The OLD() Function

The OLD() function is a USoft-specific function in the sense that it is not part of the SQL standard. You can use the OLD() function to refer to the previous value of a column. This is the value the column had the previous time the record was stored. In constraint SQL, OLD(column-name) refers to the old value of the column, and column-name to the new value.

•When a record is inserted, all old column values are taken to be NULL.

•When a record is deleted, all new column values are taken to be NULL.

As an example, consider the following sequence of statements:

INSERT INTO person(first_name, name)
VALUES ( 'JOHN', 'DOE' )

UPDATE      person
SET         name = 'DOUGH'
WHERE       first_name = 'JOHN'
AND         name = 'DOE'

DELETE FROM person
WHERE first_name = 'JOHN'
AND name = 'DOUGH'

This table shows what happens to record values when you execute these statements:

	Person ID	First Name	Name
INSERT	NULL	NULL	NULL	Old Value
	1	JOHN	DOE	New Value
UPDATE	1	JOHN	DOE	Old Value
	1	JOHN	DOUGH	New Value
DELETE	1	JOHN	DOUGH	Old Value
	NULL	NULL	NULL	New Value

Old and new column values In INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE

The sequence of events whereby a record is first inserted, then possibly updated one or more times, and finally deleted, is sometimes referred to as the record's life-cycle.

NOTE: Within a multi-record constraint, you can refer to the old values of the columns of ONE table only. This is called the "transition table".

Example 1

To check that a column value does not increase by more than 10 at a time, you can write a domain constraint. In the Do Not Allow That field of the constraint, enter:

DOMAIN > OLD(DOMAIN) + 10

Example 2

To check if a cancel date is left empty when a reservation is inserted, it is recommended you set transition properties. However, you can also express the rule simply by writing the following constraint SQL:

SELECT    ' ' violated
FROM      reservation
WHERE     cancel_date IS NOT NULL
AND       OLD( res_id ) IS NULL

where res_id is the primary key column and, therefore, the last WHERE clause implies that the record is being inserted.

Because the OLD() function appears in your statement, the constraint checker automatically sets transition properties when you have the constraint checked. You are free to reset these properties later.