How to make sure that dates inserted/updated in a table is not overlapped and contains no gaps?

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SQL-Server-2005

SQL

CREATE TABLE MyTable
(
    ID int PRIMARY KEY,
    Description varchar(max),
    ActivationDate datetime,
    DeactivationDate datetime,
    CreatedOn datetime,
    CreatedByUserID int,
    Company varchar(50) 
)

I would like to ensure that activation and deactivation dates have no gaps and no overlaps per Company.

Say for example Company X having activation date as 01/01/2012 and deactivation date as 12/31/2012. I would like to insert a record for company X as activation date as 05/05/2013 and deactivation date as 05/05/2013. In this case it should not allow to insert as it creates gaps for the company X. But it could be OK for company Y (as new record for it).

Moreover I would like to ensure that deactivation date is greater than the activation date.

I hope this could achieved by Constraints or Triggers.

Please guide me how to achieve the same. Thanks.

Posted 9-Oct-12 0:37am

Member 3137078

Updated 9-Oct-12 1:00am

_Amy

v3

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Greysontyrus · Answer 1 · 2012-10-09T23:39:00

Hi,

There are indeed two solutions:

Triggers:
You could make a trigger that checks the data for 'gaps' or what-not and have it throw a custom error when you find that the insert / update should fail:

SQL

RAISERROR("Cannot do silly things",16,1)

(Looks like a misprint but there really is only one 'E')

This occurs as part of the insert / update batch so (A) it will cancel the insert and (B) the batch will take as long as the insert plus the trigger take.

Constraints:
You could set up a constraint to do the same thing. The simplest was to set up a constraint is to write a function that returns a bit true or false and have a constraint that checks that this is true. This will have the same delay on insert as a trigger would but you cannot specify a custom error. It will have a default error message if the function throws an error so make sure it doesn't, or, when the function returns false the error will be a generic 547 'The INSERT statement conflicted with the CHECK constraint ...[constraint details]'

The constraint is better when setting up data relationships. Working with date 'Gaps' within a single table is a grey area. I guess you can decide how you want to use it yourself. Roughly speaking: Is it an integral relationship in the data (constraint) or is it a safety check to help the user (trigger)