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SQL query error: "Only one expression can be specified in the select list when the subquery is not introduced with EXISTS." Output parameter

I have a SQL query that is being used in a C# controller class to return search query results:
SELECT #Output = (SELECT Name, Id
FROM [dbo].[Users]
WHERE Name = 'Robert');
However, when I run this query, I get the following error:
Only one expression can be specified in the select list when the subquery is not introduced with EXISTS.
I know that simply removing one of the column names will fix the issue, but I want to be able to return the Name and ID for each searched user.
Is there a way to change my query so that I can return the desired columns and still keep my #Output parameter in the query? Any recommendations would be much appreciated

One method is to concatenate them:
SELECT #Output = (SELECT Name + '|' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(255), Id)
FROM [dbo].[Users]
WHERE Name = 'Robert'
);
Another alternative is to use two variables, because you want two items:
SELECT #Name = Name, #Id = Id
FROM [dbo].[Users]
WHERE Name = 'Robert';
Given that you know that the name is 'Robert', I don't see why that is useful. You can do:
DECLARE #Name VARCHAR(255);
SET #Name = 'Robert';
SELECT #Id = Id
FROM [dbo].[Users]
WHERE Name = #Name;

Not sure if this is what you were looking for, you can declare #output as table, and insert the values when condition is true.
Declare #output table ([name] varchar(50), ID int)
insert into #output([name], id) select 'abc', 1
select * from #output
Output: This is just sample data
name ID
abc 1

SQL IN Clause with string paramater list not listing all records

I'm passing a string variable to an IN Clause in sql (Stored Procedure). When declaring and setting the variable in sql I get back all the data that is required. But when setting the variable from c# I'm only receiving data based on the first status within that paramater.
I've got a function to split the statuses in the paramater list to retrieve the records:
ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].[fnSplit](
#sInputList VARCHAR(8000)
, #sDelimiter VARCHAR(10) = ';'
) RETURNS #List TABLE (item VARCHAR(8000))
BEGIN
DECLARE #sItem VARCHAR(8000)
WHILE CHARINDEX(#sDelimiter,#sInputList,0) <> 0
BEGIN
SELECT
#sItem=RTRIM(LTRIM(SUBSTRING(#sInputList,1,CHARINDEX(#sDelimiter,#sInputList,0)-1))),
#sInputList=RTRIM(LTRIM(SUBSTRING(#sInputList,CHARINDEX(#sDelimiter,#sInputList,0)+LEN(#sDelimiter),LEN(#sInputList))))
IF LEN(#sItem) > 0
INSERT INTO #List SELECT #sItem
END
IF LEN(#sInputList) > 0
INSERT INTO #List SELECT #sInputList
RETURN
END
My stored procedure is built like this:
ALTER procedure [dbo].[Get_RequestsAtEachStage]
(#managerRef int,
#status varchar(20))
as
BEGIN
WITH MaxStatusDate
as
(
select rs.requestID,rs.status from (
SELECT requestID,MAX([DateCreated]) AS MaxDate
FROM [LoanRequest].[dbo].[requestStatus]
GROUP BY RequestID) maxg
inner join [LoanRequest].[dbo].[requestStatus] rs on maxg.requestid = rs.requestid and maxg.MaxDate = rs.DateCreated
)
SELECT lr.ID, lr.serialNo, lr.model, lr.clientName, lr.address, lr.telephone, lr.contactName,
lr.swop, lr.substitueOfGoods, lr.printFunction, lr.copyFunction, lr.scanFunction,
lr.faxFunction, lr.controller, lr.controllerEmailAddress,
ml.Name, wl.Location, rt.requestType AS RequestTypeName, rs.status
FROM [dbo].[loanRequest] lr
INNER JOIN [dbo].[managersList] ml ON lr.managerRef = ml.ID
INNER JOIN [dbo].[warehouseList] wl ON lr.warehouseID = wl.ID
INNER JOIN [dbo].[requestType] rt ON lr.requestType = rt.ID
INNER JOIN MaxStatusDate rs ON lr.ID = rs.requestID
WHERE (#managerRef is null or lr.managerRef = #managerRef) AND rs.status IN (SELECT item FROM [dbo].[fnSplit](#status, ';'))
END
Based on the page the user access it will send through the appropriate statusses and retrieve the necessary records.
Setting the paramaters in sql as follows works perfect, I retrieve all the records:
DECLARE #managerRef INT
DECLARE #status NVARCHAR(100)
SET #managerRef = NULL
SET #status = 'Allocated;Readings Updated'
But, when I send it through c# within a string, it only retrieves records with the status of Allocated.:
string status = "Allocated;Readings Updated";
DataTable dtDevices = d.PopulateDevicesApproval(managerRef, status);
My method to retrieve the data from sql:
string filterstring = "";
filterstring = "Get_RequestsAtEachStage ";
cn = new SqlConnection(GetConnectionString());
SqlCommand myCmd = new SqlCommand(filterstring, cn);
myCmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
cn.Open();
myCmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("#managerRef", managerRef);
myCmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("#status", status);
DataTable dt = new DataTable();
dt.Load(myCmd.ExecuteReader());
return dt;
Is there anything I am doing wrong?
--------- EDIT -----------
Running SELECT item FROM [dbo].fnSplit results from both c# and sql
Returning results from c#:
And returning results from sql:

