If you’re running a subquery in SQL Server, but you’re getting error 102 that reads something like “Incorrect syntax near ‘;’“, there could be any number of reasons, because this is a generic error that simply means wrong syntax.
But one possible cause could be that you haven’t declared an alias for the subquery.
Continue readingIf you’re getting an error when specifying LAST or PREV for MySQL’s HANDLER statement, it could be that you’re trying to do a table scan using the index syntax.
While the HANDLER statement does accept the LAST and PREV options, we can only use them with an index.
So to fix this issue, be sure to specify an index when using the LAST and PREV options.
If you’re getting MySQL error 1064 which reads something like “1064 (42000): You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ‘READ FIRST’ at line 1” when using the HANDLER statement in MySQL, it could be that you’re qualifying the table with the database name when trying to read from or close a table.
If you’re getting an error that reads “Ambiguous column name“, followed by a column name, in SQL Server, it could be that you’re performing a join on two tables, but you’re not using the table names or aliases when referring to columns within those tables.
To fix this issue, be sure to qualify the columns with their table names or aliases.
Continue readingIf you’re getting an error that reads “An aggregate may not appear in the OUTPUT clause” in SQL Server, it appears that you’re using an aggregate function in the OUTPUT clause.
Aggregate functions are not allowed in the OUTPUT clause.
To fix this issue, remove any aggregate functions from the OUTPUT clause and try applying them to a table or table variable.
If you’re getting an error that reads something like “Cannot insert the value NULL into column ‘CatId’, table ‘demo.dbo.Cats’; column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails” in SQL Server, it’s because you’re trying to insert a NULL value into non-nullable column (i.e. a column with a NOT NULL constraint).
We can’t insert NULL values into non-nullable columns.
To fix this issue, insert a non-NULL value.
Continue readingIf you’re getting an error that reads something like “No column name was specified for column 2 of ‘SalaryTotals’” in SQL Server, it could be that you’re running a subquery or CTE, but you’re not providing a column name for an aggregate function, or for the XML or JSON result of the CTE.
To fix this issue, use an alias to define a column name for all aggregate functions and XML/JSON outputs in the subquery or CTE. Or if it’s a CTE, you can specify the column name using the CTE syntax.
Continue readingIf you’re getting an error that reads “Invalid column name ‘$action’” in SQL Server, it could be that you’re using the $action argument of the OUTPUT clause for an operation that doesn’t support this argument.
Or it could be that the operation does support the argument, but you’re referencing it with the wrong syntax.
The $action argument can only be used with MERGE operations, and it must be done correctly.
To fix this issue, be sure to only use the $action argument in MERGE operations and to reference it with the correct syntax.
If you’re getting SQL Server error 2715, which reads something like “Column, parameter, or variable #1: Cannot find data type SERIAL“, it appears that you’re trying to define a column to have a data type that’s not supported in SQL Server.
To fix this issue, be sure to use a supported data type for all columns.
Continue readingIf you’re getting SQL Server error 10713 that reads “A MERGE statement must be terminated by a semi-colon (;)“, it’s because you’re running a MERGE statement without terminating it with a semi-colon.
The MERGE statement requires a semi-colon at the end of it in order to correctly terminate the statement.
To fix this issue, put a semi-colon at the end of your MERGE statement.