my goal is to select items from a table and append those items into another table located on a remote database on the same server. All columns in both tables match up and are identical. In this case,
I have the tsql:
INSERT INTO db1.dbo.tblitems
SELECT *
FROM db2.dbo.tblitems i2
WHERE i2 = 'import'
i get an error saying:
An explicit value for the identity column in table 'db1.dbo.tblitems' can only be specified when a column list is used and IDENTITY_INSERT is ON.
any ideas why this doesn't work?
thanks in advance
Sounds like there is an identity column in the table. An identity column is a column that is made up of values generated by the database. For example:
create table #TestTable (id int identity, name varchar(50))
insert into #TestTable select 1, 'Will Smith'
This gives the identity column error. You can avoid that in two ways: the first is not to insert the identity column, like:
insert into #TestTable (name) select 'Will Smith'
The second is to use set identity_insert (requires admin privileges):
set identity_insert #TestTable on
insert into #TestTable (id, name) select 1, 'Will Smith'
set identity_insert #TestTable off
In both cases, you have to specify the column list.
I agree with Andomar but a further consideration...
Have you considered the effects of merging these two data sets?
Say I had two identical tables in two databases with this data:
Id Name
1 Bill
2 Bob
3 Bert
Id Name
3 Jenny
4 Joan
5 Jackie
Option 1 of Andomar's would give the girls new IDs. If that ID has been used as a primary key in the table and other tables referenced it as a foreign key then this will break the referential integrity (you will have records pointing to the wrong place).
Option 2 would fall over if there is a unique index on the ID column, which quite likely if it is being used as a key. This is because the two ID values for Bert and Jenny are not unique.
So while Andomar is right in that it will fix the identity insert problem, it doesn't address the issue of why there were identity columns in the first place.
p.s. if this is an issue ask for a solution in a new question.
This might be an issue of permissions. As the server the query is running on cannot determine if the connected user has the permission to insert the data into the destination server/table, it just might not be possible.
Related
I have a table with two columns built from another table of names, one identity and one a name like this:
ID---Name
1----Mike
2----Jeff
3----Robert
...down to however many
Could be 10 rows, could be 100. This will vary depending on input from other tables that are always changing but never be over 160 or so.
Now, pairings of names will have some meaning and thus a decimal data type score will be associated with said pairing (how at this point doesn’t matter, just need to build it for now...numbers just illustrative). I envision a matrix kind of like this:
ID------Name------Mike-------Jeff--------Robert-------- ...out to however many
1 -------Mike-------NULL------100.1------5.4-------- ...out to however many
2 -------Jeff---------100.1------NULL-----21.23--------- ...out to however many
3 ------Robert-------5.4--------21.23-----NULL---------...out to however many
…down to however many happen to be in the first table…
Maybe this isn’t quite the most optimal way to go (Yes, I know there are duplicates in the table but I plan to structure the queries such that the duplicates are ignored) but at this point am not aware of many viable options. After searching around, I thought maybe I wanted a pivot but that doesn’t seem to fit what I have here because I’m leaving the names in the column and associating them as column heads for a paired score. Then I thought maybe I wanted to store a variable as the value of each row and then add them as the columns. That was no help. My latest iteration was maybe creating a temp table as an exact copy with and identity column, then trying to select the specific name by the identity and looping through them but I can’t even seem to grab the first name and make it a column name in addition to a row value under the name column...see below
--create a table of names with an identity column
CREATE TABLE myTable2
(
ID INT IDENTITY(1,1),
Name VARCHAR(5),
);
--add names to the table from a different table
INSERT INTO myTable1 (Name)
SELECT Name
FROM myTable1
--create a temp table with the same values
SELECT ID, Name
INTO #new
FROM myTable2
GROUP BY ID, Name
--insert name from first row as a column head
INSERT INTO myTable2 (SELECT Number FROM #new WHERE ID =1)
So, in the last bit there, INSERT INTO”, I want to copy the names, in this instance “Mike” and make it ALSO a column head in the same table where it is a row (like in my second table). I get an error message that the syntax is not correct for the statement. Why isn’t this allowed? How can I get it to do what I want? It also has been suggested by someone that knows way more about this stuff than me, that maybe instead of building the table as a matrix, build it as below. It is possible here to get rid of the duplicates this way and I would except I have no idea where to even begin doing this…
Name1-----------Name2-----------Calculated Value
Mike--------------Mike-------------NULL
Jeff---------------Mike-------------100.1
Robert-------------Mike-------------5.4
Mike--------------Jeff-------------100.1
Jeff----------------Jeff-------------NULL
Robert------------Jeff-------------21.23
Mike--------------Robert-----------5.4
Jeff---------------Robert-----------21.23
Robert------------Robert-----------NULL
...etc
Any help suggestions or pointing of me in the right and most appropriate direction would be greatly appreciated!
