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sqlsql-servert-sqllegacy

How to replace STRING_AGG and CONCAT in MS SQL Server 2008?

I use MS SQL Server 2008 and this server version doesn't support some helpful functions like CONCAT and STRING_AGG, but they are really needful in my work. What variants can I have for replacing those functions in MS SQL Server 2008?

IMPORTANT! I have no possibility to update Server to newer version.

Code for better understanding:

SELECT Pt.ImagePath, STRING_AGG(Pt.DamageData, '') DamageData 
FROM @PreTable AS Pt 
GROUP BY ImagePath 
ORDER BY DamageData
Solution

  • Try this:

    WITH DataSoruce AS
(
    SELECT DISTINCT ImagePath
    FROM @PreTable
)
SELECT DS.ImagePath
      ,C.DamageData
FROM DataSoruce DS
CROSS APPLY
(
    SELECT '' + Pt.DamageData
    FROM @PreTable P
    WHERE P.ImagePath = DS.ImagePath
    FOR XML PATH('')
) C (DamageData);