Select all similar columns

Question

Hi All,
I would like to retrieve data from all similar columns in a table:
ex: desc table;
emp name
emp name1
emp name2
emp name3
emp name30
emp number
emp ph
so now i want retrieve all emp name* columns data with out selecting each one is there any short cut?
i have tried with rtrim but i am unable to get it. Could any body help me in this regard.
Thanks,
Red.

Answer 1

i guess you will need to create a dynamic query probably a reference cursor
create or replace function fnc_columns (pTable varchar2, pColumn varchar2, pReqId number)
return sys_refcursor as
  c sys_refcursor;
  vColumn := varchar2(2000);
begin
  for col_rec in (select column_name from all_tab_columns
                   where column_name like 'ARGUMENT%'
                     and table_name = 'FND_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS'
                     and owner = 'FND') loop
    vColumn := vColumn ||col_rec||',';
  end loop;
  --removes the last comma 
  vColumn := substr(vColumn,1,instr(vColumn,',',-1)-1);
  open c for 'SELECT '||vColumn||' FROM '||pTable||
             'WHERE REQUEST_ID = '||pReqId;
  return c;
end;
/note: untested
or you might want to use another method such as [EXECUTE IMMEDIATE|http://www.psoug.org/reference/nds.html]