EDIT: Here's how I solved my problem. Looks like the Cartesian product was the way to go. Thanks #Alex Kudryashev
--create a table of cross joined names
CREATE TABLE cartNames
(
Name1 VARCHAR(5),
Name2 VARCHAR(5),
);
--create two temporary tables from a source table of names
SELECT Name AS Name1
INTO #name1
FROM names
GROUP BY Name
SELECT Name AS Name2
INTO #Name2
FROM names
GROUP BY Name
--populate the Cartesian table
INSERT INTO cartNames
SELECT * FROM #name1 CROSS JOIN #name2
--get rid of the temp tables
DROP TABLE #Name1
DROP TABLE #Name2
--add columns and populate calculated scores
---
It looks like you want to create a Cartesian Product. There is very easy way to do so.
declare #tbl table(name varchar(10))
insert #tbl(name) values('MIke'),('Jeff'),('Robert')
select t1.name name1,t2.name name2, some_udf(t1.name,t2.name) calc_value
from #tbl t1 cross join #tbl t2
I want to copy all columns from dbo.die to dbo.technology.
Both tables exist! In dbo.technology, the primary key is idTechnology
In dbo.die, the primary key is idDie and we have a foreign key, which is Technology_idTechnology in it, which connects the die table with the technology table.
How could I do that, so that the values got copied to the right rows, which match the same idTechnology?
I tried this:
INSERT INTO dbo.die
(Technology_idTechnology, Technology_D, Technology_Type, Technology_Manufacturer, Technology_SOI, Technology_Node, Technology_Name, Technology_Number_Metal, Technology_Number_Poly, Technology_Power_Cu, Technology_FEComplexity, Technology_FEComplexity_Sec, Technology_Trench, Technology_IMID, Technology_Remarks)
SELECT *
FROM dbo.technology tech
WHERE tech.idTechnology = idTechnology;
but I'm always getting an error!
Cannot insert duplicate key row in object 'dbo.die' with unique index 'ui_dieIdsample'. The duplicate key value is ().
Don't know what I should do.. I thought it's easy & simple
If a column is declared as NOT NULL (and has no default value), a value for the column must be specified in the INSERT statement.
In this specific case you should add Table2_Feld to the insert column list, and specify a value in the SELECT for it!
You will need to change your column list (lets say that its acceptable to insert a default value of 0 into column Table2_Feld)
INSERT INTO dbo.table2
(Table1_idTech, Tech_D, Techn_Type, Tech_Man,
Techn_Node, Tech_Name, Technology_Numb, Tech_Po,
Tech_FEC, Techn_Comp_Sec,
Tech_R,Table2_Feld)
select *,0 from table1 tech
In SQL server, I'm using a table variable and when done manipulating it I want to insert its values into a real table that has an identity column which is also the PK.
The table variable I'm making has two columns; the physical table has four, the first of which is the identity column, an integer IK. The data types for the columns I want to insert are the same as the target columns' data types.
INSERT INTO [dbo].[Message] ([Name], [Type])
SELECT DISTINCT [Code],[MessageType]
FROM #TempTableVariable
This fails with:
Cannot insert duplicate key row in object 'dbo.Message' with unique index
'IX_Message_Id'. The duplicate key value is (ApplicationSelection).
But when trying to insert just Values (...) it works ok.
How do I get it right?
It appears that the data "ApplicationSelection" is already in the database. YOu need to write the select to exclude records that are already in the database. YOu can do that with a where not exists clause or a left join. LOok up teh index to see what field is unique besides the identity. That will tell you what feild you need to check to see if teh record currently exists.
This question already has answers here:
How to insert into a table with just one IDENTITY column?
(5 answers)
Closed 1 year ago.
I have a table Administrator with only one column, adminId which is the primary-key. Because of business rules it has to be this way.
I'd like to understand once and for all how I can write stored procedures that insert values in tables like this. I am using SQL Server and T-SQL and tried using SCOPE_IDENTITY() but that doesn't work since the table has INSERT_IDENTITY to false or off.
I'd really like to not insert a dummy value just to be able to insert a new row. Thanks!
If you have one column that is an IDENTITY, just do this
INSERT MyTable DEFAULT VALUES; --allows no column list. The default will be the IDENTITY
SELECT SCOPE_IDENTITY();
If you don't have identity, then can you set it? This is the best way.. and use the SQL above.
If not, you want to insert a new row
INSERT MyTable (admidid)
OUTPUT INSERTED.admidid --returns result to caller
SELECT ISNULL(MAX(admidid), 0) + 1 FROM MyTable
Notes:
Under high loads the MAX solution may fail with duplicates
SCOPE_IDENTITY is after the fact, not before
SCOPE_IDENTITY only works with an IDENTITY column. Ditto any idiocy using IDENT_CURRENT
The output clause replaces SCOPE_IDENTITY for the MAX solution
You need to add the IDENTITY_INSERT to your select statement:
SET IDENTITY_INSERT MyTable ON
INSERT INTO MyTable
(AdminCol)
SELECT AdminColValue
FROM Tableb
When you're done, make sure you remember to
SET IDENTITY_INSERT MyTable OFF
Here's a good description of how it works from BOL: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa259221(SQL.80).aspx
#Phil: Don't you mean your table has two(2) columns, the autoincrementing PK column and an AdminName column? If it only has one column where the AdminName goes, the AdminName is the PK and you cannot autoincrement a string, of course. Do the business rules expect you to make a fully-qualified Windows username the primary key? That would be viable and make sense, because then you wouldn't need an alternate unique index on the AdminName column.