How to i get result based on ids list passed as a varchar?

I am passing ids list as a varchar(500) and based upon that ids records are required.My sql code is
declare #Ids varchar(500) = '12964,12965,12966'
select *
from tblBooks
where BookID in (#Ids)
where BookID is varchar(50).Number of Ids can be 100.Converting #Ids into int gives following error
Conversion failed when converting the varchar value
'12964,12965,12966' to data type int
How do i find result as #Id are not converted into Int.

Use a table variable:
DECLARE #Ids TABLE (ID INT);
INSERT #Ids VALUES (12964),(12965),(12966);
SELECT *
FROM tblBooks
WHERE BookID in (SELECT ID FROM #Ids);
If you need to pass this to a procedure then you can use a table valued parameter:
CREATE TYPE dbo.ListOfInt AS TABLE (ID INT);
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.GetBooks #IDs dbo.ListOfInt READONLY
AS
BEGIN
SELECT *
FROM tblBooks
WHERE BookID in (SELECT ID FROM #Ids);
END
GO
DECLARE #IDs dbo.ListofInt;
INSERT #Ids VALUES (12964),(12965),(12966);
EXECUTE dbo.GetBooks #Ids;
Or From c#
var table = new DataTable();
table.Columns.Add("ID", typeof(int));
// ADD YOUR LIST TO THE TABLE
using (var connection = new SqlConnection("Connection String"))
using (var command = new SqlCommand("dbo.GetBooks", connection))
{
command.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
var param = new SqlParameter("#Ids", SqlDbType.Structured);
param.TypeName = "dbo.ListofInt";
param.Value = table;
command.Parameters.Add(table);
connection.Open();
using (var reader = command.ExecuteReader())
{
while (reader.Read())
{
// do something
}
}
}
Once the TYPE is in place, you don't even need to use a stored procedure. You can simply call a normal query:
using (var connection = new SqlConnection("Connection String"))
using (var command = new SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM tblBooks WHERE BookID IN (SELECT ID FROM #IDs)", connection))
{
var param = new SqlParameter("#Ids", SqlDbType.Structured);
param.TypeName = "dbo.ListofInt";
param.Value = table;
command.Parameters.Add(table);
connection.Open();
// ETC
}
Doing the split in c# using String.Split() and passing the list to SQL will be more efficient than any approach that does the split in SQL

You can write the query as this:
declare #Ids varchar(500) = '12964,12965,12966'
select *
from tblBooks
where ','+cast(BookID as varchar(500))+',' like '%,'+#Ids+',%';
But you don't want to do that because the performance is bad -- the query cannot use indexes.
Three other options. Use dynamic SQL and plug the list directly into the query. Or use a split function to split the string. Or use a table variable:
declare #ids table (id int);
insert into #ids(id)
select 12964 union all select 12965 union all select 12966;
select b.*
from tblBooks b
where b.BookId in (select id from #ids);

