SQL Server 2008 Express CONCAT() doesn't exist?

Question

I\'m making switch from MySQL to SQL Server 2008 Express and can\'t seem to find a CONCAT()-esque function. I have two columns I\'m trying to combine into a string and find

Answer 1

You can use CONCAT in SQL 2008 (if you REALLY want) by wrapping in brackets

{fn CONCAT(id1,id2)} AS combo1

NOTE: CONCAT only takes two arguments, so you must nest them if you wish to concatenate more than two strings:

{fn CONCAT(id1,{fn CONCAT(id2,id3)})} AS combo2

Answer 2

CONCATdoesn't exist in SQL Server 2008, it is new since SQL Server 2012.

You could use instead:

select id1, id2, id1 +  ", " + id2 as combo1
FROM db1
group by combo1

Answer 3

Maybe something like,

SELECT DISTINCT id1, id2, id1 + ', ' + id2

would that work?