But if your table has two columns, not one:
In SQLServer the autoincrement is part of the table/column definition. You define the column as an integer and then also make it an
identity column, specifying the increment, usually 1, but it could be 2 or 5 or 10 or whatever. To insert a row, you simply insert the other column(s) value(s) and do nothing with the PK column:
insert into T
(foo) -- column(s) list
values('bar') -- values list
Your stored proc that does the insert can make SCOPE_IDENTITY a RETURN value or SCOPE_IDENTITY can be passed back to the client as an OUT parameter.
P.S. SCOPE_IDENTITY() returns the most recently generated autoincremented identity value in the current scope; it does not generate the next identity value.
EDIT:
Presumably, your Administrators table contains a set of administrators. But if it has no columns whatsoever other than the integer primary key column, there is no way to identify the administators; the only thing you can do is distinguish them from each other. That doesn't get you very far at all. But if your Administrator table had either of the following structures:
ID INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT
windowsusername varchar(50) (unique index)
OR
windowsusername varchar(50) primary key
you would be able to reference the Administrator's table from other tables, and the foreign keys would be MEANINGFUL. And that's precisely what a table consisting of a single integer column lacks -- meaning.
Having two columns, you could then have a stored procedure do this:
insert into Administrators
(windowsusername)
values('mydomain\someusername');
return SCOPE_IDENTITY();
and your client-program would get back as a return value the autoincremented id that had been autogenerated and assigned to the newly inserted row. This approach is the usual practice, and I would go so far as to say that it is considered "best practice".
P.S. You mention that you didn't know how to "insert a value" if you "didn't have anything to insert". There's a contradiction there. If you have nothing to insert, why insert? Why would you create, say, a new CUSTOMER record if you know absolutely nothing about the customer? Not their name, their city, their phone number, nothing?
I have a temp table with the exact structure of a concrete table T. It was created like this:
select top 0 * into #tmp from T
After processing and filling in content into #tmp, I want to copy the content back to T like this:
insert into T select * from #tmp
This is okay as long as T doesn't have identity column, but in my case it does. Is there any way I can ignore the auto-increment identity column from #tmp when I copy to T? My motivation is to avoid having to spell out every column name in the Insert Into list.
EDIT: toggling identity_insert wouldn't work because the pkeys in #tmp may collide with those in T if rows were inserted into T outside of my script, that's if #tmp has auto-incremented the pkey to sync with T's in the first place.
SET IDENTITY_INSERT ON
INSERT command
SET IDENTITY_INSERT OFF
As identity will be generated during insert anyway, could you simply remove this column from #tmp before inserting the data back to T?
alter table #tmp drop column id
UPD: Here's an example I've tested in SQL Server 2008:
create table T(ID int identity(1,1) not null, Value nvarchar(50))
insert into T (Value) values (N'Hello T!')
select top 0 * into #tmp from T
alter table #tmp drop column ID
insert into #tmp (Value) values (N'Hello #tmp')
insert into T select * from #tmp
drop table #tmp
select * from T
drop table T
See answers here and here:
select * into without_id from with_id
union all
select * from with_id where 1 = 0
Reason:
When an existing identity column is selected into a new table, the new column inherits the IDENTITY property, unless one of the following conditions is true:
The SELECT statement contains a join, GROUP BY clause, or aggregate function.
Multiple SELECT statements are joined by using UNION.
The identity column is listed more than one time in the select list.
The identity column is part of an expression.
The identity column is from a remote data source.
If any one of these conditions is true, the column is created NOT NULL instead of inheriting the IDENTITY property. If an identity column is required in the new table but such a column is not available, or you want a seed or increment value that is different than the source identity column, define the column in the select list using the IDENTITY function. See "Creating an identity column using the IDENTITY function" in the Examples section below.
All credit goes to Eric Humphrey and bernd_k
Not with SELECT * - if you selected every column but the identity, it will be fine. The only way I can see is that you could do this by dynamically building the INSERT statement.
Just list the colums you want to re-insert, you should never use select * anyway. If you don't want to type them ,just drag them from the object browser (If you expand the table and drag the word, columns, you will get all of them, just delete the id column)
INSERT INTO #Table
SELECT MAX(Id) + ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY Id)
set identity_insert on
Use this.
Might an "update where T.ID = #tmp.ID" work?
it gives me a chance to preview the data before I do the insert
I have joins between temp tables as part of my calculation; temp tables allows me to focus on the exact set data that I am working with. I think that was it. Any suggestions/comments?
For part 1, as mentioned by Kolten in one of the comments, encapsulating your statements in a transaction and adding a parameter to toggle between display and commit will meet your needs. For Part 2, I would needs to see what "calculations" you are attempting. Limiting your data to a temp table may be over complicating the situation.