This won't work. SQL Server does not split strings for you implicitly and there is no built in string split function in SQL Server either.
If you are driving this via C# you can use Table value parameters. You can also pass your query through Dapper-Dot-Net which will automatically parameterize an "In" query.
If you really must do this in T-SQL, you can also use a string splitting logic here is a relatively concise one.
SELECT i.value('./text()[1]', 'int') [id] into #ids
FROM( values(CONVERT(xml,'<r>' + REPLACE(#Ids+left(##dbts,0),',','</r><r>') + '</r>')) ) a(_)
CROSS APPLY _.nodes('./r') x(i)
select *
from tblBooks a
join #ids i on i.id = a.bookId

Create this function:
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[SplitDelimiterString] (#StringWithDelimiter VARCHAR(8000), #Delimiter VARCHAR(8))
RETURNS #ItemTable TABLE (Item VARCHAR(8000))
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #StartingPosition INT;
DECLARE #ItemInString VARCHAR(8000);
SELECT #StartingPosition = 1;
--Return if string is null or empty
IF LEN(#StringWithDelimiter) = 0 OR #StringWithDelimiter IS NULL RETURN;
WHILE #StartingPosition > 0
BEGIN
--Get starting index of delimiter .. If string
--doesn't contain any delimiter than it will returl 0
SET #StartingPosition = CHARINDEX(#Delimiter,#StringWithDelimiter);
--Get item from string
IF #StartingPosition > 0
SET #ItemInString = SUBSTRING(#StringWithDelimiter,0,#StartingPosition)
ELSE
SET #ItemInString = #StringWithDelimiter;
--If item isn't empty than add to return table
IF( LEN(#ItemInString) > 0)
INSERT INTO #ItemTable(Item) VALUES (#ItemInString);
--Remove inserted item from string
SET #StringWithDelimiter = SUBSTRING(#StringWithDelimiter,#StartingPosition +
LEN(#Delimiter),LEN(#StringWithDelimiter) - #StartingPosition)
--Break loop if string is empty
IF LEN(#StringWithDelimiter) = 0 BREAK;
END
RETURN
END
Then call it like this:
declare #Ids varchar(500) = '12964,12965,12966'
select *
from tblBooks
where BookID in (SELECT * FROM dbo.SplitDelimiterString(#ids,','))

one way is to cast int to varchar. many other ways....
select *
from tblBooks
where CAST(BookID as varchar(50)) in (#Ids)
related: Define variable to use with IN operator (T-SQL)

