Solutions for INSERT OR UPDATE on SQL Server

Question

Assume a table structure of MyTable(KEY, datafield1, datafield2...).

Often I want to either update an existing record, or insert a new record if it does

Answer 1

You can use this query. Work in all SQL Server editions. It's simple, and clear. But you need use 2 queries. You can use if you can't use MERGE

    BEGIN TRAN

    UPDATE table
    SET Id = @ID, Description = @Description
    WHERE Id = @Id

    INSERT INTO table(Id, Description)
    SELECT @Id, @Description
    WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT NULL FROM table WHERE Id = @Id)

    COMMIT TRAN

NOTE: Please explain answer negatives