How to set default value in SQL server 2008? - sql-server

Question

I have bulk amount of data stored in SQL Server 2008. Now I want to add new field [Book_ID] with default value 1 to existing table but its not working.
code
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Ayyat_Translation_Language_old_20131209] (
[Ayat_Translation_Language_ID] INT IDENTITY (1, 1) NOT NULL,
[Translation_Laanguage_ID] INT NULL,
[Juz_ID] INT NULL,
[Surah_ID] INT NOT NULL,
[Ayat_Description] NVARCHAR (MAX) COLLATE Arabic_CI_AI_KS_WS NOT NULL,
[Ayat_No] INT NULL,
[Book_ID] INT NULL DEFAULT 1,
PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([Ayat_Translation_Language_ID] ASC),
CONSTRAINT [fkey2] FOREIGN KEY ([Translation_Laanguage_ID]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Translation_Language] ([TransLation_Language_ID]) ON DELETE CASCADE ON UPDATE CASCADE,
CONSTRAINT [fkey1] FOREIGN KEY ([Surah_ID]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Surah] ([Surah_ID]) ON DELETE CASCADE ON UPDATE CASCADE,
CONSTRAINT [fkey0] FOREIGN KEY ([Juz_ID]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Juz] ([Juz_ID])
);
New field is added to table but it contains Null. any help!

Answer 1

This behavior depends on the way you insert data. If you explicitly insert NULL into the column, it will take NULL, not the default. Omit the Book_ID column out totally during an insert if you want it to take on the default (or, you can also use the keyword DEFAULT as a placeholder).
e.g. This will still insert NULL:
INSERT INTO [dbo].[Ayyat_Translation_Language_old_20131209]
(
[Ayat_Translation_Language_ID], ,
[Translation_Laanguage_ID] ,
[Juz_ID] ,
[Surah_ID] ,
[Ayat_Description] ,
[Ayat_No] ,
[Book_ID]
)
VALUES (1, 2, 3, 4, 'Foo', 5, NULL);
Whereas this will assume the default:
INSERT INTO [dbo].[Ayyat_Translation_Language_old_20131209]
(
[Ayat_Translation_Language_ID], ,
[Translation_Laanguage_ID] ,
[Juz_ID] ,
[Surah_ID] ,
[Ayat_Description] ,
[Ayat_No]
-- BOOK_ID is omitted, or use DEFAULT
)
VALUES (1, 2, 3, 4, 'Foo', 5);

Answer 2

You need to now alter the table to not accept NULL for Book_ID
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Ayyat_Translation_Language_old_20131209]
ALTER COLUMN [Book_ID] INT NOT NULL DEFAULT 1
If that gives errors, you may need to update the existing records first:
UPDATE [dbo].[Ayyat_Translation_Language_old_20131209]
SET [Book_ID] = 1