How do you split a string after a specific character in SQL Server?

 In SQL Server, you can split a string after a specific character using a combination of string functions like CHARINDEX, SUBSTRING, and LEN. Here's a general approach to split a string after a specific character (let's say the character is a comma , or any other delimiter):

Example: Split a string after a specific character (comma)

1. Get the part after the specific character:

You can use the SUBSTRING function along with CHARINDEX to extract the portion of the string after the specified character. For instance, if the character is a comma, and the string is value1,value2, here's how you'd split it after the comma:

SELECT SUBSTRING(MyColumn, CHARINDEX(',', MyColumn) + 1, LEN(MyColumn))
FROM MyTable
WHERE MyColumn LIKE '%,%';

Explanation:

• CHARINDEX(',', MyColumn) finds the position of the first comma in MyColumn.
• + 1 ensures that the substring starts just after the comma.
• LEN(MyColumn) is used to extract the remaining string from that point until the end.

2. Handle cases where the delimiter does not exist:

If you want to ensure that it works even if the character is not present (to avoid errors), you can add a condition to handle that case.

SELECT CASE
           WHEN CHARINDEX(',', MyColumn) > 0 
           THEN SUBSTRING(MyColumn, CHARINDEX(',', MyColumn) + 1, LEN(MyColumn))
           ELSE MyColumn -- Return the whole string if no delimiter is found
       END AS AfterDelimiter
FROM MyTable;

Example: Split string after another character (e.g., semicolon)

If the character you're splitting on is a semicolon (;), the query would look like this:

SELECT SUBSTRING(MyColumn, CHARINDEX(';', MyColumn) + 1, LEN(MyColumn))
FROM MyTable
WHERE MyColumn LIKE '%;%';

Notes:

• If you want to split at the last occurrence of a character (e.g., splitting after the last comma), you can use REVERSE in combination with CHARINDEX:

  SELECT SUBSTRING(MyColumn, LEN(MyColumn) - CHARINDEX(',', REVERSE(MyColumn)) + 2, LEN(MyColumn))
  FROM MyTable;
  

This query reverses the string and finds the position of the first comma from the end of the string, effectively splitting after the last occurrence of the comma.

This method can be adjusted for any delimiter you want to split on by replacing the ',' in the examples above with your specific character.