is it possible to select EXISTS directly as a bit?

Question

I was wondering if it\'s possible to do something like this (which doesn\'t work):

select cast( (exists(select * from theTable where theColumn like \'theValue

Answer 1

You can use IIF and CAST

SELECT CAST(IIF(EXISTS(SELECT * FROM theTable 
                       where theColumn like 'theValue%'), 1, 0) AS BIT)

Answer 2

I believe exists can only be used in a where clause, so you'll have to do a workaround (or a subquery with exists as the where clause). I don't know if that counts as a workaround.

What about this:

create table table1 (col1   int null)
go
select 'no items',CONVERT(bit, (select COUNT(*) from table1) )   -- returns 'no items', 0
go
insert into table1 (col1) values (1)
go
select '1 item',CONVERT(bit, (select COUNT(*) from table1) )     --returns '1 item', 1
go
insert into table1 (col1) values (2)
go
select '2 items',CONVERT(bit, (select COUNT(*) from table1) )    --returns '2 items', 1
go
insert into table1 (col1) values (3)
go
drop table table1
go

Answer 3

SELECT IIF(EXISTS(SELECT * FROM theTable WHERE theColumn LIKE 'theValue%'), 1, 0)