I'm implementing some database formatting and I need that values within
a column have certain limits ... let's say for example, they shouldn't
be <0 or >10000, but in the case I'm inserting values bigger then 10000
I would like that MSSQL "clip" this value to the upper limit (10000 in
this case) and the same with the lower limit (zero in this case).
Is that possible? or SQL just respond me with an error when the values
go beyond those limits and will abort the transaction?
Can someone put some light on this please???
I know this is probably a flick of a switch but I cannot figure out which switch. Setup is SQL Server / Stored Procedures / DAL / BLL(skipped for testing) / PL. The stored procedure queries from only one table and two columns are ignored because they are being phased out. I can run the stored procedure and preview the data in the DAL but when I create a page with an ODS linked to the DAL and a GridView I get this error. I checked every column that does not allow nulls and they all have values. I checked unique columns (ID is the only unique and is Identity=Yes in the table definition). I checked foreign-key columns for values that are not in the foreign table and there are none. Any ideas why do I get this? Failed to enable constraints. One or more rows contain values violating non-null, unique, or foreign-key constraints.
Hi, I am getting the above error when trying to load a report into my Web Application, I have tracked the error down to one specific field in my database. Even though this field is a NVarChar field and is of size 30 it would seem that there is an issue returning the value from the field. I can write it into the database no problems but when I try to get it out of the database it returns the above error. e.g MOB 401.908.804 - Fails 0401.907.324 - okay 8239 9082 (pager) - fails Anyone got an idea on how to fix this???? Regards.. Peter.
The following SQL is lifted from one of the Reporting Services / Adventureworks2000 sample reports. I'm a little slow / baffled on how the inner joins are working? Specifically the Inner Join Locale and Inner Join ProductModel. I'm used to seeing Inner Join SomTable On Something = Somthing but how these joins are working is lost on me. Can someone give a quick overview (or point me to a reference) so I can better understand.
Thanks!
SELECT ProductSubCategory.Name AS ProdSubCat, ProductModel.Name AS ProdModel, ProductCategory.Name AS ProdCat, ProductDescription.Description, ProductPhoto.LargePhoto, Product.Name AS ProdName, Product.ProductNumber, Product.Color, Product.Size, Product.Weight, Product.DealerPrice, Product.Style, Product.Class, Product.ListPrice FROM ProductSubCategory INNER JOIN Locale INNER JOIN ProductDescriptionXLocale ON Locale.LocaleID = ProductDescriptionXLocale.LocaleID INNER JOIN ProductDescription ON ProductDescriptionXLocale.ProductDescriptionID = ProductDescription.ProductDescriptionID INNER JOIN ProductModel INNER JOIN Product ON ProductModel.ProductModelID = Product.ProductModelID INNER JOIN ProductModelXProductDescriptionXLocale ON ProductModel.ProductModelID = ProductModelXProductDescriptionXLocale.ProductModelID ON ProductDescriptionXLocale.LocaleID = ProductModelXProductDescriptionXLocale.LocaleID AND ProductDescriptionXLocale.ProductDescriptionID = ProductModelXProductDescriptionXLocale.ProductDescriptionID ON ProductSubCategory.ProductSubCategoryID = Product.ProductSubCategoryID INNER JOIN ProductCategory ON ProductSubCategory.ProductCategoryID = ProductCategory.ProductCategoryID LEFT OUTER JOIN ProductPhoto ON Product.ProductPhotoID = ProductPhoto.ProductPhotoID WHERE (Locale.LocaleID = 'EN')
I'm trying to get the following poll working:http://www.codeproject.com/useritems/Site_Poll_Control.aspIt looks like it's exactly what I was looking for, but it doesn't come with much in the way of instructions. I have the following function: Public Function CastVote(ByVal PollId As Integer, ByVal Answer As Integer, ByVal MemberId As Integer) As Boolean Dim cmd As New SqlCommand("InsertPollResult", New SqlConnection(Connection)) With cmd.Parameters .AddWithValue("@PollId", PollId) .AddWithValue("@PollChoice", Answer) .AddWithValue("@MemberId", MemberId) End With Return (SqlExecuteInsertSp(cmd) > 0) End Function This calls SqlExecuteInsertSp(cmd) which is:Public Function SqlExecuteInsertSp(ByVal cmd As SqlCommand) As Integer Dim i As Integer cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure Try cmd.Connection.Open() i = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery() Catch ex As Exception ErrorMessage = "ProDBObject.SqlExecuteInsertSp(SqlCommand): " & ex.Message.ToString Finally cmd.Connection.Close() End Try Return i End Function I can't figure out what this is doing. The best I can figure is it determines if we have a good connection. Is this right? In my code CastVote keeps returning false, and I don't know why. The answer seems to be in the i = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery() line, but I can't figure out what that line is supposed to be doing.Diane
Hi Guys, I have written quite a big stored procedure which creates a temporary table (multi-session) and updates it. All the statements are encapsulated in a single transaction which is explicitly declared in the code. What happens is that a lock is being put by the server on that table (of type Sch-M) in order thus preventing any type of operations on it (including simple select)
Now, I want to be able read that table from within another transaction. Why is that I cannot use a table hint NOLOCK in the select statement?
