When do I need to use Begin / End Blocks and the Go keyword in SQL Server?

sql-server tsql language-features
Tarik picture Tarik · Jul 24, 2009 · Viewed 123.6k times · Source

Can someone tell me when and where I need to use begin and end blocks in SQL Server?
Also, what exactly does the Go keyword do?

Answer

MatBailie picture MatBailie · Jul 24, 2009

GO is like the end of a script.

You could have multiple CREATE TABLE statements, separated by GO. It's a way of isolating one part of the script from another, but submitting it all in one block.


BEGIN and END are just like { and } in C/++/#, Java, etc.

They bound a logical block of code. I tend to use BEGIN and END at the start and end of a stored procedure, but it's not strictly necessary there. Where it IS necessary is for loops, and IF statements, etc, where you need more then one step...

IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM my_table WHERE id = @id)
BEGIN
   INSERT INTO Log SELECT @id, 'deleted'
   DELETE my_table WHERE id = @id
END

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