERT #SplitStringTable (Value) VALUES (#SplitValue)
SET #SplitStartPos = #SplitEndPos + 1
SET #SplitEndPos = CHARINDEX(#SplitDelim, #StringToSplit, #SplitStartPos)
END
SET #SplitValue = SUBSTRING(#StringToSplit, #SplitStartPos, 2147483647)
INSERT #SplitStringTable (Value) VALUES(#SplitValue)
SET NOCOUNT OFF
-- You can select or join with the values in #SplitStringTable at this point.
Recursive CTE solution with server pain, test it
MS SQL Server 2008 Schema Setup:
create table Course( Courses varchar(100) );
insert into Course values ('Hello John Smith');
Query 1:
with cte as
( select
left( Courses, charindex( ' ' , Courses) ) as a_l,
cast( substring( Courses,
charindex( ' ' , Courses) + 1 ,
len(Courses ) ) + ' '
as varchar(100) ) as a_r,
Courses as a,
0 as n
from Course t
union all
select
left(a_r, charindex( ' ' , a_r) ) as a_l,
substring( a_r, charindex( ' ' , a_r) + 1 , len(a_R ) ) as a_r,
cte.a,
cte.n + 1 as n
from Course t inner join cte
on t.Courses = cte.a and len( a_r ) > 0
)
select a_l, n from cte
--where N = 1
Results:
| A_L | N |
|--------|---|
| Hello | 0 |
| John | 1 |
| Smith | 2 |
while similar to the xml based answer by josejuan, i found that processing the xml path only once, then pivoting was moderately more efficient:
select ID,
[3] as PathProvidingID,
[4] as PathProvider,
[5] as ComponentProvidingID,
[6] as ComponentProviding,
[7] as InputRecievingID,
[8] as InputRecieving,
[9] as RowsPassed,
[10] as InputRecieving2
from
(
select id,message,d.* from sysssislog cross apply (
SELECT Item = y.i.value('(./text())[1]', 'varchar(200)'),
row_number() over(order by y.i) as rn
FROM
(
SELECT x = CONVERT(XML, '<i>' + REPLACE(Message, ':', '</i><i>') + '</i>').query('.')
) AS a CROSS APPLY x.nodes('i') AS y(i)
) d
WHERE event
=
'OnPipelineRowsSent'
) as tokens
pivot
( max(item) for [rn] in ([3],[4],[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10])
) as data
ran in 8:30
select id,
tokens.value('(/n[3])', 'varchar(100)')as PathProvidingID,
tokens.value('(/n[4])', 'varchar(100)') as PathProvider,
tokens.value('(/n[5])', 'varchar(100)') as ComponentProvidingID,
tokens.value('(/n[6])', 'varchar(100)') as ComponentProviding,
tokens.value('(/n[7])', 'varchar(100)') as InputRecievingID,
tokens.value('(/n[8])', 'varchar(100)') as InputRecieving,
tokens.value('(/n[9])', 'varchar(100)') as RowsPassed
from
(
select id, Convert(xml,'<n>'+Replace(message,'.','</n><n>')+'</n>') tokens
from sysssislog
WHERE event
=
'OnPipelineRowsSent'
) as data
ran in 9:20
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[fnSplitString]
(
#string NVARCHAR(MAX),
#delimiter CHAR(1)
)
RETURNS #output TABLE(splitdata NVARCHAR(MAX)
)
BEGIN
DECLARE #start INT, #end INT
SELECT #start = 1, #end = CHARINDEX(#delimiter, #string)
WHILE #start < LEN(#string) + 1 BEGIN
IF #end = 0
SET #end = LEN(#string) + 1
INSERT INTO #output (splitdata)
VALUES(SUBSTRING(#string, #start, #end - #start))
SET #start = #end + 1
SET #end = CHARINDEX(#delimiter, #string, #start)
END
RETURN
END
AND USE IT
select *from dbo.fnSplitString('Querying SQL Server','')
if anyone wants to get only one part of the seperatured text can use this
select * from fromSplitStringSep('Word1 wordr2 word3',' ')
CREATE function [dbo].[SplitStringSep]
(
#str nvarchar(4000),
#separator char(1)
)
returns table
AS
return (
with tokens(p, a, b) AS (
select
1,
1,
charindex(#separator, #str)
union all
select
p + 1,
b + 1,
charindex(#separator, #str, b + 1)
from tokens
where b > 0
)
select
p-1 zeroBasedOccurance,
substring(
#str,
a,
case when b > 0 then b-a ELSE 4000 end)
AS s
from tokens
)
I devoloped this,
declare #x nvarchar(Max) = 'ali.veli.deli.';
declare #item nvarchar(Max);
declare #splitter char='.';
while CHARINDEX(#splitter,#x) != 0
begin
set #item = LEFT(#x,CHARINDEX(#splitter,#x))
set #x = RIGHT(#x,len(#x)-len(#item) )
select #item as item, #x as x;
end
the only attention you should is dot '.' that end of the #x is always should be there.
