"Brad Pears" <donotreply@notreal.com> wrote in message
news:%23g2cKtSvEHA.2804@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> Since SQL server keeps track of every modification to a table during a
> transaction, if I change a field value in a single row of a table, where
do
> I look to find the log file that was generated that will tell me what the
> old value was and what it is now?
>
> Also, is there a way to have SQL keep track of specifc changes regardless
of
> whether or not the change was part of a transaction?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Brad

"Ron Hinds" <__NoSpam__ron@__ramac__.com> wrote in message
news:ODHFcQTvEHA.3896@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> "Brad Pears" <donotreply@notreal.com> wrote in message
> news:%23g2cKtSvEHA.2804@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> > Since SQL server keeps track of every modification to a table during a
> > transaction, if I change a field value in a single row of a table, where
> do
> > I look to find the log file that was generated that will tell me what
the
> > old value was and what it is now?
> >
> > Also, is there a way to have SQL keep track of specifc changes
regardless
> of
> > whether or not the change was part of a transaction?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Brad
>
> The SQL Server Transaction logs keep track of *all* changes to the
database,
> whether or not they were contained in formal transactions (BEGIN TRANS,
> etc.). That is, *if* you have SQL Server's Recovery model set to either
Full
> or Bulk-logged. The transaction logs created are not viewable AFAIK; they
> are for restoring the database after a crash, etc. The scenario is: your
db
> server crashes - you rebuild it, then restore the last full backup, then
> apply the transaction log(s) and Bingo! you're back to where you were
before
> the problem!
>
> Now, as to whether SQL server can track specific changes. The short answer
> is yes. But it will require you to study some advanced concepts in SQL
Books
> Online, like Triggers. Basically a Trigger is code that executes in
> repsponse to a SQL statement. So you can have Insert, Update and Delete
> triggers on any table to create an audit trail. In the code of a trigger,
> you can write the data that is being changed to an audit table along with
> the user's name, date and time, etc.
>
>