Retrieve multiple data from stored procedure using Linq-to-SQL

I am using Silverlight and Linq-to-SQL to communicate with the database.
I have a stored procedure which receives 2 parameters (PFOID and Quantity) and Userid and returns a product name.
If we send multiple values like multiple pfoid's and quantity's it will return multiple product names shown as below
The stored procedure looks like this..
ALTER PROCEDURE [PFO].[PFOValidateUpdateData]
#PfoIDs xml, -- list of PFO ID's
#UserID uniqueidentifier --The Identity of the User making the call.
AS
BEGIN
-- SET DEFAULT BEHAVIOR
SET NOCOUNT ON -- Performance: stops rows affected messages
SET DEADLOCK_PRIORITY LOW -- This SP to be the Deadlock victim
-- Initialise Lock-Timeout and Deadlock vars for Insert
DECLARE #iLockTimeoutRetries as int
DECLARE #iDeadLockRetries as int
DECLARE #dtLockTimeoutSleepInterval as datetime
DECLARE #dtDeadlockSleepInterval as datetime
DECLARE #iErrorNumber as int
SET #iLockTimeoutRetries = 0
SET #iDeadLockRetries = 0
SET #dtLockTimeoutSleepInterval = sCommon.fnLockTimeoutSleepInterval()
SET #dtDeadlockSleepInterval= sCommon.fnDeadlockSleepInterval()
SET #iErrorNumber = 0
-- procedure specific
DECLARE #idoc as int
DECLARE #IsBrightstarUser as bit
RETRY:
BEGIN TRY
--Create Temp table to store stores!
CREATE TABLE [#PFOList]
(
[PFOId] nvarchar(50),
[Quantity] INT
)
--Create Temp table to store User stores!
CREATE TABLE [#UserStoreList]
(
[StoreID_XRef] nvarchar(50)
)
print CONVERT(varchar(1000), #PfoIDs)
--Create Document
EXEC sp_xml_preparedocument #idoc OUTPUT, #PfoIDs
-- Append to new list of Store records
INSERT INTO [#PFOList] (
[PFOId],
[Quantity]
)
SELECT [PFOID],[Quantity]
FROM OPENXML (#idoc, 'ArrayOfString/string',2)
WITH( [PFOID] nvarchar(50),[Quantity] [INT]) Stores
--WHERE [PFOId] Is Not NULL
-- Clean UP
exec sp_xml_removedocument #iDoc
-- are we dealing with a brightstar user?
SET #IsBrightstarUser = CASE WHEN exists
(SELECT *
FROM dbo.aspnet_UsersInRoles AS uir inner join
dbo.aspnet_Roles AS roles ON uir.RoleId = roles.roleid
WHERE roles.rolename = 'Brightstar Employee' and uir.userid = #userid)
THEN 1 ELSE 0 END
--Get User Storelist
INSERT INTO [#UserStoreList] (
[StoreID_XRef]
)
SELECT s.StoreId_XRef
FROM PFO.UserStoreLink us(nolock)
INNER JOIN PFO.Store s(nolock)
ON us.StoreId=s.StoreId
where UserId=#UserID
--Select * from [#PFOList]
--SELECT #IsBrightstarUser AS ISBrightstaruser
--SELECT * from [#UserStoreList]
--If BrightstarCustomer Update all the Quantities.
IF #IsBrightstarUser=1
BEGIN
UPDATE
PFO.PFO
SET
IsBrightstarReviewComplete = 1
,[ModifyingUsersID] = #UserID
,[ModifiedDate] = getdate()
,[PlannedQty] = pfol.[Quantity]
,[BrightstarReviewedQty]=pfol.[Quantity]
FROM
PFO.PFO as pfo
INNER JOIN [#UserStoreList] as stores on pfo.StoreId_XRef=stores.StoreID_XRef
INNER JOIN [#PFOList] as pfol on pfo.PFOId = pfol.PFOId
WHERE #IsBrightstarUser = 1
END
ELSE BEGIN
--Update Non Contrained Orders
UPDATE
PFO.PFO
SET
[ModifyingUsersID] = #UserID
,[ModifiedDate] = getdate()
,[PlannedQty] = pfol.[Quantity]
FROM
PFO.PFO (nolock) as pfo
INNER JOIN [#UserStoreList] as stores on pfo.StoreId_XRef=stores.StoreID_XRef
INNER JOIN [#PFOList] as pfol on pfo.PFOId = pfol.PFOId
WHERE pfo.IsBrightstarReviewComplete=1 AND IsConstraint=0
--SELECT * from PFO.PFO (nolock) where PFOId='04676723-2afb-49ff-9fa1-0131cabb407c'
--Update Contrained Orders
