Is it possible? If so, how?

Question

Suppose in a table, Six records are there.

The column is an identity column.

Now the client wants to insert a record after the identity value 6 with its identity value starting from 11.

Amit Mohanty · Answer

If you want to insert a record after the identity value 6 with its identity value starting from 11, then Alter the table to change the identity column's seed value to 11. DBCC CHECKIDENT ('YourTable', RESEED, 10); Note that the specified value is one less than the desired starting value (11 - 1 = 10) because the next inserted record will receive the next available value. Insert the new record into the table. The identity column value for this record will be automatically generated by the database system and will be 11.

Deepak Rawat · Answer

In SQL Server, it is not possible to directly insert a record with a specific identity value if the table has an identity column. The identity column's value is typically automatically generated by the database and follows a specific sequence based on the increment and seed values defined for the column. However, if the client wants to insert a record after the identity value 6 with a custom identity value starting from 11, you can follow these steps: Alter the Table: First, you need to alter the table to disable the identity specification on the identity column. This can be done using the SET IDENTITY_INSERT statement. Execute the following SQL command: SET IDENTITY_INSERT YourTableName ON; Insert the Record: Now, you can insert the record with the desired identity value. Specify the identity value explicitly in the INSERT statement. INSERT INTO YourTableName (IdentityColumn, OtherColumn1, OtherColumn2) VALUES (11, 'Value1', 'Value2'); Enable Identity Specification: After inserting the record, you need to enable the identity specification again for the table. SET IDENTITY_INSERT YourTableName OFF; By following these steps, you can insert a record with a specific identity value in the table. However, keep in mind that this approach breaks the usual behavior of an identity column, and you should use it cautiously. It's important to ensure that the custom identity value doesn't conflict with existing or future identity values in the table to maintain data integrity. the steps provided above are specific to SQL Server. Other database systems may have different methods or syntax for achieving a similar result.