sql Alias Column Name for Use in CASE Statement

Question

I have an sql query as below,

select Site,DataSource,
(SELECT CASE 
   WHEN DataSource = 'RFQ' THEN 'ChangeOperator' 
   ELSE 'SameOperator' 
  END) AS OperatorScenario,

  (SELECT CASE 
   WHEN OperatorScenario = 'ChangeOperator' THEN '1' 
   ELSE '022' 
  END) AS OperatorScenario2
from tablename

when i execute this query i am getting exception as Invalid column name OperatorScenario. So i tried to use single codes in alias name in second query as below,

(SELECT CASE 
   WHEN 'OperatorScenario' = 'ChangeOperator' THEN '1' 
   ELSE '022' 
  END) AS OperatorScenario2

So then it executes always else part. Please give me some suggesssions. Regards sangeetha

Answer 1

The main issue is you cannot reference an alias in the same query. Also you have parentheses and an extra SELECT keyword, making what looks like a subquery where I don't believe you intended one (you do not have a FROM clause).

You can either copy the whole thing again (fixing your query in the process):

SELECT Site, DataSource,
    CASE 
       WHEN DataSource = 'RFQ' THEN 'ChangeOperator' 
       ELSE 'SameOperator' 
    END AS OperatorScenario,

   CASE 
       WHEN 
           CASE 
               WHEN DataSource = 'RFQ' THEN 'ChangeOperator' 
               ELSE 'SameOperator' 
           END = 'ChangeOperator' THEN '1' 
       ELSE '022' 
  END AS OperatorScenario2
from tablename

Or, simplifying:

SELECT Site, DataSource,
    CASE 
       WHEN DataSource = 'RFQ' THEN 'ChangeOperator' 
       ELSE 'SameOperator' 
    END AS OperatorScenario,

   CASE 
       WHEN DataSource = 'RFQ' THEN '1' 
       ELSE '022' 
   END AS OperatorScenario2
from tablename

---

Or use a CTE (again fixing your query):

WITH cte AS
(
    SELECT Site, DataSource,
    CASE 
       WHEN DataSource = 'RFQ' THEN 'ChangeOperator' 
       ELSE 'SameOperator' 
    END AS OperatorScenario,
    FROM tablename
)
SELECT Site, DataSource, OperatorScenario,
    CASE 
        WHEN OperatorScenario = 'ChangeOperator' THEN '1' 
        ELSE '022' 
    END AS OperatorScenario2
FROM cte

Answer 2

You cannot access the alias on the same level in this query, either use a sub-query or a cte:

WITH cte 
     AS (SELECT site, 
                datasource, 
                CASE 
                  WHEN datasource = 'RFQ' THEN 'ChangeOperator' 
                  ELSE 'SameOperator' 
                END AS OperatorScenario 
         FROM   dbo.tablename) 
SELECT site, 
       datasource, 
       operatorscenario, 
       CASE 
         WHEN operatorscenario = 'ChangeOperator' THEN '1' 
         ELSE '022' 
       END AS OperatorScenario2 
FROM   cte 

Note that i've also removed the extra parantheses and select in the CASE.