Script to compare two tables

Question

Script to compare two tables

ckmoied

Ten Centuries

Points: 1092
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September 24, 2007 at 4:24 am

#118673

Hi,
Can I have a script to compare the two tables. Such that I can identify the missing rows of Table A in Table B, in the absece of any know key.

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Vladan SSC-Insane Points: 22072 More actions · Answer 1

To compare without knowing what you are comparing doesn't make sense. You could try to look whether two tables are identical, but if the column names are different, then you need to provide some comparing pattern - which column in table A will be compared with which in table B.

Lowell SSC Guru Points: 323518 More actions · Answer 2

Vladan's right, you MUST be able to identify what makes a row "unique"; it may be a combination of 5 fields, or it may be every field. that is the "key" you must identify before you can compare table to table to look for missing items.

give us the table structure, and what you've identified that makes the row in the table as unique, and we can offer some good examples.

Lowell

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Adrian Nichols-360275 SSCertifiable Points: 7694 More actions · Answer 3

Is this not a cross-post of:

http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic401899-8-1.aspx

??

Ade

A Freudian Slip is when you say one thing and mean your mother.
For detail-enriched answers, ask detail-enriched questions...[/url]

ckmoied Ten Centuries Points: 1092 More actions · Answer 4

Yes Adrian,

You may count it as a cross post, but I put it under a different subject to know if there is any generic sql script that can compare two tables and find the unmatched rows without asking for a key or set of keys.

Regards