Understanding Identity Columns
A unique provision of SQL is the identity column which is a special one of the columns that automatically generates unique numeric values for every added row to the table. These values are usually the primary keys or the surrogate keys which are used to identify de row in the table.
By making a column an identity column, SQL fills that column with the first (seed value) and then the next ones (incremental value) whenever a new row is inserted into the table, until the end of the table. Identity columns offer an easy way to keep table data unique and have no negative impact on the data integrity because that requires no human interference.
How to fix Cannot Insert Explicit Value For Identity Column in Table in SQL
In SQL, the error message “Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table ‘table’ when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF” is a common issue encountered when attempting to insert explicit values into an identity column in a table.
This error occurs because SQL, by default, does not allow explicit values to be inserted into identity columns unless the IDENTITY_INSERT option is explicitly set to ON for that table.In this article, we’ll delve into the causes of this error, how to resolve it, and best practices for working with identity columns in SQL.