Query XML data for blanks

Question

Hi 
I am try to see if there are any blanks in a node of a table that has xml data in one of the columns. The query I use is returning zero results. Any suggestions?
Select COUNT(*)from ENTITY
Where CONVERT(XML, Ent_root_xml, 0 ).value('(//UD_PQ_FLAG/node())[1]', 'VARCHAR(50)')= ' '

Answer 1

This is a little tricky. When you don't use /text(), looking for space is the right thing. But when you use /text() you should look for NULL:
DECLARE @x TABLE (id int NOT NULL, x xml NOT NULL)
INSERT @x (id, x)
   VALUES (1, '<ROOT><Node>This node is intentionally not left blank.</Node></ROOT>'),
          (2, '<ROOT><Node></Node></ROOT>')
SELECT id
FROM   @x
CROSS  APPLY x.nodes('/ROOT') AS T(x)
WHERE  T.x.value('(Node/text())[1]', 'varchar(23)') IS NULL
SELECT id
FROM   @x
CROSS  APPLY x.nodes('/ROOT') AS T(x)
WHERE  T.x.value('Node[1]', 'varchar(23)') = ' '
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, [email protected]