How to interpret SQL Server errors? - sql-server

Question

Whenever I make a syntax error in a SQL Server query, I get an error message which I find pretty hard to interpret. For example the error that I have right now is
Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Procedure myQuery, Line 3 [Batch Start Line 57]
Incorrect syntax near '!'.
I used table!column instead of table.column. I fixed my problem because I understood this bit:
Incorrect syntax near '!'
However, I do not understand how to interpret this message
Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Procedure myQuery, Line 3 [Batch Start Line 57]
Do people usually just ignore that part? I have been getting along just fine without paying much attention to it. But being able to understand the error message might help be locate exactly where the error is.
Edit:
I don't understand what Msg, Level, State, Batch and Start Line means
Edit2:
Besides the accepted answer this link also helped me clear up my misunderstanding of what line number means. I always thought that line number meant the line in the SQL query where the error is which confused me. Turns out the line number is the line in the query window. To enable line number in query editor window go to :
Tools > Options > Text Editor > Transact-SQL > General >Line Numbers
Press OK

Answer 1

From Understanding Database Engine Errors:
Errors raised by the Microsoft SQL Server Database Engine have the (following) attributes:
Error number
Each error message has a unique error number.
Error message string
The error message contains diagnostic information about the cause of the error. Many
error messages have substitution variables in which information, such as the name of
the object generating the error, is inserted.
Severity
The severity indicates how serious the error is. Errors that have a low severity, such
as 1 or 2, are information messages or low-level warnings. Errors that have a high
severity indicate problems that should be addressed as soon as possible.
State
Some error messages can be raised at multiple points in the code for the Database
Engine. For example, an 1105 error can be raised for several different conditions.
Each specific condition that raises an error assigns a unique state code.
When you are viewing databases that contain information about known issues, such as
the Microsoft Knowledge Base, you can use the state number to determine whether the
recorded issue is the same as the error you have encountered. [...]
Procedure name
Is the name of the stored procedure or trigger in which the error has occurred.
Line number
Indicates which statement in a batch, stored procedure, trigger, or function generated
the error.
Specifically, [Batch Start Line 57] means that you are running a script with multiple batches - (if it's in SSMS the batches are separated by the GO keyword) - so the error is in the 3rd line of the batch that starts in line 57 of the script.
Here's a break down of the error message you've posted to it's parts:
ErrorNumber
Msg 102,
Severity
Level 15,
State
State 1,
Procedure
Procedure myQuery,
Line number
Line 3 [Batch Start Line 57]
Error message string
Incorrect syntax near '!'.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, this did not work for me. I use the latest version of SSMS or sql server management studio. I have a SQL script (in query editor) which has about 100 lines of code. This is error I got in the query:
Msg 245, Level 16, State 1, Line 2
Conversion failed when converting the nvarchar value 'abcd' to data type int.
The error message is either incorrect or simply misleading. The actual error on line number 70 in the query editor ! When, I click on the error message, it takes me to line 2 which is just a simple select top 1. Google searches revealed that the error had something to do with String concatenation, but there was no concatenation in my sql code.
Luckily, I remembered that I had seen this kind of error before when I forgot to enclose a number (in varchar column) in single quotes. So, it looks like SSMS is useless when it comes to debugging errors.