Question

I am using Microsoft SQL Server and SQL Server Management Studio.

I have a column called dateApplied which has a constraint like this:

[dateApplied] >= getDate()

When I enter a row the date is automatically added the row.

My problem is when I use the SELECT function, the dateApplied column is automatically changed to the current date and time in which the SELECT statement is called.

How do I prevent this from happening?

Thanks
Peter

Answer 1

I suppose you’re using a computed column, like:

create table t1 
    (
    id int
,   date_col as getdate()
    )

Try a default constraint instead:

create table t1 
    (
    id int
,   date_col datetime constraint DF_T1_DateCol default getdate() not null
    )

A computed column is calculated whenever you run a query. A default constraint is only generated when the row is first inserted.