Here is some code which reproduces my problem.
Query A:
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL READ UNCOMMITTED;
BEGIN TRAN TR_DEMO;
CREATE TABLE ##TBL1( Oidx int not null primary key identity(1,1), Name nvarchar(30) not null, Type char(1) not null );
My question is in what situations @@ERROR will be set...
I like to do some logic when some error is occured in a particular statement....
the doc. says the @@ERROR value will be set if an error occurs in a statement, and the control will move to the next statement without exiting(???) the procedure and @@ERROR value can be used in that statement.
but when i execute the below procedure, the execution is terminated ( when the error occurs) without moving to the next statement. please help me to understand the SQL Server's @@ERROR and the situations when it will be set....
----------------------------------------------------------------------- CREATE PROCEDURE VALUE_ERROR_TEST AS BEGIN DECLARE @adv_error INT DECLARE @errno INT DECLARE @var int SELECT @var = '101 a' SELECT @errno = @@ERROR print @errno END go ----------------------------------------------------------------------- procedure get successfully compiled. when executed it says,
Server: Msg 245, Level 16, State 1, Procedure VALUE_ERROR_TEST, Line 10 Syntax error converting the varchar value '101 a' to a column of data type int.
Please consider the following example.CREATE TABLE test (an_ndx int NOT NULL primary key identity(1,1),a_var varchar(48) NOT NULL,last_edit_timestamp datetime NOT NULL default CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);CREATE TABLE test_history (an_ndx int NOT NULL,a_var varchar(48) NOT NULL,last_edit_timestamp datetime NOT NULL,current_edit_timestamp datetime NOT NULL default CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);GOCREATE TRIGGER update_history ON test FOR UPDATEASBEGININSERT INTO test_history (an_ndx, a_var, last_edit_timestamp)SELECT * FROM deleted;UPDATE inserted SET last_edit_timestamp = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP;END;The question is, does this do what I think it should do? What Iintended: An insert into test results in default values for an_ndx andlast_edit_timestamp. An update to test results in the original row(s)being copied to test_history, with a default value forcurrent_edit_timestamp, and the value of last_edit_timestamp beingupdated to the current timestamp. Each record in test_history shouldhave the valid time interval (last_edit_timestamp tocurrent_edit_timestamp) for each value a_var has had for the "object"or "record" identified by an_ndx.If not, what change(s) are needed to make it do what I want it to do?Will the trigger I defined above behave properly (i.e. as I intended)if more than one record needs to be updated?ThanksTed
I am using SQL Server Express and Visual Studio 2005. I am new to batches and am trying to understand how they work. I am trying to write a query that creates an assembly and the functions that are contained in it. Here is my query:
USE ProductsDRM GO
IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 'True' FROM sys.assemblies WHERE name = 'ComputedColumnFunctions') BEGIN CREATE ASSEMBLY ComputedColumnFunctions FROM 'C:WebsitesAssemblyTestStoredFunctionsStoredFunctionsinStoredFunctions.dll' GO
CREATE FUNCTION fImageFileName ( @ProductID int, @ImageSizeCode nvarchar(4000) ) RETURNS nvarchar(4000) AS EXTERNAL NAME [ComputedColumnFunctions].[StoredFunctions.UserDefinedFunctions].ImageFileName GO
CREATE FUNCTION fTestInt ( @ProductID int ) RETURNS int AS EXTERNAL NAME [ComputedColumnFunctions].[StoredFunctions.UserDefinedFunctions].TestInt GO
CREATE FUNCTION fTestInt2 ( @TestInt int ) RETURNS int AS EXTERNAL NAME [ComputedColumnFunctions].[StoredFunctions.UserDefinedFunctions].TestInt2 END ELSE BEGIN PRINT 'The assembly named "ComputedColumnFunctions" already exists. No new assembly was created.' END
GO
I read in a book about SQL Server 2005 about including a test for whether the object (such as assembly in this case) exists before trying to create it. If I only include the CREATE ASSEMBLY statement and the FROM line below it and delete the next GO down through the last CREATE FUNCTION (just before the END ELSE), it works fine. If I leave it as is, I get a runtime error on the GO line just after the CREATE ASSEMBLY statement. What am I doing wrong?
