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Inside Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005, Fourth Edition
book

Inside Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005, Fourth Edition

by Kalen Delaney
October 2006
Intermediate to advanced
464 pages
16h 11m
English
Microsoft Press
Content preview from Inside Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005, Fourth Edition

Altering a Table

SQL Server 2005 allows existing tables to be modified in several ways. Using the ALTER TABLE command, you can make the following types of changes to an existing table:

  • Change the data type or NULL property of a single column

  • Add one or more new columns, with or without defining constraints for those columns

  • Add one or more constraints

  • Drop one or more constraints

  • Drop one or more columns

  • Enable or disable one or more constraints (applies only to CHECK and FOREIGN KEY constraints)

  • Enable or disable one or more triggers

Changing a Data Type

By using the ALTER COLUMN clause of ALTER TABLE, you can modify the data type or NULL property of an existing column. But be aware of the following restrictions:

  • The modified column can’t be a text, image, ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780735621053Catalog PageErrata