SQL Server 2005 useful info [includes links to download it]

[szlamany]

Note that post #4 contains links for downloading SQL Server Express and various other items, and links to more useful information.



Saw this yesterday - thought it was a really neat T-SQL trick...

update sometable
 set somecol = 'ABC'
 OUTPUT inserted.keycol 'Key', deleted.somecol 'Old', inserted.somecol 'New'
 where keycol = 1

Will return the 3 columns indicated after the OUTPUT keyword as a SELECT statement after the UPDATE is performed...

Note that the columns come from those "trigger" like tables - the INSERTED and DELETED tables...

I get excited easily

edit: it's only SQL 2005 that will support this

Here's what it looks like:

begin tran
select * from lettertyp_t where lettertyp='AP'
update lettertyp_t set lettertype='ABC' 
   OUTPUT inserted.lettertyp 'Key',deleted.lettertype 'Old'
                   ,inserted.lettertype 'New'
   where lettertyp='AP'
rollback

comes back with...

LetterTyp LetterType                     TDate                                                  
--------- ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ 
AP        Acknowledgement of Paternity   NULL

(1 row(s) affected)

Key       Old                            New                            
--------- ------------------------------ ------------------------------ 
AP        Acknowledgement of Paternity   ABC

(1 row(s) affected)