I have a situation where I need to distribute a db to 'subscribers' for use during network, and preferred application downtime. Currently, we do this by employing MS-Access. We update our db on the 'subscriber' by sending a text file with the new data using FTP.
When the 'subscriber' opens their local copy of the Access db application, a macro fires off to check for any new file in the ftproot folder, and if one is detect that is newer than the last update, it truncates the existing table, and imports the text file using a predefined import specification format. The process works well enough as is. However, we were hoping to move beyond our dependency on MS-Access for a variety of reasons, so we are looking at developing windows forms apps using the new Asp.Net v2.0 technology and Sql2005 and SqlExpress.
I need some clarification on how replication works. Does it allow a 'snapshot' db to be created on a subscriber that can be used when the network is down? If not do we have alternatives? For example, I guess we could export/import to the subscriber in some manner.
Hope I've made the case clear enough for some responses. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and help. :)
Please forgive the basic-ness of my question, but I have only been using DTS and SSIS for 2 weeks now.
What I'd like to know is, is my understanding of SSIS package development correct.
In SQL Server 2005, I use BIDS to develop my SSIS packages. During development, I simply store my project on the local C drive.
However, once I am finished writing and testing my projects, I move them to SQL Server, using SAVE COPY AS... (for now, I only using one server for both development and production)
Then, anytime I need to change or modify the package, I change the local file system copy of the package, then do another COPY AS... to SQL Server.
That is, once the package is on SQL Server, if you need to change it, you can only do so through BIDS, correct?
I just want to know if I'm on the right track here.
I just learned some basic FTP commands for the first time and was able to transfer over some files from one machine to another. Now I'm trying to to this using the FTP Task.
First of all, I understand that the destination machine has to be set up with something called an FTP Site. And I noticed that when I do a "cd" command in my FTP session, I have visibility only to those directories that are set up as an FTP Site.
Ok, onto the FTP Task. First I created and test connected my FTP Connection Manager. Next, I went into the FTP Task Editor, and I'm in the File Transfer page. Looking at the properties, I guess, this is where I tell what file to move where.
So, in IsRemotePathVariable, I selected "False". When I did this, I was expecting to be able to navigate the various FTP Sites I have set up on my destination computer. However, when I click on RemotePath, I only see "/" (Root). Was I wrong to expect to see the FPT Sites here? What am I doing wrong?
Hi, I'm fairly new to coding with ADO in C++. My previous experience with it was in VB 6.0 and VB.NET. I'm having difficultly deciphering HRESULTs that come back from it when an error occurs. Up until this point I was using,
DXGetErrorString9(), and DXGetErrorDescription9() to interpret any HRESULT that got sent back to my program, but now that I'm using ADO they always return "Unknown".
Is there a Microsoft provided group of functions that help programmers to better understand ADO's HRESULTs?
Can someone help me to understand a stored procedure I am learning about? At line 12 below, the code is calling a function named"ttg_sfGroupsByPartyId" I ran the function manually and it returns several rows/records from the query. So I am wondering? does a call to the function return a temporary table? And if so, is the temporary table named PartyId? If so, the logic seems strange to me because earlier they are using the name PartyId as a variable name that is passed in.
1 ALTER PROCEDURE [dbo].[GetPortalSettings]2 (3 @PartyId uniqueidentifier,45 AS6 SET NOCOUNT ON7 CREATE TABLE #Groups8 (PartyId uniqueidentifier)910 /* Cache list of groups user belongs in */11 INSERT INTO #Groups (PartyId)12 SELECT PartyId FROM ttg_sfGroupsByPartyId(@PartyId)
I've couple of questions about Sql Server 2000 and would greatly appreciate, If somebody out there, please answer to it.