building on #NothingsImpossible solution, or, rather, comment on the most voted answer (just below the accepted one), i found the following quick-and-dirty solution fulfill my own needs - it has a benefit of being solely within SQL domain.
given a string "first;second;third;fourth;fifth", say, I want to get the third token. this works only if we know how many tokens the string is going to have - in this case it's 5. so my way of action is to chop the last two tokens away (inner query), and then to chop the first two tokens away (outer query)
i know that this is ugly and covers the specific conditions i was in, but am posting it just in case somebody finds it useful. cheers
select
REVERSE(
SUBSTRING(
reverse_substring,
0,
CHARINDEX(';', reverse_substring)
)
)
from
(
select
msg,
SUBSTRING(
REVERSE(msg),
CHARINDEX(
';',
REVERSE(msg),
CHARINDEX(
';',
REVERSE(msg)
)+1
)+1,
1000
) reverse_substring
from
(
select 'first;second;third;fourth;fifth' msg
) a
) b
declare #strng varchar(max)='hello john smith'
select (
substring(
#strng,
charindex(' ', #strng) + 1,
(
(charindex(' ', #strng, charindex(' ', #strng) + 1))
- charindex(' ',#strng)
)
))
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"?
I don't believe SQL Server has a built-in split function, so other than a UDF, the only other answer I know is to hijack the PARSENAME function:
SELECT PARSENAME(REPLACE('Hello John Smith', ' ', '.'), 2)
PARSENAME takes a string and splits it on the period character. It takes a number as its second argument, and that number specifies which segment of the string to return (working from back to front).
SELECT PARSENAME(REPLACE('Hello John Smith', ' ', '.'), 3) --return Hello
Obvious problem is when the string already contains a period. I still think using a UDF is the best way...any other suggestions?
You may find the solution in SQL User Defined Function to Parse a Delimited String helpful (from The Code Project).
You can use this simple logic:
Declare #products varchar(200) = '1|20|3|343|44|6|8765'
Declare #individual varchar(20) = null
WHILE LEN(#products) > 0
BEGIN
IF PATINDEX('%|%', #products) > 0
BEGIN
SET #individual = SUBSTRING(#products,
0,
PATINDEX('%|%', #products))
SELECT #individual
SET #products = SUBSTRING(#products,
LEN(#individual + '|') + 1,
LEN(#products))
END
ELSE
BEGIN
SET #individual = #products
SET #products = NULL
SELECT #individual
END
END
First, create a function (using CTE, common table expression does away with the need for a temp table)
create function dbo.SplitString
(
#str nvarchar(4000),
#separator char(1)
)
returns table
AS
return (
with tokens(p, a, b) AS (
select
1,
1,
charindex(#separator, #str)
union all
select
p + 1,
b + 1,
charindex(#separator, #str, b + 1)
from tokens
where b > 0
)
select
p-1 zeroBasedOccurance,
substring(
#str,
a,
case when b > 0 then b-a ELSE 4000 end)
AS s
from tokens
)
GO
Then, use it as any table (or modify it to fit within your existing stored proc) like this.
select s
from dbo.SplitString('Hello John Smith', ' ')
where zeroBasedOccurance=1
Update
Previous version would fail for input string longer than 4000 chars. This version takes care of the limitation:
create function dbo.SplitString
(
#str nvarchar(max),
#separator char(1)
)
returns table
AS
return (
with tokens(p, a, b) AS (
select
cast(1 as bigint),
cast(1 as bigint),
charindex(#separator, #str)
union all
select
p + 1,
b + 1,
charindex(#separator, #str, b + 1)
from tokens
where b > 0
)
select
p-1 ItemIndex,
substring(
#str,
a,
case when b > 0 then b-a ELSE LEN(#str) end)
AS s
from tokens
);
GO
Usage remains the same.
Most of the solutions here use while loops or recursive CTEs. A set-based approach will be superior, I promise, if you can use a delimiter other than a space:
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[SplitString]
(
#List NVARCHAR(MAX),
#Delim VARCHAR(255)
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN ( SELECT [Value], idx = RANK() OVER (ORDER BY n) FROM
(
SELECT n = Number,
[Value] = LTRIM(RTRIM(SUBSTRING(#List, [Number],
CHARINDEX(#Delim, #List + #Delim, [Number]) - [Number])))
FROM (SELECT Number = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY name)
FROM sys.all_objects) AS x
WHERE Number <= LEN(#List)
AND SUBSTRING(#Delim + #List, [Number], LEN(#Delim)) = #Delim
) AS y
);
Sample usage:
SELECT Value FROM dbo.SplitString('foo,bar,blat,foo,splunge',',')
WHERE idx = 3;
Results:
----
blat
You could also add the idx you want as an argument to the function, but I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader.
