Cannot insert 'NULL' value into SQL Server column - sql-server

I have a table that is filled using a stored procedure. This stored procedure uses a view that calls attributes from another databases.
To illustrate, it is something like:
ALTER PROCEDURE theSp
AS BEGIN
INSERT INTO dbo.theTable (attr1, att2, amount, attr4)
SELECT attr1, attr2, amount, attr4
FROM theView
END
The view is defined this way:
select attr1, attr2, amount, attr4
from db1.theTable
where date >='anyDate'
and the values are correctly inserted, but if the view is used this way:
select attr1, attr2, amount, attr4
from db2.theTable
where date >='anyDate'
this message is shown:
Checking identity information: current identity value '1252'.
DBCC execution completed. If DBCC printed error messages, contact your system administrator.
Msg 515, Level 16, State 2, Procedure theSp, Line 16
Cannot insert the value NULL into column 'amount', table 'db2.dbo.theTable'; column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails.
Note: the 'amount' attribute for db1 and db2 tables allows null but I never insert null, instead, I insert 0.
So I filtered to check whether the amount attribute is null and I did not get results, meaning there are not nulls value in the amount attribute.
Does anyone know a possible solution?

By looking at the error message that you have posted
Cannot insert the value NULL into column 'amount', table 'db2.dbo.theTable'; column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails. The statement has been terminated.
there is a Null value for amount column in `db2.dbo.theTable'. You can use ISNULL() to get rid of this issue.
If you want to see the NULL values, you gotta use query like
select * from db2.dbo.theTable where amount IS NULL
Have a look at is Null vs =Null to see why you weren't seeing those null records in your previous query.

Good to have a logger to validate the condition when it's going wrong, like printing the values before inserting

Related

Inserting a distinct entry into db.table results into implicit conversion error in SQL Server

I have a requirement where I need to insert new entries found in a record into its Master Table and Map the ID of the identifier to the main table
For Instance consider the below example,
-- Insert into Category Master if not exists
INSERT INTO tblCategoryMaster (Category,
CreatedBy,
CreatedDate,
UpdatedBy,
UpdatedDate)
SELECT DISTINCT
(category),
SERVERPROPERTY('MACHINENAME'),
GETDATE(),
SERVERPROPERTY('MACHINENAME'),
GETDATE()
FROM tblTempDataStaging stg
WHERE category IS NOT NULL
AND NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM tblCategoryMaster ctg WHERE ctg.Category = stg.category);
After executing the select query we get list of distinct entries and every time a new entry is entered in the staging table, the entries are populated in the Master Table accordingly.
Server is not allowing me to insert, its giving me an error saying
Msg 257, Level 16, State 3, Line 39
Implicit conversion from data type sql_variant to nvarchar(max) is not allowed. Use the CONVERT function to run this query.
The data type of the staging table is NVARCHAR(MAX) for the relevant fields except datetime for the date fields
Tried using CONVERT method but I'm unsure on how do we use it with DISTINCT in the picture
Can you suggest how do I resolve this issue?
The error is telling you the problem: SERVERPROPERTY('MACHINENAME') returns the datatype sql_variant:
SELECT system_type_name
FROM sys.dm_exec_describe_first_result_set(N'SELECT SERVERPROPERTY(''MACHINENAME'') AS MachineName',NULL,NULL);
The underlying data type is a nvarchar (thought it certainly won't be 2GB of storage for the name of a machine!) as can be seen here:
SELECT SQL_VARIANT_PROPERTY(SERVERPROPERTY('MACHINENAME'),'Basetype')
You need to explicitly convert the value. For example:
CONVERT(nvarchar(256),SERVERPROPERTY('MACHINENAME'))
I do suggest you change the data type of your column CreatedBy, and I assume UpdatedBy, from nvarchar(MAX) to something like an nvarchar(256); you don't need 2GB of characters (about 1 Billion) to store that information.

