Update with Select top n statement

Question

Hi All,
Can I use update statemet like this..
Update table1
set Name=(select top (100) t2.name from table2 t2 where table1.ID=t2.ID)
Please let me know ASAP its very urgent
Thanks in Advance
RH
sql

Answer 1

Hi sql9 !
You might need below query;
CREATE TABLE Table1 (ID INT,Name VARCHAR(10))
CREATE TABLE Table2 (ID INT,Name VARCHAR(10))
--TRUNCATE TABLE Table1
--TRUNCATE TABLE Table2
INSERT INTO Table1
SELECT 1,'ABC' UNION ALL
SELECT 2,'DEF' UNION ALL
SELECT 3,'GHI'
INSERT INTO Table2
SELECT 1,'JKL' UNION ALL
SELECT 1,'MNO' UNION ALL
SELECT 2,'PQR' UNION ALL
SELECT 2,'STU' UNION ALL
SELECT 3,'VWX' UNION ALL
SELECT 3,'YZ'
UPDATE Table1 SET Name = (SELECT TOP 1 T2.Name FROM Table2 T2 WHERE Table1.ID = T2.ID)
SELECT * FROM Table1
--ID Name
--1 JKL
--2 PQR
--3 VWX
--You can simply re-write your SQL with below query and you don't have to specify TOP Clause inside subquery
UPDATE T1 SET T1.Name = T2.Name
FROM Table1 T1
INNER JOIN Table2 T2 ON T2.ID = T1.ID
SELECT * FROM Table1
--ID Name
--1 JKL
--2 PQR
--3 VWX
Note : In your first query TOP 100 returning more than 1 value from subquery which is not allowed.
Please let me know if this doesn’t work for you. Hope I have answered you correctly.
Thanks,
Hasham