Question

Is there a printf-like function in Sql Server? I want the same features as the RAISERROR function, but instead of throwing an error, or printing a message, I want to write it in a varchar, because my ERP won’t let me handle the error messages.

This is SQL Server 2000.

Actual working example with RAISERROR:

declare @name varchar(10)
set @name = 'George'

RAISERROR ('Hello %s.', 10, 1, 'George')

prints Hello George

What I’m looking for:

declare @name varchar(10), @message varchar(50)
set @name = 'George'

SET @message = printf('Hello %s.', 'George')
return @message

This would return Hello George

Answer 1

If you have a limited number of format strings, and are able to add them to sysmessages (via sp_addmessage), you can use FORMATMESSAGE:

Like the RAISERROR statement, FORMATMESSAGE edits the message by substituting the supplied parameter values for placeholder variables in the message. For more information about the placeholders allowed in error messages and the editing process, see RAISERROR.

---

The below would be a valid answer for SQL Server 2005 or later, but unfortunately, the OP is seeking a solution for SQL Server 2000:

---

It’s ugly, and an abuse of Try/Catch and RAISERROR:

declare @message varchar(50)

begin try
    RAISERROR('Hello %s',16,1,'george')
end try
begin catch
    set @message = ERROR_MESSAGE()
end catch

print @message