Have you ever wondered how to check the ANSI compatibility of your SQL Server queries? This question was recently brought to my attention and I must say, it’s quite unique. In this article, we will explore the concept of ANSI compatibility in SQL Server and how it can impact your database operations.

When working with relational databases, it is crucial to write SQL code that is portable between different database management systems. The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) is a set of standards applicable to systems purchased by the US Government. The latest standard, FIPS 127-2, is based on the ANSI SQL-92 standard.

Fortunately, SQL Server provides a command called FIPS_FLAGGER that allows you to check the ANSI compatibility of your queries. This command has three levels of compliance: ENTRY, INTERMEDIATE, and FULL.

Let’s take a look at a working example to understand how FIPS_FLAGGER impacts the compliance of SQL statements:

SET FIPS_FLAGGER 'FULL'
GO
SELECT TOP 5 *
FROM [dbo].[DatabaseLog]
GO

When you run the above statement, you will receive a message indicating any non-ANSI compliant keywords or clauses. For example, you may see warnings like:

FIPS Warning: Line 1 has the non-ANSI statement 'SET'.
FIPS Warning: Line 1 has the non-ANSI clause 'TOP'.

These warnings indicate that the keywords or clauses used in the statement are not compliant with the ANSI SQL-92 standard. If your statement is 100% compliant, you will not see any warnings.

If you wish to turn off the FIPS_FLAGGER, you can simply run the following statement:

SET FIPS_FLAGGER OFF
GO

By understanding and utilizing the FIPS_FLAGGER command, you can ensure that your SQL code is compliant with the ANSI SQL-92 standard, making it more portable across different relational database management systems.

Remember, ANSI compatibility is an important aspect to consider when developing SQL queries, especially if you anticipate the need to migrate your database to a different system in the future.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it informative and helpful in understanding ANSI compatibility in SQL Server.