MERGE problem -> when I need to reenter an entry which is already in the history

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MERGE problem -> when I need to reenter an entry which is already in the history

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chingarova

Posted Monday, March 04, 2013 8:42 AM

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Hi,
I am having a BIG problem with the merge statement in SQL 2008:

When I have an entry (for example an employee name) in the table which is already old and saved in the history ->if it is added again it appears in the results as old..... For example if John Smith is part of the company then leaves (it is saved in the history as an obsolete entry) and then again comes back to the company in the result sections John is still obsolete...???!!!

Help please!!!

Post #1426286

Sean Lange

Posted Monday, March 04, 2013 9:38 AM

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Hi and welcome to SSC. You seem to have a challenge you are dealing with. Unfortunately you haven't posted anywhere near enough information for anybody to be able to provide much help. Please take a few minutes to read the article in my signature about best practices when posting questions.

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Post #1426327

chingarova

Posted Tuesday, March 05, 2013 1:13 AM

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Here the script

CREATE TABLE Persons
(
ID int IDENTITY PRIMARY KEY
,FirstName varchar(20)
,LastName varchar (20)
,Title varchar(10)
,IsRowCurrent tinyint
,LastUpdated DATE
,ValidFrom DATE
,ValidTo DATE
)
--Populate Persons table with existing customers

INSERT INTO Persons
VALUES ('Anna','Kournikova','Miss',1,'2012-11-01','2012-11-01','9999-12-31')
,('Roger','Federer','Mr',1,'2012-11-01','2012-11-01','9999-12-31')
GO
--Create an update table to hold new/updated persons

CREATE TABLE NewPersons
(
FirstName varchar (20)
,LastName varchar (20)
,Title varchar(10)
)
--Populate People table with existing people
INSERT INTO NewPersons
VALUES ('Anna','Smith','Mrs') --Update
,('Rafael','Nadal','Mr') --New entry
GO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Mixed Merge - Type 1 and 2

INSERT INTO Persons
( FirstName
,LastName
,Title
,IsRowCurrent
,LastUpdated
,ValidFrom
,ValidTo
) SELECT
FirstName
,LastName
,Title
,1 --IsRowCurrent
,GETDATE() --LastUpdated
,GETDATE() --ValidFrom
,'9999-12-31' --ValidTo
FROM (
MERGE INTO Persons AS [Target]
USING NewPersons AS [Source]
ON Target.FirstName = Source.FirstName

WHEN MATCHED and Target.IsRowCurrent = 1 -- SCD 1/2 changes
AND
(
Target.FirstName <> Source.FirstName
OR Target.LastName <> Source.LastName
OR Target.Title <> Source.Title
)
THEN UPDATE SET

Target.IsRowCurrent = 0 --Obsolete
,Target.LastUpdated = GETDATE()
,Target.ValidTo = GETDATE()

WHEN NOT MATCHED -- New entries
THEN INSERT (
FirstName
,LastName
,Title
,IsRowCurrent
,LastUpdated
,ValidFrom
,ValidTo
)
Values (
Source.FirstName
,Source.LastName
,Source.Title
,1 --IsRowCurrent
,GETDATE() --LastUpdated
,GETDATE() --ValidFrom
,'9999-12-31' --ValidTo
)
WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE -- Obsolete removed entries
AND Target.IsRowCurrent = 1
THEN UPDATE SET
Target.IsRowCurrent = 0 --Removed
,Target.LastUpdated = GETDATE()
,Target.ValidTo = GETDATE()

OUTPUT $action AS Action
,[Source].*
) AS MergeOutput
WHERE MergeOutput.Action = 'UPDATE'
AND FirstName IS NOT NULL;

If Anna is removed and afterwards she is entyered again, she still appears as unactive (IsRowCurrent=0)...

Post #1426629

ChrisM@Work

Posted Tuesday, March 05, 2013 2:00 AM

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chingarova (3/4/2013)

Your biggest problem is this:

	MERGE INTO Persons AS [Target]
	USING NewPersons AS [Source]
	ON Target.FirstName = Source.FirstName

Which John or Anna is matched?

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Post #1426646

chingarova

Posted Tuesday, March 05, 2013 2:13 AM

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The business key is the FirstName. I am merging the initial table with update tables and I am doing this based on the FirstName(which will not chanege in my case, only the LastName may change -for example if Anna gets married). But I don't think this is the focus of my question...Thanks

Post #1426650

ChrisM@Work

Posted Tuesday, March 05, 2013 2:47 AM

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chingarova (3/5/2013)

So long as there aren't more than half a dozen or so employees in the table, that will be just Jim Dandy. A few years ago I worked for a small software house with 26 people on site, of whom 7 were called Chris (I lie - one of them was Kris). It really isn't going to work, is it? Accounting for an edge case - surname change on marriage - is completely screwing up your logic. Take the edge case out of this equation entirely, deal with them with separate code. All you need is an update!
Back to the majority. Use Firstname & Lastname as business key, it will make your merge logic much simpler.

--Create an update table to hold new/updated persons

The newpersons table would have to contain all retained persons in addition to changes, otherwise WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE clause will mark them as obsolete.

WHEN MATCHED and Target.IsRowCurrent = 1 -- SCD 1/2 changes
 AND
 (
 Target.FirstName <> Source.FirstName

Why? They're matched on Firstname.

