CODEWITHSUNDEEP
sqlsql-serverselectsql-null
EJF
EJF

Reputation: 461

How can I add blank columns to the results of a SQL query?

I'm working on a query that pulls demographic information for people who have visited a location. However, the fields required for this report aren't all available in the DB, and some will need to be added manually from a separate Excel file after I've exported the results of my query. The person who will be responsible for merging the two files asked if it would be possible to create blank columns so they can more easily see where the missing data needs to go, and I wasn't sure how to go about that. Obviously those blank columns could just be created in the exported spreadsheet, but I wondered if there was a way to add them in the SQL query itself.

My SELECT statement currently looks something like this—I've just added comments to mark the missing fields so I can keep track of what order all the fields for this report need to be in.

SELECT DISTINCT
PersonID,
PersonFName,
PersonLName,
PersonDOB,
VisitID,
--StaffFName,
--StaffLName,
FacilityPhone,
FacilityAddress,

...and so on

Since those two staff name fields don't exist in my DB, I obviously can't actually include them in the SELECT list. But is there a way to still include those two fields as blank columns in my query results? Something along the lines of "select [nothing] as StaffFName"?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 6501

Answers (1)

GMB
GMB

Reputation: 222432

Just add literal nulls to the select clause:

SELECT DISTINCT
    PersonID,
    PersonFName,
    PersonLName,
    PersonDOB,
    VisitID,
    null as StaffFName,
    null as StaffLName,
    FacilityPhone,
    FacilityAddress,
...

Or, if you prefer, you can use empty strings instead:

...
    '' as StaffFName,
    '' as StaffLName,
...

But null is the canonical way to represent the absence of data.

Upvotes: 3

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