You can't do this with just the native STRING_SPLIT function added in SQL Server 2016, because there is no guarantee that the output will be rendered in the order of the original list. In other words, if you pass in 3,6,1 the result will likely be in that order, but it could be 1,3,6. I have asked for the community's help in improving the built-in function here:
Please help with STRING_SPLIT improvements
With enough qualitative feedback, they may actually consider making some of these enhancements:
STRING_SPLIT is not feature complete
More on split functions, why (and proof that) while loops and recursive CTEs don't scale, and better alternatives, if splitting strings coming from the application layer:
Split strings the right way – or the next best way
Splitting Strings : A Follow-Up
Splitting Strings : Now with less T-SQL
Comparing string splitting / concatenation methods
Processing a list of integers : my approach
Splitting a list of integers : another roundup
More on splitting lists : custom delimiters, preventing duplicates, and maintaining order
Removing Duplicates from Strings in SQL Server
On SQL Server 2016 or above, though, you should look at STRING_SPLIT() and STRING_AGG():
Performance Surprises and Assumptions : STRING_SPLIT()
STRING_SPLIT() in SQL Server 2016 : Follow-Up #1
STRING_SPLIT() in SQL Server 2016 : Follow-Up #2
SQL Server v.Next : STRING_AGG() performance
Solve old problems with SQL Server’s new STRING_AGG and STRING_SPLIT functions
You can leverage a Number table to do the string parsing.
Create a physical numbers table:
create table dbo.Numbers (N int primary key);
insert into dbo.Numbers
select top 1000 row_number() over(order by number) from master..spt_values
go
Create test table with 1000000 rows
create table #yak (i int identity(1,1) primary key, array varchar(50))
insert into #yak(array)
select 'a,b,c' from dbo.Numbers n cross join dbo.Numbers nn
go
Create the function
create function [dbo].[ufn_ParseArray]
( #Input nvarchar(4000),
#Delimiter char(1) = ',',
#BaseIdent int
)
returns table as
return
( select row_number() over (order by n asc) + (#BaseIdent - 1) [i],
substring(#Input, n, charindex(#Delimiter, #Input + #Delimiter, n) - n) s
from dbo.Numbers
where n <= convert(int, len(#Input)) and
substring(#Delimiter + #Input, n, 1) = #Delimiter
)
go
Usage (outputs 3mil rows in 40s on my laptop)
select *
from #yak
cross apply dbo.ufn_ParseArray(array, ',', 1)
cleanup
drop table dbo.Numbers;
drop function [dbo].[ufn_ParseArray]
Performance here is not amazing, but calling a function over a million row table is not the best idea. If performing a string split over many rows I would avoid the function.
This question is not about a string split approach, but about how to get the nth element.
All answers here are doing some kind of string splitting using recursion, CTEs, multiple CHARINDEX, REVERSE and PATINDEX, inventing functions, call for CLR methods, number tables, CROSS APPLYs ... Most answers cover many lines of code.
But - if you really want nothing more than an approach to get the nth element - this can be done as real one-liner, no UDF, not even a sub-select... And as an extra benefit: type safe
Get part 2 delimited by a space:
DECLARE #input NVARCHAR(100)=N'part1 part2 part3';
SELECT CAST(N'<x>' + REPLACE(#input,N' ',N'</x><x>') + N'</x>' AS XML).value('/x[2]','nvarchar(max)')
Of course you can use variables for delimiter and position (use sql:column to retrieve the position directly from a query's value):
DECLARE #dlmt NVARCHAR(10)=N' ';
DECLARE #pos INT = 2;
SELECT CAST(N'<x>' + REPLACE(#input,#dlmt,N'</x><x>') + N'</x>' AS XML).value('/x[sql:variable("#pos")][1]','nvarchar(max)')
If your string might include forbidden characters (especially one among &><), you still can do it this way. Just use FOR XML PATH on your string first to replace all forbidden characters with the fitting escape sequence implicitly.
It's a very special case if - additionally - your delimiter is the semicolon. In this case I replace the delimiter first to '#DLMT#', and replace this to the XML tags finally:
SET #input=N'Some <, > and &;Other äöü#€;One more';
SET #dlmt=N';';
SELECT CAST(N'<x>' + REPLACE((SELECT REPLACE(#input,#dlmt,'#DLMT#') AS [*] FOR XML PATH('')),N'#DLMT#',N'</x><x>') + N'</x>' AS XML).value('/x[sql:variable("#pos")][1]','nvarchar(max)');
UPDATE for SQL-Server 2016+
Regretfully the developers forgot to return the part's index with STRING_SPLIT. But, using SQL-Server 2016+, there is JSON_VALUE and OPENJSON.
With JSON_VALUE we can pass in the position as the index' array.
For OPENJSON the documentation states clearly:
When OPENJSON parses a JSON array, the function returns the indexes of the elements in the JSON text as keys.
A string like 1,2,3 needs nothing more than brackets: [1,2,3].
A string of words like this is an example needs to be ["this","is","an","example"].
