I am adding a new GUID/Uniqueidentifier column to my table.
ALTER TABLE table_name
ADD VersionNumber UNIQUEIDENTIFIER UNIQUE NOT NULL DEFAULT NEWSEQUENTIALID()
GO
And when ever a record is updated in the table, I would want to update this column "VersionNumber". So I create a new trigger
CREATE TRIGGER [DBO].[TR_TABLE_NAMWE]
ON [DBO].[TABLE_NAME]
AFTER UPDATE
AS
BEGIN
UPDATE TABLE_NAME
SET VERSIONNUMBER=NEWSEQUENTIALID()
FROM TABLE_NAME D
JOIN INSERTED I ON D.ID=I.ID/* some ID which is used to join*/
END
GO
But just realized that NEWSEQUENTIALID() can only be used with CREATE TABLE or ALTER TABLE. I got this error
The newsequentialid() built-in function can only be used in a DEFAULT expression for a column of type 'uniqueidentifier' in a CREATE TABLE or ALTER TABLE statement. It cannot be combined with other operators to form a complex scalar expression.
Is there a workaround for this ?
Edit1: Changing NEWSEQUENTIALID() to NEWID() in the trigger solves this, but I am indexing this column and using NEWID() would be sub-optimal
As you say its only available under certain conditions, you could do something nasty like:
DECLARE #T TABLE (G UNIQUEIDENTIFIER DEFAULT NEWSEQUENTIALID())
INSERT #T OUTPUT INSERTED.G VALUES (DEFAULT)
Does it have to be a GUID? if you use a rowversion you get the same functionality without needing a trigger as well as better indexing performance.
Related
I need to create a new DATETIME column in SQL Server that will always contain the date of when the record was created, and then it needs to automatically update whenever the record is modified. I've heard people say I need a trigger, which is fine, but I don't know how to write it. Could somebody help with the syntax for a trigger to accomplish this?
In MySQL terms, it should do exactly the same as this MySQL statement:
ADD `modstamp` timestamp NULL
DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP on update CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
Here are a few requirements:
I can't alter my UPDATE statements to set the field when the row is modified, because I don't control the application logic that writes to the records.
Ideally, I would not need to know the names of any other columns in the table (such as the primary key)
It should be short and efficient, because it will happen very often.
SQL Server doesn't have a way to define a default value for UPDATE.
So you need to add a column with default value for inserting:
ADD modstamp DATETIME2 NULL DEFAULT GETDATE()
And add a trigger on that table:
CREATE TRIGGER tgr_modstamp
ON **TABLENAME**
AFTER UPDATE AS
UPDATE **TABLENAME**
SET ModStamp = GETDATE()
WHERE **ID** IN (SELECT DISTINCT **ID** FROM Inserted)
And yes, you need to specify a identity column for each trigger.
CAUTION: take care when inserting columns on tables where you don't know the code of the application. If your app have INSERT VALUES command without column definition, it will raise errors even with default value on new columns.
This is possible since SQL Server 2016 by using PERIOD FOR SYSTEM_TIME.
This is something that was introduced for temporal tables but you don't have to use temporal tables to use this.
An example is below
CREATE TABLE dbo.YourTable
(
FooId INT PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED,
FooName VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
modstamp DATETIME2 GENERATED ALWAYS AS ROW START NOT NULL,
MaxDateTime2 DATETIME2 GENERATED ALWAYS AS ROW END HIDDEN NOT NULL,
PERIOD FOR SYSTEM_TIME (modstamp,MaxDateTime2)
)
INSERT INTO dbo.YourTable (FooId, FooName)
VALUES (1,'abc');
SELECT *
FROM dbo.YourTable;
WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:05'
UPDATE dbo.YourTable
SET FooName = 'xyz'
WHERE FooId = 1;
SELECT *
FROM dbo.YourTable;
DROP TABLE dbo.YourTable;
It has some limitations.
The time stored will be updated by the system and always be UTC.
There is a need to declare a second column (MaxDateTime2 above) that is completely superfluous for this use case. But it can be marked as hidden making it easier to ignore.
Okay, I always like to keep track of not only when something happened but who did it!
Lets create a test table in [tempdb] named [dwarfs]. At a prior job, a financial institution, we keep track of inserted (create) date and updated (modify) date.
-- just playing
use tempdb;
go
-- drop table
if object_id('dwarfs') > 0
drop table dwarfs
go
-- create table
create table dwarfs
(
asigned_id int identity(1,1),
full_name varchar(16),
ins_date datetime,
ins_name sysname,
upd_date datetime,
upd_name sysname,
);
go
-- insert/update dates
alter table dwarfs
add constraint [df_ins_date] default (getdate()) for ins_date;
alter table dwarfs
add constraint [df_upd_date] default (getdate()) for upd_date;
-- insert/update names
alter table dwarfs
add constraint [df_ins_name] default (coalesce(suser_sname(),'?')) for ins_name;
alter table dwarfs
add constraint [df_upd_name] default (coalesce(suser_sname(),'?')) for upd_name;
go
For updates, but the inserted and deleted tables exist. I choose to join on the inserted for the update.
