SQL Server split a single column multiple times

Question

I have a database table that has a column with stacked data with two levels with a column that I want to break a part. Here is the example of the data (data changed to protect the innocent :) :

Table

ID = varchar(100)
CarData = varchar(1000)

ID       CarData
1        Nissan:blue:20000,Ford:green:10000
2        Nissan:steel:20001,Ford:blue:10001,Chevy:blue:10000,Ford:olive:10000
** Note that cardata can is not fixed, and can have many cars in it

Output Desired:

ID   Manufacture    Color     Cost
1    Nissan         Blue      20000
1    Ford           green     10000
2    Nissan         steel      20001
... and on

So to say it plainly I need to break the first stacked field which is a comma and create a row for that, then break the second stacked field which is a colon into columns.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

-- Sample data
declare @T table(ID int, CarData varchar(100))
insert into @T values 
(1,        'Nissan:blue:20000,Ford:green:10000'),
(2,        'Nissan:steel:20001,Ford:blue:10001,Chevy:blue:10000,Ford:olive:10000')

-- Recursice CTE to get one row for each car
;with cte(ID, Car, CarData) as
(
  select ID,
         cast(substring(CarData+',', 1, charindex(',', CarData+',')-1) as varchar(100)),
         stuff(CarData, 1, charindex(',', CarData), '')+','
  from @T
  where len(CarData) > 0
  union all
  select ID,
         cast(substring(CarData, 1, charindex(',', CarData)-1) as varchar(100)),
         stuff(CarData, 1, charindex(',', CarData), '')
  from cte
  where len(CarData) > 0
)
-- Use parsename to split the car data
select ID,
       parsename(replace(Car, ':', '.'), 3) as Manufacture,
       parsename(replace(Car, ':', '.'), 2) as Color,
       parsename(replace(Car, ':', '.'), 1) as Cost
from cte
order by ID

Result:

ID  Manufacture  Color   Cost
--  -----------  ------   -----
1   Nissan       blue    20000
1   Ford         green   10000
2   Nissan       steel   20001
2   Ford         blue    10001
2   Chevy        blue    10000
2   Ford         olive   10000

Edit 1

You will have trouble with parsename if color, cost or a manufacturer name contains a .. If that is the case you should try this instead.

-- Sample data
declare @T table(ID int, CarData varchar(100))
insert into @T values 
(1,        'Nissan:blue:20000,Ford:green:10000'),
(2,        'Nissan:steel:20001,Ford:blue:10001,Chevy:blue:10000,Ford:olive:10000')

-- Recursice CTE to get one row for each car
;with cte(ID, Car, CarData) as
(
  select ID,
         cast(substring(CarData+',', 1, charindex(',', CarData+',')-1) as varchar(100)),
         stuff(CarData, 1, charindex(',', CarData), '')+','
  from @T
  where len(CarData) > 0
  union all
  select ID,
         cast(substring(CarData, 1, charindex(',', CarData)-1) as varchar(100)),
         stuff(CarData, 1, charindex(',', CarData), '')
  from cte
  where len(CarData) > 0
)
-- Split the car data with substring
select ID,
       substring(Car, 1, P1.Pos-1) as Manufacture,
       substring(Car, P1.Pos+1, P2.Pos-P1.Pos-1) as Color,
       substring(Car, P2.Pos+1, len(Car)-P2.Pos) as Cost
from cte
  cross apply (select charindex(':', Car)) as P1(Pos)
  cross apply (select charindex(':', Car, P1.Pos+1)) as P2(Pos)
order by ID

Answer 2

Use this string splitting function to produce a table of results.

I would first call dbo.split() using a , as the separator character. Then you'll have a list of items like:

Nissan:blue:20000
Ford:green:10000
Nissan:steel:20001
Ford:blue:10001
Chevy:blue:10000
Ford:olive:10000

From there you can call dbo.split() again using : as your separator. Each call will result in exactly three records (assuming your design as at least that "normal").

As @JNK mentioned in his comment, hopefully this is not something you'd want to be running regularly.

EDIT:

Some sample code to get you started:

SELECT *
INTO #YuckyCar
FROM (
  SELECT 1 ID, 'Nissan:blue:20000,Ford:green:10000' CarData
  UNION
  SELECT 2, 'Nissan:steel:20001,Ford:blue:10001,Chevy:blue:10000,Ford:olive:10000'
) T;

-- Shows logical step #1
SELECT ID, X.items MoreCarData
FROM #YuckyCar CROSS APPLY dbo.Split(CarData, ',') X;

-- Shows logical step #2
SELECT Q.ID, Y.items
FROM (
  SELECT ID, X.items MoreCarData
  FROM #YuckyCar CROSS APPLY dbo.Split(CarData, ',') X) Q CROSS APPLY dbo.Split(Q.MoreCarData, ':') Y

DROP TABLE #YuckyCar;

The problem in the last part is that you can't guarantee row 1 = Manufacturer, row 2 = Color, row 3 = Cost.

Answer 3

This should solve your problem:

[EDIT] Your ID is a varchar(100) and you do not specify if it is a primary key, so I made some changes ... ID does't have to be primary key in this case.

declare @T table(ID varchar(100), CarData varchar(1000))
declare @OUT table(pk INT IDENTITY(1,1), ID varchar(100), Manufacture varchar(100), Color VARCHAR(100), Cost INT)
insert into @T (ID, CarData) values 
('1', 'Nissan:blue:20000,Ford:green:10000'),
('2', 'Nissan:steel:20001,Ford:blue:10001,Chevy:blue:10000,Ford:olive:10000')

DECLARE @x XML, @i INT, @ID VARCHAR(100), @maxi INT; 
;WITH list AS (SELECT pk = ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY ID), * FROM @T)
  SELECT @i=1, @maxi=MAX(pk) FROM list;
WHILE @i <= @maxi
BEGIN
  ;WITH list AS (SELECT pk = ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY ID), * FROM @T)
    SELECT
       @x = CAST( '<root><car><prop>' + 
                  REPLACE(
                    REPLACE(
                       CarData
                      ,':'
                      ,'</prop><prop>'
                    )
                    ,','
                    ,'</prop></car><car><prop>'
                  ) + 
                  '</prop></car></root>'
             AS XML)
     , @ID = ID 
    FROM list 
    WHERE pk = @i

  INSERT INTO @OUT 
    SELECT 
       ID = @ID
      ,Manufacture = x.value('./prop[1]','VARCHAR(100)')
      ,Color   = x.value('./prop[2]','VARCHAR(100)')
      ,Cost    = x.value('./prop[3]','INT')
    FROM @x.nodes('/root/car') AS T(x)

  SET @i = @i + 1;
END

SELECT * FROM @OUT

/* -- OUTPUT
ID  Manufacture   Color   Cost
--------------------------------
1   Nissan        blue    20000
1   Ford          green   10000
2   Nissan        steel   20001
2   Ford          blue    10001
2   Chevy         blue    10000
2   Ford          olive   10000
*/