These are very easy string operations. Just try it out:
DECLARE #str VARCHAR(100)='Hello John Smith';
DECLARE #position INT = 2;
--We can build the json-path '$[1]' using CONCAT
SELECT JSON_VALUE('["' + REPLACE(#str,' ','","') + '"]',CONCAT('$[',#position-1,']'));
--See this for a position safe string-splitter (zero-based):
SELECT JsonArray.[key] AS [Position]
,JsonArray.[value] AS [Part]
FROM OPENJSON('["' + REPLACE(#str,' ','","') + '"]') JsonArray
In this post I tested various approaches and found, that OPENJSON is really fast. Even much faster than the famous "delimitedSplit8k()" method...
UPDATE 2 - Get the values type-safe
We can use an array within an array simply by using doubled [[]]. This allows for a typed WITH-clause:
DECLARE #SomeDelimitedString VARCHAR(100)='part1|1|20190920';
DECLARE #JsonArray NVARCHAR(MAX)=CONCAT('[["',REPLACE(#SomeDelimitedString,'|','","'),'"]]');
SELECT #SomeDelimitedString AS TheOriginal
,#JsonArray AS TransformedToJSON
,ValuesFromTheArray.*
FROM OPENJSON(#JsonArray)
WITH(TheFirstFragment VARCHAR(100) '$[0]'
,TheSecondFragment INT '$[1]'
,TheThirdFragment DATE '$[2]') ValuesFromTheArray
Here is a UDF which will do it. It will return a table of the delimited values, haven't tried all scenarios on it but your example works fine.
CREATE FUNCTION SplitString
(
-- Add the parameters for the function here
#myString varchar(500),
#deliminator varchar(10)
)
RETURNS
#ReturnTable TABLE
(
-- Add the column definitions for the TABLE variable here
[id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[part] [varchar](50) NULL
)
AS
BEGIN
Declare #iSpaces int
Declare #part varchar(50)
--initialize spaces
Select #iSpaces = charindex(#deliminator,#myString,0)
While #iSpaces > 0
Begin
Select #part = substring(#myString,0,charindex(#deliminator,#myString,0))
Insert Into #ReturnTable(part)
Select #part
Select #myString = substring(#mystring,charindex(#deliminator,#myString,0)+ len(#deliminator),len(#myString) - charindex(' ',#myString,0))
Select #iSpaces = charindex(#deliminator,#myString,0)
end
If len(#myString) > 0
Insert Into #ReturnTable
Select #myString
RETURN
END
GO
You would call it like this:
Select * From SplitString('Hello John Smith',' ')
Edit: Updated solution to handle delimters with a len>1 as in :
select * From SplitString('Hello**John**Smith','**')
Here I post a simple way of solution
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[split](
#delimited NVARCHAR(MAX),
#delimiter NVARCHAR(100)
) RETURNS #t TABLE (id INT IDENTITY(1,1), val NVARCHAR(MAX))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #xml XML
SET #xml = N'<t>' + REPLACE(#delimited,#delimiter,'</t><t>') + '</t>'
INSERT INTO #t(val)
SELECT r.value('.','varchar(MAX)') as item
FROM #xml.nodes('/t') as records(r)
RETURN
END
Execute the function like this
select * from dbo.split('Hello John Smith',' ')
In my opinion you guys are making it way too complicated. Just create a CLR UDF and be done with it.
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Data.SqlTypes;
using Microsoft.SqlServer.Server;
using System.Collections.Generic;
public partial class UserDefinedFunctions {
[SqlFunction]
public static SqlString SearchString(string Search) {
List<string> SearchWords = new List<string>();
foreach (string s in Search.Split(new char[] { ' ' })) {
if (!s.ToLower().Equals("or") && !s.ToLower().Equals("and")) {
SearchWords.Add(s);
}
}
return new SqlString(string.Join(" OR ", SearchWords.ToArray()));
}
};
What about using string and values() statement?
DECLARE #str varchar(max)
SET #str = 'Hello John Smith'
DECLARE #separator varchar(max)
SET #separator = ' '
DECLARE #Splited TABLE(id int IDENTITY(1,1), item varchar(max))
SET #str = REPLACE(#str, #separator, '''),(''')
SET #str = 'SELECT * FROM (VALUES(''' + #str + ''')) AS V(A)'
INSERT INTO #Splited
EXEC(#str)
SELECT * FROM #Splited
Result-set achieved.
id item
1 Hello
2 John
3 Smith
I use the answer of frederic but this did not work in SQL Server 2005
I modified it and I'm using select with union all and it works
DECLARE #str varchar(max)
SET #str = 'Hello John Smith how are you'
DECLARE #separator varchar(max)
SET #separator = ' '
DECLARE #Splited table(id int IDENTITY(1,1), item varchar(max))
SET #str = REPLACE(#str, #separator, ''' UNION ALL SELECT ''')
SET #str = ' SELECT ''' + #str + ''' '
INSERT INTO #Splited
EXEC(#str)
SELECT * FROM #Splited
And the result-set is:
id item
1 Hello
2 John
3 Smith
4 how
5 are
6 you
This pattern works fine and you can generalize
Convert(xml,'<n>'+Replace(FIELD,'.','</n><n>')+'</n>').value('(/n[INDEX])','TYPE')
^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^
note FIELD, INDEX and TYPE.
