String.Format like functionality in T-SQL?

Question

I\'m looking for a built-in function/extended function in T-SQL for string manipulation similar to the String.Format method in .NET.

Answer 1

There is a way, but it has its limitations. You can use the FORMATMESSAGE() function. It allows you to format a string using formatting similar to the printf() function in C.

However, the biggest limitation is that it will only work with messages in the sys.messages table. Here's an article about it: microsoft_library_ms186788

It's kind of a shame there isn't an easier way to do this, because there are times when you want to format a string/varchar in the database. Hopefully you are only looking to format a string in a standard way and can use the sys.messages table.

Coincidentally, you could also use the RAISERROR() function with a very low severity, the documentation for raiseerror even mentions doing this, but the results are only printed. So you wouldn't be able to do anything with the resulting value (from what I understand).

Good luck!