String manipulation challenge in SQL -- sql server (alternate)

sql server (alternate) : String manipulation challenge in SQL

wheresjim
10/26/2005 4:19:02 PM

I have a sql query in which I need to isolate part of the columm value
and return only that isolated portion. I can only do this within the
select statement, and cannot add a function or anything like that. I
would also like to keep this query within sql (I don't want to do this
in my programming environment)

The string value would normally look like "segment1-segment2-segment3".
I need to isolate segment2, but I have to be able to account for
situations in which either one or both dashes are missing (in which
case returning "" or the whole string is OK. The best I have been able
to do reliably is to get "segment2-segment3".

Anybody want to take a stab?

Steve Jorgensen
10/26/2005 8:16:49 PM

[quoted text, click to view]

Well - it's pretty damn ugly, but the best I can figure given your
restrictions is...

SELECT CASE
WHEN value LIKE '%-%-%'
THEN SUBSTRING(value,
CHARINDEX('-',value)+1,
CHARINDEX('-',value,
CHARINDEX('-',value)+1) -
CHARINDEX('-',value) -
1)
ELSE 'aa-bb-cc'
END

wheresjim
10/27/2005 11:31:02 AM

Ugly, but functional! Thanks!

Hugo Kornelis
10/27/2005 8:59:12 PM

[quoted text, click to view]

Hi wheresjim,

Here's another way. Now that I wrote it, I think I like Steve's version
better - but since YMMV, I'll post it anyway.

DECLARE @a varchar(40)
SET @a = 'segment1-segment2-segment3'
SELECT REVERSE(SUBSTRING(REVERSE(SUBSTRING(@a,
CHARINDEX('-', @a) + 1,
LEN(@a))),
CHARINDEX('-', REVERSE(@a)) + 1,
LEN(@a)))

Best, Hugo
--

Steve Kass
10/28/2005 12:00:00 AM

Here's another solution, which should work if you are certain that
the period character . is not part of any of the segments:

SELECT
CASE WHEN value NOT LIKE '%-%-%'
THEN ''
ELSE PARSENAME(REPLACE(value,'-','.'),2) END
FROM @t

Steve Kass
Drew University

[quoted text, click to view]

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