<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS Mincho";
panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"MS Mincho";
panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\@MS Mincho";
panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
margin-top:0cm;
margin-right:0cm;
margin-bottom:0cm;
margin-left:36.0pt;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:241455954;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:2073467786 134807567 134807577 134807579 134807567 134807577 134807579 134807567 134807577 134807579;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:roman-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:right;
text-indent:-9.0pt;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:roman-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:right;
text-indent:-9.0pt;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:roman-lower;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:right;
text-indent:-9.0pt;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0cm;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0cm;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-GB" link="blue" vlink="purple">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal">Hi All,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Ingres 11<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have just had a request to take a table with a long varchar field which is formatted by a third party to be ‘tag1:value1|tag2:value2|….|tagN:valueN’ and generate a query which will have the tag names as column headings and the values
as indicated.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">…Yikes…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The only thing we are given:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="mso-list:Ignore">1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span><![endif]>Although specified as a long varchar in reality no record is over 550 characters.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="mso-list:Ignore">2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span><![endif]>each record will have the same tags in the same order, but there may be no associated value.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So far I can’t do this in a single simple query, the only thing I’ve got is to do a copy out copy in as follows:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">declare global temporary table stuff as select varchar(stupid_long, 1000) as shorter_string<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">from … on commit preserve rows with norecovery;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">copy stuff(shorter_string=c0nl) into 'shorter_string.dat';<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">declare global temporary table stuff2(<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">tag1varchar(32) not null with default, /* Just a guess on field width, it looks about right…*/<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">tag2 varchar(32) not null with default,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">tagN varchar(32) not null with default<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">) on commit preserve rows with norecovery;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">copy stuff2(<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">dummy='d0:', tag1 = 'c0|',<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">dummy='d0:', tag2 = 'c0|',<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">dummy='d0:', tagN = c0nl<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">) from ‘shorter_string.dat';<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">\p\g<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">select first 20 * from stuff2;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">\p\g<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That seems to work, but having taken it out of the database onto the file system I could have just written a Perl program to do the deed and the user (God bless their little cotton socks) doesn’t want that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The only other thing I can think of is a raging great statement with lots of locates and lengths and substr statements.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">select first 10<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">cast(substr(shorter,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> locate(shorter, 'tag1:') + length('tag1:'),<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> locate(shorter, 'tag2:') - locate(shorter, 'tag1:') - length(‘tag1:') - 1<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">) as varchar(32)) as tag1,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">from (select varchar(stupid_long, 1000) as shorter from …) x<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyone got a better idea?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Martin Bowes<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>