SQL server GetDate in trigger called sequentially has the same value

I have a trigger on a table for insert, delete, update that on the first line gets the current date with GetDate() method.
The trigger will compare the deleted and inserted table to determine what field has been changed and stores in another table the id, datetime and the field changed. This combination must be unique
A stored procedure does an insert and an update sequentially on the table. Sometimes I get a violation of primary key and I suspect that the GetDate() returns the same value.
How can I make the GetDate() return different values in the trigger.
EDIT
Here is the code of the trigger
CREATE TRIGGER dbo.TR
ON table
FOR DELETE, INSERT, UPDATE
AS
BEGIN
SET NoCount ON
DECLARE #dt Datetime
SELECT #dt = GetDate()
insert tableLog (id, date, field, old, new)
select I.id, #dt, 'field', D.field, I.field
from INSERTED I LEFT JOIN DELETED D ON I.id=D.id
where IsNull(I.field, -1) <> IsNull(D.field, -1)
END
and the code of the calls
...
insert into table ( anotherfield)
values (#anotherfield)
if ##rowcount=1 SET #ID=##Identity
...
update table
set field = #field
where Id = #ID
...
Sometimes the GetDate() between the 2 calls (insert and update) takes 7 milliseconds and sometimes it has the same value.
That's not exactly full solution but try using SYSDATETIME instead and of course make sure that target table can store up datetime2 up to microseconds.
Note that you can't force different datetime regardless of precision (unless you will start counting up to ticks) as stuff can just happen at the same time wihthin given precision.
If stretching up to microseconds won't solve the issue on practical level, I think you will have to either redesign this logging schema (perhaps add identity column on top of what you have) or add some dirty trick - like make this insert in try catch block and add like microsecond (nanosecond?) in a loop until you insert successfully. Definitely not s.t. I would recommend.
Look at this answer: SQL Server: intrigued by GETDATE()
If you are inserting multiple ROWS, they will all use the same value of GetDate(), so you can try wrapping it in a UDF to get unique values. But as I said, this is just a guess unless you post the code of your trigger so we can see what you are actually doing?
It sounds like you're trying to create an audit trail - but now you want to forge some of the entries?
I'd suggest instead adding a rowversion column to the table and including that in your uniqueness criteria - either instead of or as well as the datetime value that is being recorded.
In this way, even if two rows are inserted with identical date/time data, you can still tell the actual insertion order.

How can I get the result from SQL generated Identity? [duplicate]

I'm trying to get a the key-value back after an INSERT-statement.
Example:
I've got a table with the attributes name and id. id is a generated value.
INSERT INTO table (name) VALUES('bob');
Now I want to get the id back in the same step. How is this done?
We're using Microsoft SQL Server 2008.
No need for a separate SELECT...
INSERT INTO table (name)
OUTPUT Inserted.ID
VALUES('bob');
This works for non-IDENTITY columns (such as GUIDs) too
Use SCOPE_IDENTITY() to get the new ID value
INSERT INTO table (name) VALUES('bob');
SELECT SCOPE_IDENTITY()
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190315.aspx
INSERT INTO files (title) VALUES ('whatever');
SELECT * FROM files WHERE id = SCOPE_IDENTITY();
Is the safest bet since there is a known issue with OUTPUT Clause conflict on tables with triggers. Makes this quite unreliable as even if your table doesn't currently have any triggers - someone adding one down the line will break your application. Time Bomb sort of behaviour.
See msdn article for deeper explanation:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlprogrammability/archive/2008/07/11/update-with-output-clause-triggers-and-sqlmoreresults.aspx
Entity Framework performs something similar to gbn's answer:
DECLARE #generated_keys table([Id] uniqueidentifier)
INSERT INTO Customers(FirstName)
OUTPUT inserted.CustomerID INTO #generated_keys
VALUES('bob');
SELECT t.[CustomerID]
FROM #generated_keys AS g
JOIN dbo.Customers AS t
ON g.Id = t.CustomerID
WHERE ##ROWCOUNT > 0
The output results are stored in a temporary table variable, and then selected back to the client. Have to be aware of the gotcha:
inserts can generate more than one row, so the variable can hold more than one row, so you can be returned more than one ID
I have no idea why EF would inner join the ephemeral table back to the real table (under what circumstances would the two not match).
But that's what EF does.
SQL Server 2008 or newer only. If it's 2005 then you're out of luck.
There are many ways to exit after insert
When you insert data into a table, you can use the OUTPUT clause to
return a copy of the data that’s been inserted into the table. The
OUTPUT clause takes two basic forms: OUTPUT and OUTPUT INTO. Use the
OUTPUT form if you want to return the data to the calling application.
Use the OUTPUT INTO form if you want to return the data to a table or
a table variable.
DECLARE #MyTableVar TABLE (id INT,NAME NVARCHAR(50));
INSERT INTO tableName
(
NAME,....
)OUTPUT INSERTED.id,INSERTED.Name INTO #MyTableVar
VALUES
(
'test',...
)
IDENT_CURRENT: It returns the last identity created for a particular table or view in any session.
SELECT IDENT_CURRENT('tableName') AS [IDENT_CURRENT]
SCOPE_IDENTITY: It returns the last identity from a same session and the same scope. A scope is a stored procedure/trigger etc.
SELECT SCOPE_IDENTITY() AS [SCOPE_IDENTITY];
##IDENTITY: It returns the last identity from the same session.
SELECT ##IDENTITY AS [##IDENTITY];
##IDENTITY Is a system function that returns the last-inserted identity value.
There are multiple ways to get the last inserted ID after insert command.
##IDENTITY : It returns the last Identity value generated on a Connection in current session, regardless of Table and the scope of statement that produced the value
SCOPE_IDENTITY(): It returns the last identity value generated by the insert statement in the current scope in the current connection regardless of the table.
IDENT_CURRENT(‘TABLENAME’) : It returns the last identity value generated on the specified table regardless of Any connection, session or scope. IDENT_CURRENT is not limited by scope and session; it is limited to a specified table.
Now it seems more difficult to decide which one will be exact match for my requirement.
I mostly prefer SCOPE_IDENTITY().
If you use select SCOPE_IDENTITY() along with TableName in insert statement, you will get the exact result as per your expectation.
Source : CodoBee
The best and most sure solution is using SCOPE_IDENTITY().
Just you have to get the scope identity after every insert and save it in a variable because you can call two insert in the same scope.
ident_current and ##identity may be they work but they are not safe scope. You can have issues in a big application
declare #duplicataId int
select #duplicataId = (SELECT SCOPE_IDENTITY())
More detail is here Microsoft docs
You can use scope_identity() to select the ID of the row you just inserted into a variable then just select whatever columns you want from that table where the id = the identity you got from scope_identity()
See here for the MSDN info http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190315.aspx
Recommend to use SCOPE_IDENTITY() to get the new ID value, But NOT use "OUTPUT Inserted.ID"
If the insert statement throw exception, I except it throw it directly. But "OUTPUT Inserted.ID" will return 0, which maybe not as expected.
This is how I use OUTPUT INSERTED, when inserting to a table that uses ID as identity column in SQL Server:
'myConn is the ADO connection, RS a recordset and ID an integer
Set RS=myConn.Execute("INSERT INTO M2_VOTELIST(PRODUCER_ID,TITLE,TIMEU) OUTPUT INSERTED.ID VALUES ('Gator','Test',GETDATE())")
ID=RS(0)
You can append a select statement to your insert statement.
Integer myInt =
Insert into table1 (FName) values('Fred'); Select Scope_Identity();
This will return a value of the identity when executed scaler.
* Parameter order in the connection string is sometimes important. * The Provider parameter's location can break the recordset cursor after adding a row. We saw this behavior with the SQLOLEDB provider.
After a row is added, the row fields are not available, UNLESS the Provider is specified as the first parameter in the connection string. When the provider is anywhere in the connection string except as the first parameter, the newly inserted row fields are not available. When we moved the the Provider to the first parameter, the row fields magically appeared.
After doing an insert into a table with an identity column, you can reference ##IDENTITY to get the value:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa933167%28v=sql.80%29.aspx