Let some table with identifiers like
sys.message.1234.warning.A45
sys.message.1235.error.O98
....
Then, you can write
SELECT Source = q.value('(/n[1])', 'varchar(10)'),
RecordType = q.value('(/n[2])', 'varchar(20)'),
RecordNumber = q.value('(/n[3])', 'int'),
Status = q.value('(/n[4])', 'varchar(5)')
FROM (
SELECT q = Convert(xml,'<n>'+Replace(fieldName,'.','</n><n>')+'</n>')
FROM some_TABLE
) Q
splitting and casting all parts.
Yet another get n'th part of string by delimeter function:
create function GetStringPartByDelimeter (
#value as nvarchar(max),
#delimeter as nvarchar(max),
#position as int
) returns NVARCHAR(MAX)
AS BEGIN
declare #startPos as int
declare #endPos as int
set #endPos = -1
while (#position > 0 and #endPos != 0) begin
set #startPos = #endPos + 1
set #endPos = charindex(#delimeter, #value, #startPos)
if(#position = 1) begin
if(#endPos = 0)
set #endPos = len(#value) + 1
return substring(#value, #startPos, #endPos - #startPos)
end
set #position = #position - 1
end
return null
end
and the usage:
select dbo.GetStringPartByDelimeter ('a;b;c;d;e', ';', 3)
which returns:
c
If your database has compatibility level of 130 or higher then you can use the STRING_SPLIT function along with OFFSET FETCH clauses to get the specific item by index.
To get the item at index N (zero based), you can use the following code
SELECT value
FROM STRING_SPLIT('Hello John Smith',' ')
ORDER BY (SELECT NULL)
OFFSET N ROWS
FETCH NEXT 1 ROWS ONLY
To check the compatibility level of your database, execute this code:
SELECT compatibility_level
FROM sys.databases WHERE name = 'YourDBName';
Try this:
CREATE function [SplitWordList]
(
#list varchar(8000)
)
returns #t table
(
Word varchar(50) not null,
Position int identity(1,1) not null
)
as begin
declare
#pos int,
#lpos int,
#item varchar(100),
#ignore varchar(100),
#dl int,
#a1 int,
#a2 int,
#z1 int,
#z2 int,
#n1 int,
#n2 int,
#c varchar(1),
#a smallint
select
#a1 = ascii('a'),
#a2 = ascii('A'),
#z1 = ascii('z'),
#z2 = ascii('Z'),
#n1 = ascii('0'),
#n2 = ascii('9')
set #ignore = '''"'
set #pos = 1
set #dl = datalength(#list)
set #lpos = 1
set #item = ''
while (#pos <= #dl) begin
set #c = substring(#list, #pos, 1)
if (#ignore not like '%' + #c + '%') begin
set #a = ascii(#c)
if ((#a >= #a1) and (#a <= #z1))
or ((#a >= #a2) and (#a <= #z2))
or ((#a >= #n1) and (#a <= #n2))
begin
set #item = #item + #c
end else if (#item > '') begin
insert into #t values (#item)
set #item = ''
end
end
set #pos = #pos + 1
end
if (#item > '') begin
insert into #t values (#item)
end
return
end
Test it like this:
select * from SplitWordList('Hello John Smith')
I was looking for the solution on net and the below works for me.
Ref.
