Identity Data Types

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Identity Data Types

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Andrew G SSChampion Points: 12809 More actions · Answer 1

He has a point, the first link from the answer states:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-AU/library/ms189838.aspx

Valid data types for an identity column are any data types of the integer data type category, except for the bit data type, or decimal data type.

The 2nd link states:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-AU/library/ms174979.aspx

The IDENTITY property can be assigned to tinyint, smallint, int, bigint, decimal(p,0), or numeric(p,0) columns.

julienchappel 38298 SSC Eights! Points: 838 More actions · Answer 2

So I have a point and I don't have a point. Microsoft ohhhhh!!!!

Julien

Hany Helmy SSChampion Points: 13921 More actions · Answer 3

I was between option 4 & 5, then figured out that there is nothing wrong with tinyint & smallint data types to be set as identity columns, thanx for the question.

Thanks & Best Regards,
Hany Helmy
SQL Server Database Consultant

Umer Akram SSC-Insane Points: 22209 More actions · Answer 4

Umer Akram

SSC-Insane

Points: 22209

January 14, 2015 at 12:47 am

#1770021

Nice question, thanks for sharing

paul.goldstraw SSCrazy Points: 2626 More actions · Answer 5

I worked at a company where all the identity columns were decimal(18,0), and I'd already made small tables in other circumstances that were tinyint, so easy one for me. if numeric (the only one I'd not used) had been present and not present with decimal I might have thought twice

TomThomson SSC Guru Points: 104773 More actions · Answer 6

Andrew G (1/13/2015)
He has a point, the first link from the answer states:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-AU/library/ms189838.aspx
Valid data types for an identity column are any data types of the integer data type category, except for the bit data type, or decimal data type.

No he doesnt.

You have highlighted a section of that text in what looks like a deliberate attempt to conceal what the text actually says, but is probably just the result of inability to read and understand plain English. The commas clearly indicate that "except for the bit data type" is the whole exception. Besides, decimal data type can't be part of an exception to a statement about integer data types because decimal data type isn't an integer data type.

Tom

Andrew G SSChampion Points: 12809 More actions · Answer 7

TomThomson (1/14/2015)
Andrew G (1/13/2015)
He has a point, the first link from the answer states:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-AU/library/ms189838.aspx
Valid data types for an identity column are any data types of the integer data type category, except for the bit data type, or decimal data type.
No he doesnt.
You have highlighted a section of that text in what looks like a deliberate attempt to conceal what the text actually says, but is probably just the result of inability to read and understand plain English. The commas clearly indicate that "except for the bit data type" is the whole exception. Besides, decimal data type can't be part of an exception to a statement about integer data types because decimal data type isn't an integer data type.

Yes he does.

I understand the msdn explanation (which is wrong), but the point is that it's easily misinterpreted by any reasonable person.

You have deliberately attempted to conceal what I was saying. The phrase "data types of the integer data type category", key word, "category", a phrase which you obviously left out so you could insult people on their English comprehension. There is no integer data type category http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187752.aspx only exact numerics, of which decimal, bit and int are members. So the explanation is both technically wrong and reasonably misinterpreted.

julienchappel 38298 SSC Eights! Points: 838 More actions · Answer 8

Thank you Andrew. I lived and worked for 25 years in the belief, (Thanks to various Microsoft literatures like TECHNET, SQL BOL, etc...), that integer types on various SQL Server editions are TINYINT, SMALLINT, INT and later BIGINT. Yes I freely admitted that it can be a misinterpretation if one don't dig deep enough and finds out that NUMERIC and DECIMAL (n, 0) can be treated as INT types and used as IDENTITY column too.

Thanks again

Julien.