SQL Server (T-SQL)

I frequently get asked how to code an insert that has an ID column that increments. There are a couple of workarounds for this lamentable lapse, but here's how to do it with a cursor.

DECLARE @itemnmbr VARCHAR(31)
DECLARE @intCounter INT


SET @intCounter = 1


DECLARE curName CURSOR KEYSET FOR 
 select TOP 5 itemnmbr
  from iv00101


OPEN curName


FETCH NEXT FROM curName INTO @itemnmbr 
WHILE (@@fetch_status = 0)
BEGIN
 INSERT INTO myTable (idColumn, dataColumn) VALUES (@intCounter,@itemnmbr)
 SET @intCounter = @intCounter + 1


 FETCH NEXT FROM curName INTO @itemnmbr 
END


CLOSE curName
DEALLOCATE curName
GO