Inserting data into one column fails saying values in another column can't be null

I can't understand this misunderstanding by SQL Server.
As you can see, I'm trying to insert into column Ordamount, but SQL Server shows me in its error message that it can't insert null into column UserID?
Declare #variable1 int =( select sum(Orr.quantity *OI.Iteprice)
from Orderrouter Orr
inner join OrdItem OI on Orr.OrdItems =OI.ItemId
where OrdId = 1)
insert into Ord (Ordamount)
values (#variable1);
Error:
Msg 515, Level 16, State 2, Line 6 Cannot insert the value
NULL into column 'UserID', table 'Example.dbo.Ord'; column does
not allow nulls. INSERT fails.
The statement has been terminated.
For columns in the Ord table that does not allow null by default, you have to provide value for, you cannot skip them. You have to provide value for UserID if it's not Nullable unless it's an identity column
I think the problem is that you only specify the amount when inserting which isn't the primary key in the table, might be an idea to show how the table looks as well. An auto increment on the id column migh solve the problem
Please use a more descriptive title.
Beside this, it seems that the Ord.UserID field is not initialized. Maybe it is not an autoincrement.
Try with this, specifying the UserId value:
INSERT into Ord values(<UserId value here>, #Varaible1)

Inserting the values with condition

Using SQL Server 2005
When i insert the date it should compare the date in the table.
If it is equal with other date, it should display a error message and also it should allow only to insert the next date.
For Example
Table1
Date
20091201
20091202
Insert into table1 values('20091202')
The above query should not allow to insert the same value
Insert into table1 values('20091204')
The above query also should not allow to insert the long gap date.
The query should allow only the next date.
It should not allow same date and long gap date.
How to insert a query with this condition.
Is Possible in SQL or VB.Net
Need SQL Query or VB.Net code Help
You could use a where clause to ensure that the previous day is present in the table, and the current day is not:
insert into table1 ([dateColumn])
select '20091204'
where exists (
select * from table1 where [dateColumn] = dateadd(d,-1,'20091204')
)
and not exists (
select * from table1 where [dateColumn] = '20091204'
)
if ##rowcount <> 1
raiserror ('Oops', 16, 1)
If the insert succeeds, ##rowcount will be set to 1. Otherwise, an error is returned to VB using raiserror.
Why not just have a table of dates set up in advance, and update a row once you want to "insert" that date?
I'm not sure I understand the point of inserting a new date only once, and never allowing a gap. Could you describe your business problem in a little more detail?
Of course you could use an IDENTITY column, and then have a computed column or a view that calculates the date from the number of days since (some date). But IDENTITY columns do not guarantee contiguity, nor do they even guarantee uniqueness on their own (unless you set up suc a constraint separately).
Preventing duplicates should be done at the table level with a unique constraint, not with a query. You can check for duplicates first so that you can handle errors in your own way (rather than let the engine raise an exception for you), but that shouldn't be your only check.
Sounds like your date field should just be unique with auto-increment.

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