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Concatenate many rows into a single text string using SQL Server 2008

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4.96/5 (22 votes)
8 Mar 2012CPOL 262.4K   18   14
Using COALESCE function - concatenate many rows into a single text string output in SQL Server.

The following code is used to concatenate many rows into a single text string with comma separated using SQL Server COALESCE function.

My table format is like this:

Name
RAM
GURU
Sundar
Shyam
Inba
Kalai

I need output like this:

"RAM, GURU, Sundar, Shyam, Inba, Kalai"

I use the following query:

SQL
DECLARE @Names VARCHAR(8000)  
SELECT @Names = COALESCE(@Names + ', ', '') + Name FROM People
SELECT @Names

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


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Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionCOALESCE Query Pin
Member 1160005727-Sep-18 9:20
Member 1160005727-Sep-18 9:20 
QuestionThanks great help.. Extend to same discussion Pin
abdulkalam.m8-Mar-16 3:22
abdulkalam.m8-Mar-16 3:22 
AnswerThank you Pin
aravinth santosh10-May-15 23:01
aravinth santosh10-May-15 23:01 
Generalmy vote is 5 (with stars) Pin
Member 1070385724-Apr-15 15:33
Member 1070385724-Apr-15 15:33 
QuestionThis is mostly... just... genius. Pin
Member 15341609-Oct-14 6:50
Member 15341609-Oct-14 6:50 
QuestionSELECT Query Pin
Kannan Karthikeyan6-Oct-14 10:16
Kannan Karthikeyan6-Oct-14 10:16 
QuestionTo avoid the ", " at the beginning of the string Pin
Member 1016856530-Sep-13 23:47
Member 1016856530-Sep-13 23:47 
QuestionConcerned about the use of COALESCE vs a Case Function Pin
dalyteaching23-Aug-13 3:51
dalyteaching23-Aug-13 3:51 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Sk. Tajbir4-Feb-13 22:31
Sk. Tajbir4-Feb-13 22:31 
Generalc# Pin
Member 823748321-Dec-12 9:06
Member 823748321-Dec-12 9:06 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
M.Edmison14-Dec-12 9:53
M.Edmison14-Dec-12 9:53 
QuestionFor both sql server 2005 and 2008 Pin
Sunny Setia13-Mar-12 2:45
Sunny Setia13-Mar-12 2:45 
AnswerRe: For both sql server 2005 and 2008 Pin
M.Edmison14-Dec-12 9:58
M.Edmison14-Dec-12 9:58 
Questionbla bla Pin
sajith.mkd11-Mar-12 20:18
sajith.mkd11-Mar-12 20:18 

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