# SQL select column name

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/sql-select-column-name/7022>\
**Category:** Ignition\
**Created:** [August 12, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/sql-select-column-name/7022 "2013-08-12T19:09:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![AJBerera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@AJBerera](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/AJBerera)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/sql-select-column-name/7022/1 "2013-08-12T19:09:30Z")

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I am trying to create a script that will look at every column in my SQL table and loop through to insert a row into a different table of every column name.  
Basically inverting a table to a different table.  
I’m unfamiliar with PIVOT

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**Author:** ![Pat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@Pat](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Pat)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/sql-select-column-name/7022/2 "2013-08-12T20:16:49Z")

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Sounds like you’re trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. Might be easier to learn how to do a pivot query instead.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![AJBerera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@AJBerera](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/AJBerera)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/sql-select-column-name/7022/3 "2013-08-12T20:24:37Z")

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I am actually in need of the 2 tables…

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dravik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Dravik](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Dravik)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/sql-select-column-name/7022/4 "2013-08-12T20:42:30Z")

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Something you only need to do once?

Or ongoing? Because if ongoing, you’re probably better off using a trigger on the table to automatically do it.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![AJBerera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@AJBerera](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/AJBerera)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/sql-select-column-name/7022/5 "2013-08-12T20:48:54Z")

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just once

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**Author:** ![adamaustin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@adamaustin](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/adamaustin)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/sql-select-column-name/7022/6 "2013-08-12T21:11:43Z")

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Use system.dataset.getColumnHeaders:

```auto
pyDataSet = system.db.runQuery("SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE 1=0")
normalDataSet = system.dataset.toDataSet(pyDataSet)
for col in system.dataset.getColumnHeaders(normalDataSet):
	system.db.runPrepUpdate("INSERT INTO MyColTable (ColumnName) VALUES (?)", [col])
```