Questions:
I've a SQL 7 server dump file and I was wondering, If I can directly load this file into SQL Server 2000? If yes, Would this call a Upgrade of sql 7.0 database to SQl Server 2000? Or this is just a backward compatability support in 2000?
Well the main objective of this is, We are planning to upgrade one of our production SQL 7.0 server and I was wondering, If we can just take the SQL 7.0 dump file and load it into the SQL 2000 Server? If yes, What are the downgrades of this and if no, Should we upgrade the sql 7.0 server itself and along with it all the databases sitting on it? Please shed some light here.
Finally figuring out that I can't use Express, I need to temporarily have my own SQL Server 2000 db server running. Hopefully just a couple of months, but who knows how long it'll take to convert over to MySQL.
Anyway, I need this db server to be on one machine. One web server will be accessing it (for one db).
What type of license do I need? Is it really the massively-priced per processor type? Or can I use another?
Yesterday I was working to try to resolve a issue with not Using a cursor for a unique type of update.
TG was able to resolve my issue using this query
Declare @Stage Table(StartDate datetime,BenefitInterestID INT PRIMARY KEY Clustered, Amount MONEY, InterestAmount MONEY, Interest DECIMAL(10, 4), ai DECIMAL(10, 4)) Insert Into @Stage(StartDate ,BenefitInterestID, Amount, InterestAmount, Interest , ai ) Select convert(datetime,'2006-12-01 00:00:00.000',101) as StartDate,1 as BenefitInterestID,1701.00 as amount,79.605 as InterestAmount ,0.1000 as Interest,0.0000 as ai Union all select '2007-12-01 00:00:00.000',2,172.80,7.92,0.0500,0 Union all select '2008-12-01 00:00:00.000',4,0.00,0.00,0.0700,0 Union all select '2009-12-01 00:00:00.000',5,0.00,0.00,0.0900,0 Union all select '2010-12-01 00:00:00.000',6,0.00,0.00,0.0200,0
update s set @ai = ai = s.interest * (isNull(@aiTot,0) + @a + @ia) ,@a = isNull(@a, 0) + s.amount ,@ia = isNull(@ia, 0) + s.interestamount ,@aiTot = isNull(@aiTot, 0) + @ai from @stage s
TG pointed out that although this query should always work, there is a underlying issue in this type of update method, due to it is dependent on the order in which sql updates (Currently the clustered index is the only way I know of to secure the order is in tact).
Although it is unlikely, TG pointed out that do to this inherent flaw in the methodology, if future releases of SQL were to be modified to improve performance in updates, this method COULD possibly not work, and there is no 100% guarentee that the index would be used.
My questions are
1. Is there any way to Ensure that the style of update I am using uses the clustered index (i.e. "from @stage s WITH (INDEX = ...)") but I do not know the ID of the index since it is a TMP table?
2. Force the order of the update to be the order of the index (Just because there is a index, that doesn't ensure that a future release of sql will reference the index from top to bottom (I know this is unlikely, but I still would like to know if there was a way to ensure the update did always occur from top to bottom of the index).
#1 Anyone seen any good BLOGs on building solutions and what occurs? BOL is pretty thin in this area. Does it just spin through all the projects in the solution, validate them, copy the packages to their respective in folder, and add them to the manifest?
When your report datasource is a cube, MDX is generated when you use the design view. In the MDX editor the generated MDX can be viewed. Using parameters I always get a where clause with code like the following:
I like to understand what is generated. Is there something I can read on the generated WHERE clause (I do understand the generated SELECT and FROM clauses)? Or can someone shed a light on it?
Why does the MDX need to branch on 'Count = 1' In what way does the result slice my data when Count = 1 or when Count <> 1?
I went thru the online tutorial, but I was not able to finish "Deploying Packages Tutorial" because for some reason the sample packages they had use in the tutorial came up with errors when I added them to my project.
EDIT: See the following post for the trouble I ran into using the sample tutorial. http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=3145471&SiteID=1&mode=1
But I read thru the rest and I was able to get the gist of it and I did a simple example on my own.
And here are some questions.
In my example, I have one package that does a simple load from an XL spreadsheet into a database table. The package also writes some kickout rows (bad data) to a flat file. To keep the example simple, I configure just one value in the .dtsConfig file, and that is the server name.
Question:
(1) According to the tutorial, after I've created the deployment bundle I'm supposed to copy this over to the destination computer and run it there. Can't I just run it from my computer and choose where to install the package in the Package Installation Wizard? That's what I did and it worked and I am able to see the package on the target SQL Server. So, I'm wondering why I need to copy the demployment bundle to the target and run it there.
