How Can I Dynamically Pivot Data with an Unknown Number of Columns in SQL Server 2005?

Handling Dynamic Pivots with Variable Columns in SQL Server 2005

Pivoting data becomes complex when dealing with datasets where the number of columns isn't fixed. This is illustrated by a common problem: transforming a table of student names, assignment names, and grades into a pivoted format with students as rows and assignments as columns.

SQL Server 2005 presents limitations when attempting dynamic pivoting. Standard pivot techniques fail when the number of assignment columns is unknown. While dynamic SQL could be used, it's often avoided for security and performance reasons.

A robust alternative is to generate and execute SQL code. Instead of using dynamic SQL directly, a separate application generates the necessary SQL statements to create a stored procedure. This stored procedure then performs the pivot operation. This approach offers improved security and efficiency over dynamic SQL.

This code-generation method involves an external application to analyze the data structure, generate the appropriate SQL, and create the stored procedure. This stored procedure can then be called to achieve the desired pivot.

While dynamic pivoting with unknown column counts presents challenges, the code-generation approach provides a practical solution within the constraints of SQL Server 2005.

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