Select a column using a variable?

Question

I was wondering if there is a way to select a column by using a SQL variable. Eg. Table is - ID, Name, Address

DECLARE @Column varchar(25)
SET @Column = 'Name' -- This can be another column also
SELECT @Column
FROM MyTable

This shows me 'Name' as many times as there are rows in my table. Is it even possible to do what I want ?

thanks.

While dynamic SQL will work, it can get very complicated very fast. It also fails to be reusable as it [cannot (easily) be combined with queries](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1492411/sql-server-select-from-stored-procedure). (That is to say, I would advise against designs that are *based* around this operation.) — user2864740, Nov 27 '13 at 23:04

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 27 '13 at 22:54

Can do this with dynamic SQL:

DECLARE @Column varchar(25)
       ,@sql VARCHAR(MAX)
SET @Column = 'Name' -- This can be another column also
SET @sql = 'SELECT '+@Column+'
            FROM MyTable
            '
EXEC (@sql)

You can test your dynamic sql queries by changing EXEC to PRINT to make sure each of the resulting queries is what you'd expect.

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 27 '13 at 22:53

2

You can use dynamic SQL for that:

DECLARE @Column nvarchar(25)
SET @Column = 'Name' -- This can be another column also
DECLARE @sql nvarchar(max) = N'SELECT ' + @Column + N' FROM MyTable'

exec(@sql)

answered Nov 27 '13 at 22:53

Szymon

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score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

1

Sql is currently interpreting your variable as a string.

From a previous answer on stack overflow:

DECLARE @Column varchar(25)
SET @Column = 'Name' -- This can be another column also
SET @sqlText = N'SELECT ' + @Column + ' FROM MyTable'
EXEC (@sqlText)

edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

Community

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answered Nov 27 '13 at 22:54

echochamber

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 13 '23 at 23:59

0

I think you need to declare the sqltext as well

answered Aug 13 '23 at 23:59

Max

1

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As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please [edit] to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Aug 16 '23 at 00:36

Select a column using a variable?

4 Answers4