In SQL Server, ON DELETE NO ACTION is an option that we can apply to foreign key constraints to prevent the deletion of a row in the parent table if there are related rows in the child table.
Unlike ON DELETE CASCADE, which would delete the related rows in the child table, NO ACTION enforces that if a deletion would result in orphaned records in the child table, the deletion operation is prohibited, and an error is raised.
If you’re getting SQL Server error 7999 that reads something like “Could not find any index named ‘IX_LastName’ for table ‘Employees’“, it appears that you’re trying to create an index with the DROP_EXISTING argument ON, but there is no existing index of that name.
When we set the DROP_EXISTING argument to ON, SQL Server tries to look for the index to drop before it recreates it with the new definition. If it doesn’t exist, then we get the error.
You may have seen the term “RID lookup” when reading about heap tables, or perhaps when viewing the query plan for a query against a heap in SQL Server.
But what exactly is a RID lookup? And what exactly is a RID?
Let’s find out.
Continue readingIf you’re getting an error in SQL Server that reads “Incorrect syntax near the keyword ‘Order’“, it could be because you’re using the word Order (or another reserved keyword) in your SQL code.
The 156 error itself merely indicates a syntax error, so there could be a multitude of reasons you might be getting this error. But when it refers to the keyword 'Order', this could suggest that you’re trying to use the word Order as an identifier (such as a column name, table name, etc).
In SQL Server (and relational databases in general), a foreign key is a field (or collection of fields) in one table that uniquely identifies a row of another table.
This relationship is a cornerstone of relational database design, ensuring referential integrity between the related tables. When designing databases, it’s crucial to understand how changes to primary keys in parent tables can affect the foreign keys in child tables.
One of the various options available in SQL Server for handling such changes is the ON UPDATE SET NULL action.
If you’re getting an error that reads something like “Incorrect syntax near the keyword ‘ON’“, it appears that you’re trying to recreate an existing index, but you’re using the wrong syntax for the DROP_EXISTING argument.
The same error occurs when using the wrong syntax to set DROP_EXISTING to OFF; “Incorrect syntax near the keyword ‘OFF’“.
Either way, to fix this issue, be sure to use the right syntax.
Continue readingIf you’re getting SQL Server error 4145 that goes something like “An expression of non-boolean type specified in a context where a condition is expected…“, it’s probably because you’re using a boolean-like syntax in the wrong context.
This error occurs when a non-boolean expression is used in a context where a condition (i.e., something that evaluates to true or false) is expected. This often happens in IF statements, CASE expressions, or WHERE clauses when a value that isn’t a boolean is mistakenly used as a condition.
Even when we do use a boolean value, we can still get this error if we use it in the wrong context.
Continue readingIf you’re getting SQL Server error 107 that goes something like “The column prefix ‘e’ does not match with a table name or alias name used in the query“, look at your column prefix.
This error occurs when we use the asterisk wildcard (*) that’s incorrectly qualified with a column prefix. The prefix, if provided, must match a table name or alias name. If you’re using a table alias, then you must use that instead of the table name.
If you’re getting SQL Server error 547 that reads something like “The DELETE statement conflicted with the REFERENCE constraint “FK_Projects_DepartmentID”. The conflict occurred in database “test”, table “dbo.Projects”, column ‘DepartmentID’“, you’re probably trying to delete data from a parent table of a foreign key relationship.
Continue readingIn SQL Server, foreign keys are essential for maintaining referential integrity between tables. When setting up a foreign key, we have various options for handling actions when the referenced data is deleted. One of these options is ON DELETE SET DEFAULT.
This feature can be particularly useful in scenarios where it’s important to maintain the relationship while ensuring that the foreign key column doesn’t end up with invalid or null values.
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