Hello everybody,

today I want to write about new additions for SQL Server T-SQL language, which are there starting from 2016. It is create or alter syntax.

In the past, if you've made some custom SQL view, it was needed to have constructions like this ( pseudo code ):

if view ( stored procedure, function, trigger ) exists

     create view ( stored procedure, function, trigger )

else

   alter view ( stored procedure, function, trigger )

But startring from 2016 SP1 you can use following syntax ( pseudo code ):

Create or alter view ( stored procedure, function, trigger ).

Or in code form it may look like this:

create or alter procedure yourProcedure
as
begin
 print (1)
end;
go
create or alter function yourFunction()
returns int
as
begin
 return(1)
end;
go
create or alter view yourSqlView
as
 select 1 as col;
go
create or alter trigger yourTrigger
on Product 
after insert, update 

Summary

With those SQL features your code of customizations may become much simpler and less prone to errors