And you call the function like this :
SELECT * FROM dbo.split('ram shyam hari gopal',' ')
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[Split](#String VARCHAR(8000), #Delimiter CHAR(1))
RETURNS #temptable TABLE (items VARCHAR(8000))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #idx INT
DECLARE #slice VARCHAR(8000)
SELECT #idx = 1
IF len(#String)<1 OR #String IS NULL RETURN
WHILE #idx!= 0
BEGIN
SET #idx = charindex(#Delimiter,#String)
IF #idx!=0
SET #slice = LEFT(#String,#idx - 1)
ELSE
SET #slice = #String
IF(len(#slice)>0)
INSERT INTO #temptable(Items) VALUES(#slice)
SET #String = RIGHT(#String,len(#String) - #idx)
IF len(#String) = 0 break
END
RETURN
END
The following example uses a recursive CTE
Update 18.09.2013
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitStrings_CTE(#List nvarchar(max), #Delimiter nvarchar(1))
RETURNS #returns TABLE (val nvarchar(max), [level] int, PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED([level]))
AS
BEGIN
;WITH cte AS
(
SELECT SUBSTRING(#List, 0, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter, #List + #Delimiter)) AS val,
CAST(STUFF(#List + #Delimiter, 1, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter, #List + #Delimiter), '') AS nvarchar(max)) AS stval,
1 AS [level]
UNION ALL
SELECT SUBSTRING(stval, 0, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter, stval)),
CAST(STUFF(stval, 1, CHARINDEX(#Delimiter, stval), '') AS nvarchar(max)),
[level] + 1
FROM cte
WHERE stval != ''
)
INSERT #returns
SELECT REPLACE(val, ' ','' ) AS val, [level]
FROM cte
WHERE val > ''
RETURN
END
Demo on SQLFiddle
Alter Function dbo.fn_Split
(
#Expression nvarchar(max),
#Delimiter nvarchar(20) = ',',
#Qualifier char(1) = Null
)
RETURNS #Results TABLE (id int IDENTITY(1,1), value nvarchar(max))
AS
BEGIN
/* USAGE
Select * From dbo.fn_Split('apple pear grape banana orange honeydew cantalope 3 2 1 4', ' ', Null)
Select * From dbo.fn_Split('1,abc,"Doe, John",4', ',', '"')
Select * From dbo.fn_Split('Hello 0,"&""&&&&', ',', '"')
*/
-- Declare Variables
DECLARE
#X xml,
#Temp nvarchar(max),
#Temp2 nvarchar(max),
#Start int,
#End int
-- HTML Encode #Expression
Select #Expression = (Select #Expression For XML Path(''))
-- Find all occurences of #Delimiter within #Qualifier and replace with |||***|||
While PATINDEX('%' + #Qualifier + '%', #Expression) > 0 AND Len(IsNull(#Qualifier, '')) > 0
BEGIN
Select
-- Starting character position of #Qualifier
#Start = PATINDEX('%' + #Qualifier + '%', #Expression),
-- #Expression starting at the #Start position
#Temp = SubString(#Expression, #Start + 1, LEN(#Expression)-#Start+1),
-- Next position of #Qualifier within #Expression
#End = PATINDEX('%' + #Qualifier + '%', #Temp) - 1,
-- The part of Expression found between the #Qualifiers
#Temp2 = Case When #End < 0 Then #Temp Else Left(#Temp, #End) End,
-- New #Expression
#Expression = REPLACE(#Expression,
#Qualifier + #Temp2 + Case When #End < 0 Then '' Else #Qualifier End,
Replace(#Temp2, #Delimiter, '|||***|||')
)
END
-- Replace all occurences of #Delimiter within #Expression with '</fn_Split><fn_Split>'
-- And convert it to XML so we can select from it
SET
#X = Cast('<fn_Split>' +
Replace(#Expression, #Delimiter, '</fn_Split><fn_Split>') +
'</fn_Split>' as xml)
-- Insert into our returnable table replacing '|||***|||' back to #Delimiter
INSERT #Results
SELECT
"Value" = LTRIM(RTrim(Replace(C.value('.', 'nvarchar(max)'), '|||***|||', #Delimiter)))
FROM
#X.nodes('fn_Split') as X(C)
-- Return our temp table
RETURN
END
You can split a string in SQL without needing a function:
DECLARE #bla varchar(MAX)
SET #bla = 'BED40DFC-F468-46DD-8017-00EF2FA3E4A4,64B59FC5-3F4D-4B0E-9A48-01F3D4F220B0,A611A108-97CA-42F3-A2E1-057165339719,E72D95EA-578F-45FC-88E5-075F66FD726C'
-- http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14712864/how-to-query-values-from-xml-nodes
SELECT
x.XmlCol.value('.', 'varchar(36)') AS val
FROM
(
SELECT
CAST('<e>' + REPLACE(#bla, ',', '</e><e>') + '</e>' AS xml) AS RawXml
) AS b
CROSS APPLY b.RawXml.nodes('e') x(XmlCol);
If you need to support arbitrary strings (with xml special characters)
DECLARE #bla NVARCHAR(MAX)
SET #bla = '<html>unsafe & safe Utf8CharsDon''tGetEncoded ÄöÜ - "Conex"<html>,Barnes & Noble,abc,def,ghi'
-- http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14712864/how-to-query-values-from-xml-nodes
SELECT
x.XmlCol.value('.', 'nvarchar(MAX)') AS val
FROM
(
SELECT
CAST('<e>' + REPLACE((SELECT #bla FOR XML PATH('')), ',', '</e><e>') + '</e>' AS xml) AS RawXml
) AS b
CROSS APPLY b.RawXml.nodes('e') x(XmlCol);
In Azure SQL Database (based on Microsoft SQL Server but not exactly the same thing) the signature of STRING_SPLIT function looks like:
STRING_SPLIT ( string , separator [ , enable_ordinal ] )
When enable_ordinal flag is set to 1 the result will include a column named ordinal that consists of the 1‑based position of the substring within the input string:
SELECT *
FROM STRING_SPLIT('hello john smith', ' ', 1)
| value | ordinal |
|-------|---------|
| hello | 1 |
| john | 2 |
| smith | 3 |
This allows us to do this:
SELECT value
FROM STRING_SPLIT('hello john smith', ' ', 1)
WHERE ordinal = 2
| value |
|-------|
| john |
If enable_ordinal is not available then there is a trick which assumes that the substrings within the input string are unique. In this scenario, CHAR_INDEX could be used to find the position of the substring within the input string:
SELECT value, ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY CHARINDEX(value, input_str)) AS ord_pos
FROM (VALUES
('hello john smith')
) AS x(input_str)
CROSS APPLY STRING_SPLIT(input_str, ' ')
| value | ord_pos |
|-------+---------|
| hello | 1 |
| john | 2 |
| smith | 3 |
I know it's an old Question, but i think some one can benefit from my solution.
