Sql Server (Entity Framework): created_at , updated_at Columns

Question

I think I should mention I\'m trying to get Entity Framework\\SQL server to do something that I was used to coming from Rails. I really just want to know the \'best\' way to hav

Answer 1

One method is to use insert/update triggers to set the created_at and updated_at columns to the current time.

The Insert trigger would look something like this:

CREATE TRIGGER [dbo].[inserted_myTable] ON [dbo].[myTable] AFTER INSERT
AS 
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;
    UPDATE [dbo].[myTable] Set AdmitDateTime = GetDate() where pkid in (SELECT pkid FROM Inserted)
END

The Update trigger would look something like this:

CREATE TRIGGER [dbo].[updated_myTable] ON  [dbo].[myTable] AFTER UPDATE
AS 
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;
    UPDATE [dbo].[myTable] Set AdmitDateTime = GetDate() where pkid in (SELECT pkid FROM Inserted)
END

One advantage of the trigger approach is that the time/date will always be in the same time zone. Another advantage is that if someone modifies the database record outside of your application, the fields are still updated.