(2) In the Package Installation Wizard, there is a step called "Select Installation Folder". And the description on this page says, "The installer will install SSIS package dependencies in the following folder". Without knowing what this is going to do, I just picked a folder, and finished out the wizard. When I go and check that folder after the wizard is completed, I see that the .dtsConfig file got put there (on my local machine). What implication does this have? (I don't know how to schedule a job in SQL Server Agent, so I havent actually tried running the deployed package.) I'm going to guess the package is not going to run because the config file ended up in my machine.
(3) In my example, I could've also configured the connection string for the XL file and the flat file directory for the kickout data. But since the file names are a part of the connection string and the file names are likely to remain the same, but the directory locations may change, should I handle this with system variables? (Where the variable will contain the directory path only)
I have some basic understanding of SSIS and now I am looking to take the next step. Especially since I created all my packages with EncryptWithUserKey (I didn't know better) . My assumption is that I place into each of my packages an identically named Environment Variable. Then if I move my configuration files I just need to reassign the value to that variable. Do I have that correct?
For example, I have an XML Configuration file sitting in c:PackConfigs. It is called MyConfig.dtsConfig. How do I create an Environment Variable to point to this configuration file? I assume I create the variable and assign it the value the path of the file (c:PackConfigsMyConfig.dtsConfig). I sort of get that.
But what if I have multiple XML configuration files in my package? And exactly how do I change the variable's value if I move my packages?
I've read some great posts in this forum and at Jamie Thomson's blog http://blogs.conchango.com/jamiethomson/archive/2005/11/02/SSIS_3A00_-Indirect-configurations-ROCK_2100_.aspx but I haven't been able to get to the nitty-gritty that I think I need.
I am having trouble understanding how to correctly use stored procs. Here is what I think the process is. Correct me where I am wrong.
I am developing a read-only program with VB 2005 as a front end and SQL Server back end. The user will enter an ID# for search criteria which will be passed as a parameter to a stored proc. I want to create a stored proc that alters a view by changing the ID# the view filters on. A dataset will be created in the front end from that view.
So in SSMS, I create a new proc like this:
CREATE PROC {blah, blah}
@IDnum
AS
BEGIN
ALTER VIEW {blah, blah}
AS
SELECT {blah, blah}
FROM {blah}
WHERE blah.ID = @IDnum
END
I would run the code to create the proc, then modify it to an ALTER PROC. I've tried this without success. What am I missing. Yes, I am new to this.
I have tried using the linked report with CreateLinkedReport(...) but I do not understand the output.
initially I have a report with parameter that user needs to specified before generating . I use something like
CreateLinkedReport("test4", "/Report Server",
"/Report Server/xxx/yyy", props)
where "/Report Server/xxx/yyy", is the linked path to that file.
What happen is that this report 'template' has changed to a 'linked' report with specified parameters. and that new linked report 'test4" is created under /Report Server. And this test4 is like a copy of the orginal "/Report Server/xxx/yyy".
What I want is the opposite where the orginal template stays the same. And the new created test4 is the report that stores the specified values.