--Get Existing quantities for the User
CREATE TABLE #ExistingProductQuantity
(
[PfoID] nvarchar(100)
,[Product] nvarchar(255)
,[PlannedQty] INT
,[BrightstarReviewedQty] INT
)
CREATE TABLE #CustProductQuantity
(
[Product] nvarchar(255)
,[IsUpdatable] BIT
)
INSERT INTO #ExistingProductQuantity
( [PfoID],[Product],[PlannedQty],[BrightstarReviewedQty])
SELECT PFOId,InventoryId,PlannedQty,BrightstarReviewedQty
FROM PFO.PFO as pfo
INNER JOIN [#UserStoreList] as stores on pfo.StoreId_XRef=stores.StoreID_XRef
WHERE pfo.IsBrightstarReviewComplete=1 AND IsConstraint=1
UPDATE
#ExistingProductQuantity
SET [PlannedQty]=pfol.[Quantity]
FROM #ExistingProductQuantity eoq
INNER JOIN [#PFOList] as pfol on eoq.PFOId = pfol.PFOId
INSERT INTO #CustProductQuantity
( [Product],[IsUpdatable] )
SELECT
[Product],
CASE WHEN SUM(PlannedQty)<=SUM(BrightstarReviewedQty) THEN 1 ELSE 0 END
FROM #ExistingProductQuantity
GROUP BY [Product]
--SELECT * from #ExistingProductQuantity
--SELECT * from #CustProductQuantity
--Update the products that can be updatable
UPDATE
PFO.PFO
SET
[ModifyingUsersID] = #UserID
,[ModifiedDate] = getdate()
,[PlannedQty] = pfol.[Quantity]
FROM
PFO.PFO as pfo
INNER JOIN #UserStoreList as stores on pfo.StoreId_XRef=stores.StoreID_XRef
INNER JOIN #PFOList as pfol on pfo.PFOId = pfol.PFOId
INNER JOIN #CustProductQuantity as pr on pr.Product=pfo.InventoryId
WHERE pfo.IsBrightstarReviewComplete=1 AND pr.IsUpdatable=1 AND IsConstraint=1
--Return the products that are not updatabele
select [Product]
FROM #CustProductQuantity
where [IsUpdatable]=0
END
END TRY
BEGIN CATCH
-- Get the ErrorNumber
Set #iErrorNumber = ERROR_NUMBER()
--Handle Deadlock situation (Deletes, Inserts & Updates)
IF #iErrorNumber = 1205
BEGIN
-- If we have not made enough attempts to break the lock
IF #iDeadLockRetries < sCommon.fnMaxDeadlockRetries()
BEGIN
-- Increment the Attempt count
SET #iDeadLockRetries = #iDeadLockRetries + 1
-- Pause to allow the deadlock contention to clear
WAITFOR DELAY #dtDeadlockSleepInterval
GOTO RETRY
END
END
-- Handle Lock Timeout situation (Deletes, Inserts & Updates)
IF #iErrorNumber = 1222
BEGIN
-- If we have not made enough attempts to break the Deadlock
IF #iLockTimeoutRetries < sCommon.fnMaxLockTimeoutRetries()
BEGIN
-- Increment the Attempt count
SET #iLockTimeoutRetries = #iLockTimeoutRetries + 1
-- Pause to allow the lock contention to clear
WAITFOR DELAY #dtLockTimeoutSleepInterval
GOTO RETRY
END
END
exec Common.RethrowError
END CATCH
END
The result is as follows..
Product
6435LVWK-360-CD819E3
NSCHI535C1097I360-4C
NSCHU485C1819I360-0C
Return Value
0
My Linq-to-SQL connection is like this
[global::System.Data.Linq.Mapping.FunctionAttribute(Name="PFO.PFOValidateUpdateData")]
public int PFOValidateUpdateData([global::System.Data.Linq.Mapping.ParameterAttribute(Name = "PfoIDs", DbType = "Xml")] System.Xml.Linq.XElement pfoIDs, [global::System.Data.Linq.Mapping.ParameterAttribute(Name = "UserID", DbType = "UniqueIdentifier")] System.Nullable<System.Guid> userID)
{
IExecuteResult result = this.ExecuteMethodCall(this, ((MethodInfo)(MethodInfo.GetCurrentMethod())), pfoIDs, userID);
return ((int)(result.ReturnValue));
}
I am trying to retrieve all the data from the stored procedure but the when I debugging it the return value is "o"..
I would be grateful to you if you could help me retrieve all the data returned by the stored procedure... thank you very much...

