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Implementing UPDATE with FROM or Subqueries

  • Article

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

On the Transact-SQL UPDATE statement, in a natively compiled T-SQL module, the following syntax elements are not supported:

  • The FROM clause
  • Subqueries

In contrast, the preceding elements are supported in natively compiled modules on the SELECT statement.

UPDATE statements with a FROM clause are often used to update information in a table based on a table-valued parameter (TVP), or to update columns in a table in an AFTER trigger.

For the scenario of update based on a TVP, see Implementing MERGE Functionality in a Natively Compiled Stored Procedure.

The following sample illustrates an update performed in a trigger. In the table, the column named LastUpdated is set to the current date-time AFTER updates. The workaround performs individual updates by using the following items:

  • A table variable that has an IDENTITY column.
  • A WHILE loop to iterate of the rows in the table variable.

Here is the original T-SQL UPDATE statement:

 UPDATE dbo.Table1  
     SET LastUpdated = SysDateTime()  
     FROM  
         dbo.Table1 t  
         JOIN Inserted i ON t.Id = i.Id;

The sample T-SQL code in the following block demonstrates a workaround that provides good performance. The workaround is implemented in a natively compiled trigger. Crucial to notice in the code are:

  • The type named dbo.Type1, which is a memory-optimized table type.
  • The WHILE loop in the trigger.
    • The loop retrieves the rows from Inserted one at a time.
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS dbo.Table1;  
GO

DROP TYPE IF EXISTS dbo.Type1;  
GO

-----------------------------
-- Table and table type.
-----------------------------
CREATE TABLE dbo.Table1 (
   Id INT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY NONCLUSTERED,
   Column2 INT NOT NULL,
   LastUpdated DATETIME2 NOT NULL DEFAULT(SYSDATETIME())
)
WITH (MEMORY_OPTIMIZED = ON);
GO

CREATE TYPE dbo.Type1 AS TABLE (
   Id INT NOT NULL,
   RowID INT NOT NULL IDENTITY,
   INDEX ix_RowID HASH (RowID) WITH (BUCKET_COUNT = 1024)
)
WITH (MEMORY_OPTIMIZED = ON);
GO

----------------------------------------
-- Trigger that contains the workaround
-- for UPDATE with FROM.
----------------------------------------
CREATE TRIGGER dbo.tr_a_u_Table1 ON dbo.Table1
   WITH NATIVE_COMPILATION, SCHEMABINDING
   AFTER UPDATE
AS
BEGIN
   ATOMIC
   WITH (
       TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL = SNAPSHOT,
       LANGUAGE = N'us_english'
   )

   DECLARE @tabvar1 dbo.Type1;

   INSERT @tabvar1 (Id)
   SELECT Id
   FROM Inserted;

   DECLARE @i INT = 1,
       @Id INT,
       @max INT = SCOPE_IDENTITY();

   ---- Loop as a workaround to simulate a cursor.
   ---- Iterate over the rows in the memory-optimized table  
   ----   variable and perform an update for each row.  
   WHILE @i <= @max
   BEGIN
       SELECT @Id = Id
       FROM @tabvar1
       WHERE RowID = @i;

       UPDATE dbo.Table1
       SET LastUpdated = SysDateTime()
       WHERE Id = @Id;

       SET @i += 1;
   END
END
GO

---------------------------------
-- Test to verify functionality.
---------------------------------
SET NOCOUNT ON;

INSERT dbo.Table1 (Id, Column2)
VALUES (1, 9), (2, 9), (3, 600);

SELECT N'BEFORE-Update' AS [BEFORE-Update], *
FROM dbo.Table1
ORDER BY Id;

WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:01';

UPDATE dbo.Table1
SET Column2 += 1
WHERE Column2 <= 99;

SELECT N'AFTER--Update' AS [AFTER--Update], *
FROM dbo.Table1
ORDER BY Id;
GO

Here's the result set.

BEFORE-Update   Id   Column2   LastUpdated  
BEFORE-Update   1       9      2016-04-20 21:18:42.8394659  
BEFORE-Update   2       9      2016-04-20 21:18:42.8394659  
BEFORE-Update   3     600      2016-04-20 21:18:42.8394659  

AFTER--Update   Id   Column2   LastUpdated  
AFTER--Update   1      10      2016-04-20 21:18:43.8529692  
AFTER--Update   2      10      2016-04-20 21:18:43.8529692  
AFTER--Update   3     600      2016-04-20 21:18:42.8394659