How can I assign multiple records from a select into one parameter in sql

Question

Does anyone know how can I assign the multiple records from a select into one parameter in sql? Example:

I have the following select statement:

SELECT '|'+id+':'+rep
FROM dbo.reps

it will return the following result:

|1:tom
|2:amy
|3:ben
|4:ken

How can I assign those value into a parameter @rep and when I select @rept, it will display:

|1:tom|2:amy|3:ben|4:ken

will it possible?

Answer 1

One method is to use aggregate string concatenation (ala XML), but that is a hassle in SQL Server. Another is to use recursive CTEs.

The simplest method is:

DECLARE @rep varchar(max);
SET @rep = '';

SELECT @rep = (@rep + '|'+id+':'+rep0
FROM dbo.reps;

I am not sure if this is guaranteed to be supported (I haven't seen documentation that explicitly says yes or no on this), but it does generally work in SQL Server.