Hi All,I am trying to understand how FTS works and decide whether it is the way to go.The scenario:Site users will upload CV's in word format. these then have to be searchable via an asp.net page.therefore i need to store the contents of the word file in a database (looking like SQL2000 at the moment)These will be stored in BLOB Image/Binary typeI have to be able to search for text on these BLOBs and as i understand it the only way to do this is with FTS - or am i wrong and you can search with conventional select statements direct from the BLOB?If FTS is the only way to do this i need to know the sort of time involved with buliding the index/catalogue. Lets say i have 100mb of data that is being catalogued & indexed ready for FTS - in your experience, how long would this take to index? can the index be 'added' to withouth indexing everying? ie will SQL Server just index the changes that have taken place?I really am struggling to find this information, even across MSDN - i know i wont be able to find difinitive answers, but a rough guide on how long an index takes to build is important. I dont really want to have to tell the client "End users can upload their CV's but they can't be searched against for at least X hours" thanks in advanceRegardsDarren
Hi, I have a couple of questions regarding primary keys, and whether I really need one or not. Right now, I am using a GridView control to display all the data in my Access database, but am using a SqlDataSource control to do it. Everything works fine, and I am also using the GridView to Edit/Delete records, and I am using a DetailsView control to insert new records into the database. The questions I have are these: 1) What I have right now in the database is a value called ID, which is just an autonumber, which has the order of the database, but I would like to change it so that the database sorts by the date awarded, which is a field in the database called "mdate", and make it so that when an admin enters a new date, it sorts automatically by date. Because of that, I am not really sure if I need to have the ID value at all. I dont understand if it will be of any use, if I want all the values to show up by date, starting from 2006 back. If anyone can explain, or tell me if I am thinking correctly? 2) Also, right now in the database, the clients who started the database inserted the values in the "mdate" field as "Awarded mm/dd/year" instead of just "mm/dd/year". How could I write a function to go through each record in the "mdate" column, delete the word "Awarded " and then convert it into a datetime object, so I could sort it by date? Is it possible, or would I have to do it manually? Here is the code I have now: <%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="Default.aspx.cs" Inherits="_Default" %> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" > <head runat="server"> <title>Untitled Page</title> </head> <body> <form id="form1" runat="server"> <div> <asp:DetailsView ID="DetailsView1" runat="server" AllowPaging="True" DataSourceID="myDataSource1" Height="50px" Width="300px" OnPageIndexChanging="DetailsView1_PageIndexChanging" Font-Names="Arial" Font-Size="Smaller"> <Fields> <asp:CommandField ShowDeleteButton="True" ShowEditButton="True" ShowInsertButton="True" /> </Fields> </asp:DetailsView> <br /> </div> <asp:GridView ID="GridView1" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false" Font-Names="Verdana" AutoGenerateEditButton="True" AutoGenerateDeleteButton="true" DataSourceID="myDataSource1" DataKeyNames="ID"> <Columns> <asp:BoundField HeaderText = "ID" DataField="ID" ReadOnly="true" Visible="false" /> <asp:BoundField HeaderText = "Name" DataField="name" /> <asp:BoundField HeaderText = "Department Retired From" DataField="dept" /> <asp:BoundField HeaderText = "Current State Of Residence" DataField="state" /> <asp:BoundField HeaderText = "Purpose Of Award" DataField="award" /> <asp:BoundField HeaderText = "Date Awarded" DataField="mdate" /> </Columns> <RowStyle Font-Size="Smaller" Height="50px" HorizontalAlign="Center" /> </asp:GridView> <asp:SqlDataSource ID="myDataSource1" runat="server" SelectCommand = "SELECT * from [finawards]" ConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; Data Source=|DataDirectory|finawards_new.mdb" ProviderName="System.Data.OleDb" UpdateCommand = "UPDATE [finawards] SET [name] = @name, [dept] = @dept, [state] = @state, [award] = @award, [mdate] = @mdate WHERE [ID] = @ID" DeleteCommand = "DELETE FROM finawards WHERE [ID] = @ID" InsertCommand = "INSERT INTO finawards (name, dept, state, award, mdate) VALUES (@name, @dept, @state, @award, @mdate)"></asp:SqlDataSource> </form> </body> </html> Thanks,
I've been using databases for twenty years now and have just started using SQL Server 2000. I've used dbase III+, FoxPro and FileMaker Pro mostly and have a pretty good generally knowledge of databases. However, I'm constantly scratching my head over a few SQL Server foundational issues and would appreciate some help.
Probably the biggest question is this: In FileMaker Pro (and FoxPro if I remember correctly), I would set the relationship once and then never have to think about it much again. Then I could create virtual tables and sub forms which contained data from several tables and view/update them with ease. However, in SQL Server I've noticed that while I can define the relationships in a database diagram, every query has to recreate the joines. If I try to use a view I can only update one table at a time which seesm whacky to me. So what on earth is the point of having relationships if you have to redefine them with each query? I've read that referrential integrity is the reason but that only baffles me further as I don't understand the point. Sure I get cascading deletes but there has to be more to the feature than that.
Also, when I want to insert data in multiple related tables I'm used to utilizing the existing relationship, mentioning the primary key once and then simply filling in the data. It seems in SQL Server that I have to also insert on the foreign key. This doesn't make sense as the database should know which record I'm talking about in the foreign key table(s) as they're related. Again though, I'm not only recreating the relationship in the insert but I'm also having to specify the foreign key. I guess it just makes me wonder why it's not simply checking the relationships which already exist.
So I'm a bit baffled and any help would be most appreciated.
