I have a temp table #Temp(id int, statement varchar, result int)
The statement column contains a prebuilt sql select statement e.g
id            statement
Result
1             select count(*) from books where authorname like 'A%'.
2            select count(*) from books where authorname like 'J%'.

I want run an update statement on the table so that i can set the result
column to the result of the select statement in the statement column.

e.g. update #temp
set result = [statement result]

I want to aviod cursors. Can this be done?

Please help.

This is in general, a poor approach. You can use certain undocumented
procedures ( in SQL 2000 ) to get this done, but it is complex, error prone
and rarely worth it.

Instead of having SQL statements as data values & updating #temp tables,
consider using a view. Alternatively, depending on tables & wild card
patterns involved, in some cases you might be able to resolve the problem
with a single query with CASE.

If you want a workable solution, pl. refer to www.aspfaq.com/5006 and post
the required information along with a brief explanation of your
requirements.

In case you are wondering how to get the scalar result of a SELECT statement
into a variable dynamically, refer to the procedure sp_ExecuteSQL in SQL
Server Books Online.

simple insert of strings
Complex Query
adjust my code
avoid using cursors....
really large stored procedures