Personally, I'd throw this merge statement away and start again - after first rewriting the business rules.

^{“Write the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw}

Post #1426663

chingarova

Posted Tuesday, March 05, 2013 2:54 AM

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OK, let me explain...
The script I posted is just an example(my real example is different and much more complex,but this doesn't matter), what I need to understand is why when we have a MERGE STATEMENT WHICH KEEPS HISTORY, WHEN AN ENTRY IS OBSOLETE AND THEN IT IS ADDED AGAIN IN THE UPDATE TABLE, IT IS NOT UPDATED IN THE MAIN TABLE AND IT IS STILL SHOWN AS OBSOLETE....if you have suggestion regarding this, it will helps. Thanks

Post #1426667

ChrisM@Work

Posted Tuesday, March 05, 2013 3:05 AM

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chingarova (3/5/2013)

Please don't shout.
Every successful update

WHEN MATCHED and Target.IsRowCurrent = 1 -- SCD 1/2 changes
 AND
 (
 Target.FirstName <> Source.FirstName
 OR Target.LastName <> Source.LastName
 OR Target.Title <> Source.Title
 )
 THEN UPDATE SET

will cause a duplicate row (duplicate on firstname) to be inserted into the table, via the OUTPUT clause.

There are way too many serious logic flaws in the posted example script for it to be of any use. Can you post the actual merge statement you are using?

^{“Write the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw}

Post #1426675

chingarova

Posted Tuesday, March 05, 2013 5:57 AM

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ok, lets say that the script look like this:
USE master
GO
--Create the main Persons table

CREATE TABLE Persons
(
FirstName varchar(20)
,LastName varchar (20)
,Title varchar(10)
,Email varchar (20)
,IsRowCurrent tinyint
,LastUpdated DATETIME
,ValidFrom DATETIME
,ValidTo DATETIME
)
--Populate Persons table with existing customers

INSERT INTO Persons
VALUES ('Anna','Kournikova','Miss','anna@emailme.com',1,'2012-11-01','2012-11-01','9999-12-31')
,('Roger','Federer','Mr','roger@emailme.com',1,'2012-11-01','2012-11-01','9999-12-31')
GO
--Create an update table to hold new/updated persons

CREATE TABLE NewPersons
(
FirstName varchar (20)
,LastName varchar (20)
,Title varchar(10)
,Email varchar (20)
)
--Populate People table with existing people
INSERT INTO NewPersons
VALUES ('Anna','Smith','Mrs','anna@emailme.com') --Update
,('Rafael','Nadal','Mr','roger@emailme.com') --New entry
GO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Mixed Merge - Type 1 and 2

INSERT INTO Persons
( FirstName
,LastName
,Title
,Email
,IsRowCurrent
,LastUpdated
,ValidFrom
,ValidTo
) SELECT
FirstName
,LastName
,Title
,Email
,1 --IsRowCurrent
,GETDATE() --LastUpdated
,GETDATE() --ValidFrom
,'9999-12-31' --ValidTo
FROM (
MERGE INTO Persons AS [Target]
USING NewPersons AS [Source]
ON Target.Email = Source.Email

WHEN MATCHED and Target.IsRowCurrent = 1 -- SCD 1/2 changes
AND
(
Target.FirstName <> Source.LastName
OR Target.LastName <> Source.LastName
OR Target.Title <> Source.Title
)
THEN UPDATE SET

Target.IsRowCurrent = 0 --Obsolete
,Target.LastUpdated = GETDATE()
,Target.ValidTo = GETDATE()

WHEN NOT MATCHED -- New entries
THEN INSERT (
FirstName
,LastName
,Title
,Email
,IsRowCurrent
,LastUpdated
,ValidFrom
,ValidTo
)
Values (
Source.FirstName
,Source.LastName
,Source.Title
,Source.Email
,1 --IsRowCurrent
,GETDATE() --LastUpdated
,GETDATE() --ValidFrom
,'9999-12-31' --ValidTo
)
WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE -- Obsolete removed entries
AND Target.IsRowCurrent = 1
THEN UPDATE SET
Target.IsRowCurrent = 0 --Removed
,Target.LastUpdated = GETDATE()
,Target.ValidTo = GETDATE()

OUTPUT $action AS Action
,[Source].*
) AS MergeOutput
WHERE MergeOutput.Action = 'UPDATE'
AND FirstName IS NOT NULL;

Post #1426776

ChrisM@Work

Posted Tuesday, March 05, 2013 6:18 AM

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chingarova (3/5/2013)

ok, lets say that the script look like this:

It's an improvement in that you now have a "key" (not ideal - not everybody has an email address, many folks have several) to identify individuals, but in terms of the overall functionality of the merge statement, it changes little. I honestly think it would be cheaper for you to start again from scratch, laying out the business rules first. There are a number of possible cases when you compare the two tables.
1. Match, Target.IsRowCurrent = 1
2. Match, Target.IsRowCurrent = 0
3. Person in target but not source (WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE), Target.IsRowCurrent = 1
4. Person in target but not source, Target.IsRowCurrent = 0
5. Person in source but not target
Define fully what you want to do for each case.

^{“Write the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw}

Post #1426782

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