Select statement of a table SQL 2008

Question

I have a table with 3 columns, representing a matrix:

i j val
-------
1 1  1
1 2  12
1 3  4
2 1  3
2 2  4
2 3  4
3 1  0
3 2  2
3 3  2

How would I select this table in such a way i get

a1 a2 a3
-------
1 12  4
3  4  4
0  2  2

Is there a way to use pivot or what would be the best approach here?

Answer 1

SELECT [1] AS a1,
       [2] AS a2,
       [3] AS a3
FROM T
PIVOT (MAX(val) FOR j IN ([1],[2],[3])) AS P

Answer 2

I know I am a little late to the party, but isn't this closer to what you are looking for:

SELECT [1] as a1, [2] as a2, [3] as a3
FROM
(
SELECT i, j, val
FROM T) AS source
PIVOT
(
    MAX(val)
    FOR j IN ([1], [2], [3])
) as pvt

Also, this link discusses generation of columns dynamically.

Good Luck!

Matt