select
SUBSTRING(column_name,1,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)-1)
,SUBSTRING(SUBSTRING(column_name,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)+1,LEN(column_name))
,1
,CHARINDEX(' ',SUBSTRING(column_name,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)+1,LEN(column_name)),1)-1)
,SUBSTRING(SUBSTRING(column_name,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)+1,LEN(column_name))
,CHARINDEX(' ',SUBSTRING(column_name,CHARINDEX(' ',column_name,1)+1,LEN(column_name)),1)+1
,LEN(column_name))
from table_name
SQL FIDDLE
Advantages:
It separates all the 3 sub-strings deliminator by ' '.
One must not use while loop, as it decreases the performance.
No need to Pivot as all the resultant sub-string will be displayed in
one Row
Limitations:
One must know the total no. of spaces (sub-string).
Note: the solution can give sub-string up to to N.
To overcame the limitation we can use the following ref.
But again the above solution can't be use in a table (Actaully i wasn't able to use it).
Again i hope this solution can help some-one.
Update: In case of Records > 50000 it is not advisable to use LOOPS as it will degrade the Performance
Pure set-based solution using TVF with recursive CTE. You can JOIN and APPLY this function to any dataset.
create function [dbo].[SplitStringToResultSet] (#value varchar(max), #separator char(1))
returns table
as return
with r as (
select value, cast(null as varchar(max)) [x], -1 [no] from (select rtrim(cast(#value as varchar(max))) [value]) as j
union all
select right(value, len(value)-case charindex(#separator, value) when 0 then len(value) else charindex(#separator, value) end) [value]
, left(r.[value], case charindex(#separator, r.value) when 0 then len(r.value) else abs(charindex(#separator, r.[value])-1) end ) [x]
, [no] + 1 [no]
from r where value > '')
select ltrim(x) [value], [no] [index] from r where x is not null;
go
Usage:
select *
from [dbo].[SplitStringToResultSet]('Hello John Smith', ' ')
where [index] = 1;
Result:
value index
-------------
John 1
Almost all the other answers are replacing the string being split which wastes CPU cycles and performs unnecessary memory allocations.
I cover a much better way to do a string split here: http://www.digitalruby.com/split-string-sql-server/
Here is the code:
SET NOCOUNT ON
-- You will want to change nvarchar(MAX) to nvarchar(50), varchar(50) or whatever matches exactly with the string column you will be searching against
DECLARE #SplitStringTable TABLE (Value nvarchar(MAX) NOT NULL)
DECLARE #StringToSplit nvarchar(MAX) = 'your|string|to|split|here'
DECLARE #SplitEndPos int
DECLARE #SplitValue nvarchar(MAX)
DECLARE #SplitDelim nvarchar(1) = '|'
DECLARE #SplitStartPos int = 1
SET #SplitEndPos = CHARINDEX(#SplitDelim, #StringToSplit, #SplitStartPos)
WHILE #SplitEndPos > 0
BEGIN
SET #SplitValue = SUBSTRING(#StringToSplit, #SplitStartPos, (#SplitEndPos - #SplitStartPos))
INSERT #SplitStringTable (Value) VALUES (#SplitValue)
SET #SplitStartPos = #SplitEndPos + 1
SET #SplitEndPos = CHARINDEX(#SplitDelim, #StringToSplit, #SplitStartPos)
END
SET #SplitValue = SUBSTRING(#StringToSplit, #SplitStartPos, 2147483647)
INSERT #SplitStringTable (Value) VALUES(#SplitValue)
SET NOCOUNT OFF
-- You can select or join with the values in #SplitStringTable at this point.
