Converting Column Headers to Row elements

Question

I have 2 tables I am combining and that works but I think I designed the second table wrong as I have a column for each item of what really is a multiple choice question. The query is this:

select Count(n.ID) as MemCount, u.Pay1Click, u.PayMailCC, u.PayMailCheck, u.PayPhoneACH, u.PayPhoneCC, u.PayWuFoo
from name as n inner join
UD_Demo_ORG as u on n.ID = u.ID
where n.MEMBER_TYPE like 'ORG_%' and n.CATEGORY not like '%_2' and 
(u.Pay1Click = '1' or u.PayMailCC = '1' or u.PayMailCheck = '1' or u.PayPhoneACH = '1' or u.PayPhoneCC = '1' or u.PayWuFoo = '1')
group by u.Pay1Click, u.PayMailCC, u.PayMailCheck, u.PayPhoneACH, u.PayPhoneCC, u.PayWuFoo

The results come up like this:

Count Pay1Click   PayMailCC   PayMailCheck   PayPhoneACH   PayPhoneCC   PayWuFoo
8      0           0          0              0             0            1
25     0           0          0              0             1            0
8      0           0          0              1             0            0
99     0           0          1              0             0            0
11     0           1          0              0             0            0

So the question is, how can I get this to 2 columns, Count and then the headers of the next 6 headers so the results look like this:

Count PaymentType
8      PayWuFoo        
25     PayPhoneCC          
8      PayPhoneACH         
99     PayMailCheck        
11     PayMailCC           

Thanks.

Answer 1

Try this one

Select Count,

CASE WHEN Pay1Click=1 THEN 'Pay1Click'
           PayMailCC=1 THEN ' PayMailCC'
          PayMailCheck=1 THEN 'PayMailCheck'
          PayPhoneACH=1 THEN 'PayPhoneACH'
          PayPhoneCC=1 THEN 'PayPhoneCC'
          PayWuFoo=1 THEN 'PayWuFoo'
     END as PaymentType

FROM ......

Answer 2

I think indeed you made a mistake in the structure of the second table. Instead of creating a row for each multiple choice question, i would suggest transforming all those columns to a 'answer' column, so you would have the actual name of the alternative as the record in that column.

But for this, you have to change the structure of your tables, and change the way the table is populated. you should get the name of the alternative checked and put it into your table.

More on this, you could care for repetitive data in your table, so writing over and over again the same string could make your table grow larger. if there are other things implied to the answer, other informations in the UD_Demo_ORG table, then you can normalize the table, creating a payment_dimension table or something like this, give your alternatives an ID such as

ID   PaymentType   OtherInfo(description, etc)...
1     PayWuFoo         ...
2     PayPhoneCC       ... 
3     PayPhoneACH      ...
4     PayMailCheck     ...
5     PayMailCC        ...

This is called a dimension table, and then in your records, you would have the ID of the payment type, and not the information you don't need. So instead of a big result set, maybe you could simplify by much your query and have just

Count PaymentId
8      1        
25     2          
8      3         
99     4        
11     5 

as a result set. it would make the query faster too, and if you need other information, you can then join the table and get it.

BUT if the only field you would have is the name, perhaps you could use the paymentType as the "id" in this case... just consider it. It is scalable if you separate to a dimension table.

Some references for further reading:

1. http://beginnersbook.com/2015/05/normalization-in-dbms/ "Normalization in DBMS"

2. http://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/answer/What-are-the-differences-between-fact-tables-and-dimension-tables-in-star-schemas "Differences between fact tables and dimensions tables"