Create an inline SQL table on the fly (for an excluding left join)

Question

Let\'s assume the following:

Table A

id | value
----------
1   | red
2   | orange
5   | yellow
10  | green
11  | blue
12  | indigo
20  | violet
         


        

Answer 1

You can do this from SQL Server 2008 onwards using a table value constructor.

SELECT * FROM (
   VALUES(1, 'red'),
         (2, 'orange'),
         (5, 'yellow'),
         (10, 'green'),
         (11, 'blue'),
         (12, 'indigo'),
         (20, 'violet'))
   AS Colors(Id, Value)

More information here: Table Value Constructor