Everyone on this thread should take a look at the link in my signature for splitting strings. In there you will find a number of ways to split a string including the while loop and xml methods. As you continue reading you will find a tally table set based splitter. It will blow the doors off all the above methods for performance.
Another method that is super duper fast is Dwain Camp's pattern splitter. You can find it here. http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/String+Manipulation/94365/[/url]
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Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/