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How to generate dynamic columns for a report while using PIVOT in the source query?

DannyS-OracleOct 11 2016 — edited Oct 12 2016

Hi guys, to illustrate my problem, I will use this screenshot:

Screen Shot 2016-10-07 at 1.06.40 PM.png

Currently I have the table on the right, and I want to create a report just like the table on the left. The first solution that came into my mind was using PIVOT, for example:

select * from (

select (service, area, result from sample\_table

)

pivot xml (

max(result)

for area

in (select area from sample\_table)

)

order by "service"

But Oracle SQL does not support dynamic number of columns (for the IN keyword), and using XML keyword will return [unsupported data type] message on the report. Is there another approach to solve this problem?

P.S. I am using Apex v5.0.4 and DB v12.

UPDATE

When I was looking from older discussions, @"fac586" gave this accepted answer , mentioning serializing the XML and then shredding the XMLType in the report. This seems close to what I am looking for, but can someone please give more detailed step-by-step on how to shred the XMLType into the report? Thank you!
This post has been answered by DannyS-Oracle on Oct 11 2016
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DannyS-Oracle
Answer

Answering my own question:

In the end I gave up using manual sql PIVOT and used the PIVOT feature provided from the Interactive Report's Action > Format > Pivot.

I decided to give up on retaining the "Pass" or "Fail" values since none of the aggregate functions (MIN, MAX, COUNT) support varchar type. So I changed the values to numbers and manually color-coded the cells based on the numbers using JavaScript (e.g. Green for "Pass" and Red for "Fail"). Looks OK for me.

Marked as Answer by DannyS-Oracle · Sep 27 2020
fac586

DannyS-Oracle wrote:

Hi guys, to illustrate my problem, I will use this screenshot:

Screen Shot 2016-10-07 at 1.06.40 PM.png

Currently I have the table on the right, and I want to create a report just like the table on the left. The first solution that came into my mind was using PIVOT, for example:

  1. select*from(
  2. select(service,area,resultfromsample_table
  3. )
  4. pivotxml(
  5. max(result)
  6. forarea
  7. in(selectareafromsample_table)
  8. )
  9. orderby"service"

select * from ( select (service, area, result from sample_table ) pivot xml ( max(result) for area in (select area from sample_table) ) order by "service"

But Oracle SQL does not support dynamic number of columns (for the IN keyword), and using XML keyword will return [unsupported data type] message on the report. Is there another approach to solve this problem?

P.S. I am using Apex v5.0.4 and DB v12.

UPDATE

When I was looking from older discussions, fac586 gave this accepted answer Re: Pivot query using XML option in APEX , mentioning serializing the XML and then shredding the XMLType in the report. This seems close to what I am looking for, but can someone please give more detailed step-by-step on how to shred the XMLType into the report? Thank you!

I created a demonstration of that in response to another thread:

Another option is to use a PL/SQL Function Body returning SQL Query report source with a dynamic pivot specification:

However, neither of those options is possible in an interactive report due to the dynamic number of columns involved (among other things), so if an interactive report is a requirement you'll have to stick to the built-in IR pivot feature.

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Locked on Nov 9 2016
Added on Oct 11 2016
#apex, #apex-discussions, #pivot, #report, #sql
2 comments
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