If your stored procedure returns a collection of nvarchar's, then the signature of your Linq2Sql method is not correct. It should not return an int, but an ISingleResult.
So the correct signature will be:
public ISingleResult<string> PFOValidateUpdateData(...)
{
IExecuteResult result = this....;
return (ISingleResult<string>)result.ReturnValue;
}
var products = PFOValidateUpdateData(...).ToList();
If you want to return the results from multiple SELECT's in your stored procedure, you'll have to use IMultipleResults.

Well I know this is not the right way...for time being,its working for me...
I created an other table with two columns one ProductId and ID, I am inserting the values returned by the stored procedure,
in the designer.cs I am returning the table,
[global::System.Data.Linq.Mapping.FunctionAttribute(Name="PFO.PFOValidateUpdateData")]
public ISingleResult<PFOValidData> PFOValidateUpdateData([global::System.Data.Linq.Mapping.ParameterAttribute(Name = "PfoIDs", DbType = "Xml")] System.Xml.Linq.XElement pfoIDs, [global::System.Data.Linq.Mapping.ParameterAttribute(Name = "UserID", DbType = "UniqueIdentifier")] System.Nullable<System.Guid> userID)
{
IExecuteResult result = this.ExecuteMethodCall(this, ((MethodInfo)(MethodInfo.GetCurrentMethod())), pfoIDs, userID);
return ((ISingleResult<PFOValidData>)(result.ReturnValue));
}
And in the Domainservice
List<string> PFOValidateUpdateData(string pfoIds, Guid userID)
{
List<string> productIdList = new List<string>();
// Acquire the int
result = this.DataContext.PFOValidateUpdateData(element, userID);
foreach (var item in result)
{
productIdList.Add(item.ProductID);
}
return productIdList;
To get the multiple values returned by the stored procedure....
Please let me know if there is a better way to solve this... thank you

Parameters to the EXISTS clause in a stored procedure

I have a table DEPT, which holds 2 columns - ID, NAME.
A search form is presented with the IDs from the DEPT table and the user can chose any number of IDs and submit the form, to get the related NAMEs.
Clarification/Inputs:
I don't want to build a dynamic query - its not manageable.
I prefer a stored procedure using table-valued parameters
Any other solutions to proceed?
NOTE:
This example is simple with 1 table - in real life, I have to deal with more than 6 tables!
Thanks for any suggestions

CREATE TYPE dbo.DeptList
AS TABLE
(
ID INT
);
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.RetrieveDepartments
#dept_list AS dbo.DeptList READONLY
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
SELECT Name FROM dbo.table1 WHERE ID IN (SELECT ID FROM #dept)
UNION ALL
SELECT Name FROM dbo.table2 WHERE ID IN (SELECT ID FROM #dept)
-- ...
END
GO
Now in your C# code, create a DataTable, fill it in with the IDs, and pass it in to the stored procedure. Assuming you already have a list called tempList and the IDs are stored in id:
DataTable tvp = new DataTable();
tvp.Columns.Add(new DataColumn("ID"));
foreach(var item in tempList)
{
tvp.Rows.Add(item.id);
}
using (connObject)
{
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("StoredProcedure", connObject);
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
SqlParameter tvparam = cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("#dept_list", tvp);
tvparam.SqlDbType = SqlDbType.Structured;
...
}
You can also use a split function. Many exist, this is the one I like if you can guarantee that the input is safe (no <, >, & etc.):
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.SplitInts_XML
(
#List VARCHAR(MAX),
#Delimiter CHAR(1)
)
RETURNS TABLE
AS
RETURN
(
SELECT Item = y.i.value('(./text())[1]', 'int')
FROM
(
SELECT x = CONVERT(XML, '<i>'
+ REPLACE(#List, #Delimiter, '</i><i>') + '</i>').query('.')
) AS a
CROSS APPLY x.nodes('i') AS y(i)
);
GO
Now your procedure can be:
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.RetrieveDepartments
#dept_list VARCHAR(MAX)
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
;WITH d AS (SELECT ID = Item FROM dbo.SplitInts(#dept_list, ','))
SELECT Name FROM dbo.table1 WHERE ID IN (SELECT ID FROM d)
UNION ALL
SELECT Name FROM dbo.table2 WHERE ID IN (SELECT ID FROM d)
-- ...
END
GO