Question

I have two tables with identical schema in SQL Server 2008 R2. If I execute the following query, with parentheses intact, I get results from both tables.

/*
select distinct Name, Rank, SerNo, OtherStuff from 
*/

(
select Name, Rank, SerNo, OtherStuff from OldPlayers

union 
select Name, Rank, SerNo, OtherStuff from NewPlayers
)

/*
OldPlayers
*/

go

If I then uncomment both comments, and comment out the expression in parentheses, I also get results (from one table, of course).

If I now re-comment the table name at the end, and uncomment the parenthetical expression so that it can replace the table name, I get the error “Incorrect syntax near ‘)’.”

Why can’t I substitute the union expression for the table name?

Answer 1

If you try it like this:

select Name, Rank, SerNo, OtherStuff from 
(
select Name, Rank, SerNo, OtherStuff from OldPlayers
union 
select Name, Rank, SerNo, OtherStuff from NewPlayers
) as Players