Optimizing NOT NULL Column Addition in SQL Server: Exploring Different Approaches

This is the simplest method but can be slow for large tables.

ALTER TABLE MyTable ADD MyNewColumn datatype NOT NULL;

This statement modifies the table structure, marking the new column as mandatory for each record. However, it requires physically updating every existing row, potentially leading to significant execution time and affecting database performance.

Adding a nullable column followed by update:

This approach involves two steps:

1. Add the column as nullable (allowing null values):

ALTER TABLE MyTable ADD MyNewColumn datatype;

1. Update the new column with appropriate values, then alter it to NOT NULL:

UPDATE MyTable
SET MyNewColumn = /* Your logic to populate the column */;

ALTER TABLE MyTable ALTER COLUMN MyNewColumn datatype NOT NULL;

This method avoids modifying existing data immediately, potentially improving speed. However, managing the update logic and ensuring all rows are populated can be complex.

Create a new table with the desired column:

This approach involves:

1. Create a new table with the desired structure, including the NOT NULL column.
2. Copy data from the old table to the new one, populating the new column with your logic.
3. Drop the old table and rename the new table to the original name.

This method avoids direct modification of the large table but involves additional steps like data transfer and table manipulation.

Adding a CHECK constraint:

Instead of altering the column definition, you can add a CHECK constraint that enforces the NOT NULL rule:

ALTER TABLE MyTable ADD CONSTRAINT MyConstraint CHECK (MyNewColumn IS NOT NULL);

This approach avoids physical data modification and offers faster execution. However, it still requires scanning the entire table to validate existing data, potentially impacting performance.

Backup:

BACKUP DATABASE MyDatabase TO DISK = N'MyBackup.bak' WITH FORMAT;

Set SIMPLE Recovery:

ALTER DATABASE MyDatabase SET RECOVERY SIMPLE;

Add nullable column and update: (as explained in approach 2)

Alter to NOT NULL:

ALTER TABLE MyTable ALTER COLUMN MyNewColumn datatype NOT NULL;

Set FULL Recovery (back to original):

ALTER DATABASE MyDatabase SET RECOVERY FULL;

Backup again (optional):

BACKUP DATABASE MyDatabase TO DISK = N'MyBackupAfter.bak' WITH FORMAT;

Partition Switching:

If your table is partitioned, you can consider adding the new column to an empty partition and then switching data to it. This can be faster than modifying existing partitions, but requires table partitioning to be already set up and involves managing data movement.