SET NOEXEC (Transact-SQL)

Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance

Compiles each query but does not execute it.

Transact-SQL syntax conventions

Syntax

  
SET NOEXEC { ON | OFF }  

Remarks

When SET NOEXEC is ON, SQL Server parses and compiles each batch of Transact-SQL statements but does not execute them. When SET NOEXEC is OFF, all batches are executed after compilation. NOEXEC supports deferred name resolution; if one or more referenced objects in the batch don't exist, no error will be thrown.

The execution of statements in SQL Server has two phases: compilation and execution. This setting is useful for having SQL Server validate the syntax and object names in Transact-SQL code when executing. It is also useful for debugging statements that would generally be part of a larger batch of statements.

The setting of SET NOEXEC is set at execute or run time and not at parse time.

Permissions

Requires membership in the public role.

Examples

The following example uses NOEXEC with a valid query, a query with an object name that is not valid, and a query with incorrect syntax.

USE AdventureWorks2022;  
GO  
PRINT 'Valid query';  
GO  
-- SET NOEXEC to ON.  
SET NOEXEC ON;  
GO  
-- Inner join.  
SELECT e.BusinessEntityID, e.JobTitle, v.Name  
FROM HumanResources.Employee AS e   
   INNER JOIN Purchasing.PurchaseOrderHeader AS poh  
   ON e.BusinessEntityID = poh.EmployeeID  
   INNER JOIN Purchasing.Vendor AS v  
   ON poh.VendorID = v.BusinessEntityID;  
GO  
-- SET NOEXEC to OFF.  
SET NOEXEC OFF;  
GO  
  
PRINT 'Invalid object name';  
GO  
-- SET NOEXEC to ON.  
SET NOEXEC ON;  
GO  
-- Function name used is a reserved keyword.  
USE AdventureWorks2022;  
GO  
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.Values(@BusinessEntityID int)  
RETURNS TABLE  
AS  
RETURN (SELECT PurchaseOrderID, TotalDue  
   FROM dbo.PurchaseOrderHeader  
   WHERE VendorID = @BusinessEntityID);  
  
-- SET NOEXEC to OFF.  
SET NOEXEC OFF;  
GO  
  
PRINT 'Invalid syntax';  
GO  
-- SET NOEXEC to ON.  
SET NOEXEC ON;  
GO  
-- Built-in function incorrectly invoked.  
SELECT *  
FROM fn_helpcollations;  
-- Reset SET NOEXEC to OFF.  
SET NOEXEC OFF;  
GO  

See Also

SET Statements (Transact-SQL)
SET SHOWPLAN_ALL (Transact-SQL)
SET SHOWPLAN_TEXT (Transact-SQL)