-- create the update trigger
create trigger trg_changed_info on dbo.dwarfs
for update
as
begin
-- nothing to do?
if (##rowcount = 0)
return;
update d
set
upd_date = getdate(),
upd_name = (coalesce(suser_sname(),'?'))
from
dwarfs d join inserted i
on
d.asigned_id = i.asigned_id;
end
go
Last but not least, lets test the code. Anyone can type a untested TSQL statement in. However, I always stress testing to my team!
-- remove data
truncate table dwarfs;
go
-- add data
insert into dwarfs (full_name) values
('bilbo baggins'),
('gandalf the grey');
go
-- show the data
select * from dwarfs;
-- update data
update dwarfs
set full_name = 'gandalf'
where asigned_id = 2;
-- show the data
select * from dwarfs;
The output. I only waited 10 seconds between the insert and the delete. Nice thing is that who and when are both captured.
Create trigger tr_somename
On table_name
For update
As
Begin
Set nocount on;
Update t
Set t.field_name = getdate()
From table_name t inner join inserted I
On t.pk_column = I.pk_column
End
ALTER TRIGGER [trg_table_name_Modified]
ON [table_name]
AFTER UPDATE
AS
Begin
UPDATE table_name
SET modified_dt_tm = GETDATE() -- or use SYSDATETIME() for 2008 and newer
FROM Inserted i
WHERE i.ID = table_name.id
end
I'm working with my first database and already have a problem. I have several tables. Some of them have PK set to autoincrement, others have nvarchar() type.
I have created trigger, which update or insert value into cell. This trigger works when I manually insert value for PF, in my case for nvarchar() values. It is not working for PK, where is set to autoincrement - int. I need help to create trigger which will work for that typs.
Example of trigger:
ALTER TRIGGER [dbo].[Table_Name_trigger_update]
ON [dbo].[Table_Name]
AFTER UPDATE
AS
BEGIN
UPDATE Table_Name
SET
changed_date = getdate()
, changed_user = CURRENT_USER
FROM inserted AS ij
WHERE ij.ID_name = Table_Name.ID_name
RETURN
END
So as I write earlier, this work on nvarchar(), where I manually insert PK. In that case trigger update the getdate() and CURRENT_USER value in table.
You don't need this trigger actually.
Try to replace it with these Default Constraints:
ALTER TABLE Table_Name ADD DEFAULT (getdate()) FOR changed_date
GO
ALTER TABLE Table_Name ADD DEFAULT (CURRENT_USER) FOR changed_user
GO
You can solve this without a trigger as #GriGrim already stated. But i would suggest another solution:
ALTER TABLE Table_Name ADD DEFAULT (getdate()) FOR changed_date
GO
ALTER TABLE Table_Name ADD DEFAULT (SUSER_SNAME()) FOR changed_user
GO
You can compare the results using this:
SELECT CURRENT_USER, SUSER_SNAME()
CURRENT_USER tends to return dbo not the real username.
I have a table [Product] with a column [CreateTime] datetime null, and is has some data already.
How can I set the column [CreateTime] 's default value to getdate(), and make the new added data to have a default value getdate() for column [CreateTime].
You cannot change a default - you will need to first drop it, and then recreate it.
In order to drop it, you need to know its name, and then use
ALTER TABLE dbo.Product
DROP CONSTRAINT yourOldDefaultConstraint
Once you've done that, you can add a new default constraint, and in order to apply it to existing rows, use the "WITH VALUES" part:
ALTER TABLE dbo.Product
ADD CONSTRAINT NewDefaultConstraintName
DEFAULT GetDate() FOR CreateTime WITH VALUES
Oops - sorry, the "WITH VALUES" only seems to work if you create a DEFAULT constraint at the time you create the table, or if you add the column - it doesn't seem to get applied to an existing column.
In this case you would just have to follow your ALTER TABLE statement with something like this:
UPDATE dbo.T_Product
SET CreateTime = GETDATE()
WHERE CreateTime IS NULL
That should do the trick, too!
Marc
I have a table that has several nullable integer columns. This is undesirable for several reasons, so I am looking to update all nulls to 0 and then set these columns to NOT NULL. Aside from changing nulls to 0, data must be preserved.
I am looking for the specific SQL syntax to alter a column (call it ColumnA) to "not null". Assume the data has been updated to not contain nulls.
Using SQL server 2000.
First, make all current NULL values disappear:
UPDATE [Table] SET [Column]=0 WHERE [Column] IS NULL
Then, update the table definition to disallow "NULLs":
ALTER TABLE [Table] ALTER COLUMN [Column] INTEGER NOT NULL
I had the same problem, but the field used to default to null, and now I want to default it to 0. That required adding one more line after mdb's solution:
ALTER TABLE [Table] ADD CONSTRAINT [Constraint] DEFAULT 0 FOR [Column];
You will have to do it in two steps:
Update the table so that there are no nulls in the column.
