Скачать или смотреть How to Select Hardcoded Arrays in SQL

Learn how to effectively select hardcoded values and arrays in SQL, specifically in Microsoft SQL Server. Discover practical examples and methods for achieving your desired outputs.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/77151951/ asked by the user 'KRISTIJAN TOMASINI' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/16974979/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/77152057/ provided by the user 'David Browne - Microsoft' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/7297700/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: How to select the hardcoded array in SQL?

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Selecting Hardcoded Arrays in SQL

When working with SQL, particularly in Microsoft SQL Server, you may find yourself needing to select hardcoded values in a specific structure. For instance, if you want the output to show one column with multiple rows, like two different values (1 and 2), the straightforward approach can sometimes elude you.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to effectively select hardcoded arrays in SQL and ensure your data is structured precisely as you want it.

The Challenge

Imagine you're trying to retrieve hardcoded values in SQL. You execute the command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

You expect it to return two rows with one column each, but instead, you receive a single row containing two columns. This isn't what you're looking for!

You may have also tried commands such as:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Unfortunately, those attempts do not yield the desired results either. So, how do you achieve the goal of displaying hardcoded values in a single column but across multiple rows?

The Solution

Using the VALUES Clause

One effective way to select hardcoded values as individual rows is by utilizing the VALUES clause. Here's how you can do it:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation:

The VALUES clause allows you to construct a derived table.

Each tuple (or set of parentheses) represents a row, and here we are creating two rows with the values 1 and 2.

Using UNION ALL

Another viable method is to use the UNION ALL command. This is especially useful when you want to combine multiple SELECT statements into one:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation:

Each SELECT retrieves a single row.

Using UNION ALL combines them into one result set while keeping all duplicates (if any).

For SQL Server 2022+ and Azure SQL

If you are using SQL Server 2022 or later, there's a modern approach using GENERATE_SERIES:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation:

GENERATE_SERIES creates a set of numbers in a specified range, which is dynamic. This means if you ever need more values, you can easily adjust the parameters.

Conclusion

Selecting hardcoded arrays in SQL doesn't have to be complicated. By using the VALUES clause, UNION ALL, or the more advanced GENERATE_SERIES function, you can easily format your SQL queries to return data in the way that best suits your needs.

With the knowledge of these methods under your belt, you can now confidently handle various SQL query requirements in Microsoft SQL Server.

Happy querying!