Table Constraint

  • Is it possible to have a constarint between two tables based on a FK relationship and a value based on another column. For example to have a valid record in table b the TableA_ID value needs to exist in tableA and the charge Value can't be null. So row number 3 would be invalid in table B in this example.

    TableA

    IDCharge_Value

    1100

    2Null

    34

    4Null

    TableB

    TableB_IDTableA_IDSome other data

    1 1 A

    2 3 B

    3 4 C

  • I think you'd need a trigger to implement that sort of logic.

    John

  • yes it's possible; you can create a CHECK constraint that uses a user defined function, that say returns 1 or 0 if the criteria is valid or not.

    with DDL and sample data , we could offer an actual tested solution;

    a similar solution can be found in this post: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic789104-145-1.aspx

    in that case, a user defined function is used to make sure only one of two possible foreign keys are used;

    your issue is very similar to that one.

    Lowell


    --help us help you! If you post a question, make sure you include a CREATE TABLE... statement and INSERT INTO... statement into that table to give the volunteers here representative data. with your description of the problem, we can provide a tested, verifiable solution to your question! asking the question the right way gets you a tested answer the fastest way possible!

  • The function was the way to go,

    CREATE FUNCTION fn_GetHeroPID(@id int)

    RETURNS int

    AS

    BEGIN

    RETURN (SELECT isnull(Charge_Value,0) FROM Table_A WHERE TableA_ID = @id)

    END

    GO

    ALTER TABLE [TableA] WITH NOCHECK ADD CONSTRAINT MyCheck

    CHECK(dbo.Fn_CheckValue(TableA_ID) <> 0 )

    Thanks a lot for the help.

  • What do you expect to happen if we update TableA and set column [Charge_Value] to NULL mark for an existing row being referenced already from TableB?

    If you do not want a row in TableB to reference a row in TableA where [Charge_Value] is the NULL mark then the function will not be enough.

    CREATE TABLE dbo.TableA (

    ID int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,

    Charge_Value int NULL

    );

    GO

    INSERT INTO dbo.TableA (

    ID,

    Charge_Value

    )

    VALUES

    (1, 100),

    (2, NULL),

    (3, 4),

    (4, NULL);

    GO

    CREATE FUNCTION dbo.ufn_CheckValue(@id int)

    RETURNS int

    AS

    BEGIN

    RETURN (SELECT ISNULL(Charge_Value,0) FROM dbo.TableA WHERE ID = @id)

    END

    GO

    CREATE TABLE dbo.TableB (

    TableB_ID int,

    TableA_ID int NOT NULL,

    c1 char(1) NOT NULL

    );

    GO

    ALTER TABLE dbo.TableB WITH NOCHECK ADD CONSTRAINT MyCheck

    CHECK(dbo.ufn_CheckValue(TableA_ID) <> 0 );

    GO

    INSERT INTO dbo.TableB (

    TableB_ID,

    TableA_ID,

    c1

    )

    VALUES

    (1, 1, 'A'),

    (2, 3, 'B');

    GO

    -- fail as expected

    INSERT INTO dbo.TableB (

    TableB_ID,

    TableA_ID,

    c1

    )

    VALUES

    (3, 4, 'C');

    GO

    UPDATE dbo.TableA -- <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< is this ok?

    SET Charge_Value = NULL

    WHERE ID = 1;

    GO

    SELECT *

    FROM dbo.TableA;

    GO

    SELECT *

    FROM dbo.TableB;

    GO

    DROP TABLE dbo.TableB;

    GO

    DROP TABLE dbo.TableA;

    GO

    DROP FUNCTION dbo.ufn_CheckValue;

    GO

  • I am still waiting for your answer to see if updating a row in [TableA] and setting [Change_Value] to NULL mark is important in this context to avoid a row from [TableB] referencing a row from [TableA] that is being updating to have NULL mark in [Change_Value].

    My suggestion will be to alter [TableA] and add a persisted computed column to hold 1 if [Change_Value] is NULL or zero otherwise. Then create a unique constraint by (ID, Change_Value_is_null).

    Alter [TableB] and add a persisted computed column as zero value and add a foreign key constraint by (TableA_ID, Change_Value_is_null) referencing TableA(ID, Change_Value_is_null).

    This will vslidate that you can't add a row to [TableB] referencing a row in [TableA] having [Change_Value] as NULL mark, netiher will allow to update a row in [TableA] and set [Change_Value] from any value to NULL mark.

    SET NOCOUNT ON;

    GO

    CREATE TABLE dbo.TableA (

    ID int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,

    Charge_Value int NULL,

    Charge_Value_is_null AS CASE WHEN Charge_Value IS NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END PERSISTED,

    UNIQUE (ID, Charge_Value_is_null)

    );

    GO

    INSERT INTO dbo.TableA (

    ID,

    Charge_Value

    )

    VALUES

    (1, 100),

    (2, NULL),

    (3, 4),

    (4, NULL);

    GO

    CREATE TABLE dbo.TableB (

    TableB_ID int,

    TableA_ID int NOT NULL,

    c1 char(1) NOT NULL,

    Charge_Value_is_null AS CAST(0 AS int) PERSISTED,

    FOREIGN KEY (TableA_ID, Charge_Value_is_null) REFERENCES dbo.TableA(ID, Charge_Value_is_null)

    );

    GO

    -- ok

    INSERT INTO dbo.TableB (

    TableB_ID,

    TableA_ID,

    c1

    )

    VALUES

    (1, 1, 'A'),

    (2, 3, 'B');

    GO

    -- fail as expected

    INSERT INTO dbo.TableB (

    TableB_ID,

    TableA_ID,

    c1

    )

    VALUES

    (3, 4, 'C');

    GO

    -- fail as expected

    UPDATE dbo.TableA

    SET Charge_Value = NULL

    WHERE ID = 1;

    GO

    SELECT *

    FROM dbo.TableA;

    GO

    SELECT *

    FROM dbo.TableB;

    GO

    DROP TABLE dbo.TableB;

    GO

    DROP TABLE dbo.TableA;

    GO

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