Recursive CTE solution with server pain, test it
MS SQL Server 2008 Schema Setup:
create table Course( Courses varchar(100) );
insert into Course values ('Hello John Smith');
Query 1:
with cte as
( select
left( Courses, charindex( ' ' , Courses) ) as a_l,
cast( substring( Courses,
charindex( ' ' , Courses) + 1 ,
len(Courses ) ) + ' '
as varchar(100) ) as a_r,
Courses as a,
0 as n
from Course t
union all
select
left(a_r, charindex( ' ' , a_r) ) as a_l,
substring( a_r, charindex( ' ' , a_r) + 1 , len(a_R ) ) as a_r,
cte.a,
cte.n + 1 as n
from Course t inner join cte
on t.Courses = cte.a and len( a_r ) > 0
)
select a_l, n from cte
--where N = 1
Results:
| A_L | N |
|--------|---|
| Hello | 0 |
| John | 1 |
| Smith | 2 |
while similar to the xml based answer by josejuan, i found that processing the xml path only once, then pivoting was moderately more efficient:
select ID,
[3] as PathProvidingID,
[4] as PathProvider,
[5] as ComponentProvidingID,
[6] as ComponentProviding,
[7] as InputRecievingID,
[8] as InputRecieving,
[9] as RowsPassed,
[10] as InputRecieving2
from
(
select id,message,d.* from sysssislog cross apply (
SELECT Item = y.i.value('(./text())[1]', 'varchar(200)'),
row_number() over(order by y.i) as rn
FROM
(
SELECT x = CONVERT(XML, '<i>' + REPLACE(Message, ':', '</i><i>') + '</i>').query('.')
) AS a CROSS APPLY x.nodes('i') AS y(i)
) d
WHERE event
=
'OnPipelineRowsSent'
) as tokens
pivot
( max(item) for [rn] in ([3],[4],[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10])
) as data
ran in 8:30
select id,
tokens.value('(/n[3])', 'varchar(100)')as PathProvidingID,
tokens.value('(/n[4])', 'varchar(100)') as PathProvider,
tokens.value('(/n[5])', 'varchar(100)') as ComponentProvidingID,
tokens.value('(/n[6])', 'varchar(100)') as ComponentProviding,
tokens.value('(/n[7])', 'varchar(100)') as InputRecievingID,
tokens.value('(/n[8])', 'varchar(100)') as InputRecieving,
tokens.value('(/n[9])', 'varchar(100)') as RowsPassed
from
(
select id, Convert(xml,'<n>'+Replace(message,'.','</n><n>')+'</n>') tokens
from sysssislog
WHERE event
=
'OnPipelineRowsSent'
) as data
ran in 9:20
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[fnSplitString]
(
#string NVARCHAR(MAX),
#delimiter CHAR(1)
)
RETURNS #output TABLE(splitdata NVARCHAR(MAX)
)
BEGIN
DECLARE #start INT, #end INT
SELECT #start = 1, #end = CHARINDEX(#delimiter, #string)
WHILE #start < LEN(#string) + 1 BEGIN
IF #end = 0
SET #end = LEN(#string) + 1
INSERT INTO #output (splitdata)
VALUES(SUBSTRING(#string, #start, #end - #start))
SET #start = #end + 1
SET #end = CHARINDEX(#delimiter, #string, #start)
END
RETURN
END
AND USE IT
select *from dbo.fnSplitString('Querying SQL Server','')
if anyone wants to get only one part of the seperatured text can use this
select * from fromSplitStringSep('Word1 wordr2 word3',' ')
CREATE function [dbo].[SplitStringSep]
(
#str nvarchar(4000),
#separator char(1)
)
returns table
AS
return (
with tokens(p, a, b) AS (
select
1,
1,
charindex(#separator, #str)
union all
select
p + 1,
b + 1,
charindex(#separator, #str, b + 1)
from tokens
where b > 0
)
select
p-1 zeroBasedOccurance,
substring(
#str,
a,
case when b > 0 then b-a ELSE 4000 end)
AS s
from tokens
)
I devoloped this,
declare #x nvarchar(Max) = 'ali.veli.deli.';
declare #item nvarchar(Max);
declare #splitter char='.';
while CHARINDEX(#splitter,#x) != 0
begin
set #item = LEFT(#x,CHARINDEX(#splitter,#x))
set #x = RIGHT(#x,len(#x)-len(#item) )
select #item as item, #x as x;
end
the only attention you should is dot '.' that end of the #x is always should be there.
building on #NothingsImpossible solution, or, rather, comment on the most voted answer (just below the accepted one), i found the following quick-and-dirty solution fulfill my own needs - it has a benefit of being solely within SQL domain.
given a string "first;second;third;fourth;fifth", say, I want to get the third token. this works only if we know how many tokens the string is going to have - in this case it's 5. so my way of action is to chop the last two tokens away (inner query), and then to chop the first two tokens away (outer query)
i know that this is ugly and covers the specific conditions i was in, but am posting it just in case somebody finds it useful. cheers
select
REVERSE(
SUBSTRING(
reverse_substring,
0,
CHARINDEX(';', reverse_substring)
)
)
from
(
select
msg,
SUBSTRING(
REVERSE(msg),
CHARINDEX(
';',
REVERSE(msg),
CHARINDEX(
';',
REVERSE(msg)
)+1
)+1,
1000
) reverse_substring
from
(
select 'first;second;third;fourth;fifth' msg
) a
) b
declare #strng varchar(max)='hello john smith'
select (
substring(
#strng,
charindex(' ', #strng) + 1,
(
(charindex(' ', #strng, charindex(' ', #strng) + 1))
- charindex(' ',#strng)
)
))