UPDATE MyTable SET MyNullableColumn = 0
WHERE MyNullableColumn IS NULL
Alter the table to change the property of the column
ALTER TABLE MyTable
ALTER COLUMN MyNullableColumn MyNullableColumnDatatype NOT NULL
For Oracle 11g, I was able to change the column attribute as follows:
ALTER TABLE tablename MODIFY columnname datatype NOT NULL;
Otherwise abatichev's answer seemed good. You can't repeat the alter - it complains (at least in SQL Developer) that the column is already not null.
this worked for me:
ALTER TABLE [Table]
Alter COLUMN [Column] VARCHAR(50) not null;
As long as the column is not a unique identifier
UPDATE table set columnName = 0 where columnName is null
Then
Alter the table and set the field to non null and specify a default value of 0
In case of FOREIGN KEY CONSTRAINT... there will be a problem if '0' is not present in the column of Primary key table. The solution for that is...
STEP1:
Disable all the constraints using this code :
EXEC sp_msforeachtable "ALTER TABLE ? NOCHECK CONSTRAINT all"
STEP2:
RUN UPDATE COMMAND (as mentioned in above comments)
RUN ALTER COMMAND (as mentioned in above comments)
STEP3:
Enable all the constraints using this code :
exec sp_msforeachtable #command1="print '?'", #command2="ALTER TABLE ? WITH CHECK CHECK CONSTRAINT all"
this seems simpler, but only works on Oracle:
ALTER TABLE [Table]
ALTER [Column] NUMBER DEFAULT 0 NOT NULL;
in addition, with this, you can also add columns, not just alter it.
It updates to the default value (0) in this example, if the value was null.
In my case I had difficulties with the posted answers. I ended up using the following:
ALTER TABLE table_name CHANGE COLUMN column_name column_name VARCHAR(200) NOT NULL DEFAULT '';
Change VARCHAR(200) to your datatype, and optionally change the default value.
If you don't have a default value you're going to have a problem making this change, as default would be null creating a conflict.
Making column not null and adding default can also be done in the SSMS GUI.
As others have already stated, you can't set "not null" until all
the existing data is "not null" like so:
UPDATE myTable SET myColumn = 0
Once that's done, with the table in design view (right click on
table and click "design view"), you can just uncheck the Allow
Nulls columns like so:
Still in design view with the column selected, you can see the
Column Properties in the window below and set the default to 0 in there as well like so:
Let's take an example:
TABLE NAME=EMPLOYEE
And I want to change the column EMPLOYEE_NAME to NOT NULL. This query can be used for the task:
ALTER TABLE EMPLOYEE MODIFY EMPLOYEE.EMPLOYEE_NAME datatype NOT NULL;
For the inbuilt javaDB included in the JDK (Oracle's supported distribution of the Apache Derby) the below worked for me
alter table [table name] alter column [column name] not null;
You can change the definition of existing DB column using following sql.
ALTER TABLE mytable modify mycolumn datatype NOT NULL;
First make sure the column that your changing to not does not have null values
select count(*) from table where column's_name is null
Impute the missing values. you can replace the nulls with empty string or 0 or an average or median value or an interpolated value. It depends on your back fill strategy or forward fill strategy.
Decide if the column values need to be unique or non-unique. if they need to be unique than add an unique constraint. Otherwise, see if performance is adequate or if you need to add an index.
In SQL Server 2000/2005,
Is it possible to force the default value to be written to already existing rows when adding a new column to a table without using NOT NULL on the new column?
You need two statements. First create the column with not null. Then change the not null constraint to nullable
alter table mytable add mycolumn varchar(10) not null default ('a value')
alter table mytable alter column mycolumn varchar(10) null
I understand your question, but you are saying that for future records, NULL (unknown, indeterminate or whatever your semantics are) is acceptable (but if it is left off in an insert, there will be a default), but that for all the existing data, you are going to go ahead and assign it the default.
I would have to look hard at this situation and ask why you are even going to allow NULLs in future records at all - given none of the historical records will have it, and there is a default in place for future records.
I doubt it.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190273(SQL.90).aspx
The approach recommended by Microsoft is as follows (taken from the url above)
UPDATE MyTable SET NullCol = N'some_value' WHERE NullCol IS NULL
ALTER TABLE MyTable ALTER COLUMN NullCOl NVARCHAR(20) NOT NULL
ALTER TABLE {TABLENAME}
ADD {COLUMNNAME} {TYPE} {NULL|NOT NULL}
CONSTRAINT {CONSTRAINT_NAME} DEFAULT {DEFAULT_VALUE}
[**WITH VALUES]**
WITH VALUES can be used to store the default value in the new column for each existing row in the table.
more detail on MSDN link .
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-in/library/ms190273.aspx