How Can I Split Delimited Strings in SQL Server?

Efficiently Parsing Delimited Strings within SQL Server

SQL Server doesn't offer a built-in function specifically for splitting delimited strings. However, several techniques allow you to extract individual elements from such strings. This guide explores effective methods for this common task.

One approach involves the PARSENAME function. This function, designed for parsing four-part names, can be adapted for delimited strings by replacing the delimiter with a period. For instance, to extract the second element from a space-delimited string:

<code class="language-sql">SELECT PARSENAME(REPLACE('Hello John Smith', ' ', '.'), 2);</code>

This method's limitation is its inability to handle strings already containing periods.

A more robust and flexible solution utilizes User-Defined Functions (UDFs). UDFs allow you to create custom string-splitting logic, handling various delimiters and providing greater control over element extraction. This approach offers superior adaptability to different string structures and delimiter types.

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