SQL - IDENT_SEED() Function

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The seed is a value that is inserted into an identity column for the first row loaded into the table; the default value is 1. In other words, we can say that the seed value is the starting number of any specified column.

The SQL IDENT_SEED() function returns the original seed value. The seed value should be specified when we are creating the identity column in a table or view

The value returned by the IDENT_SEED function does not change even if we change the current identity value with DBCC CHECKIDENT.

for example −

In this case, we've added an identity column like

IDENTITY(SEED, INCREMENT) == IDENTITY(1, 2) 

So, 1 is the SEED value of the identity column.

This function returns the numeric value, and the range of the numeric data type is (38, 0).

Syntax

Following is the syntax of the SQl IDENT_SEED() function −

SELECT IDENT_SEED('table_or_view');

where table_or_view is the name of the table or view to check for an identity seed value. table_or_view can be a character string constant enclosed in quotation marks, a variable, a function, or a column name.

Example

Let's look at the example of IDENT_SEED function in SQL

To demonstrate this, we are creating two tables using a CREATE statement named "TBL_AAA" and "TBL_BBB", both of which contain an identity column, as shown below.

CREATE TABLE TBL_AAA(
   ID INT IDENTITY(2, 1),
   NAME VARCHAR(30)
   );

CREATE TABLE TBL_BBB(
   ID INT IDENTITY(3, 2),
   NAME VARCHAR(30)
   );

Now, we have to show the created table using the SELECT statement.

-- TBL_AAA Table -
SELECT * FROM TBL_AAA;

-- TBL_BBB Table -
SELECT * FROM TBL_BBB;

Let's see the SEED value of the identity column of these tables before inserting any records using the IDENT_SEED function.

Following is the queries −

-- TBL_AAA Table -
SELECT IDENT_SEED('TBL_AAA') AS seed_Value;

-- TBL_BBB Table -
SELECT IDENT_SEED('TBL_BBB') AS seed_Value;

Output

Following is the output of the above queries, which shows the seed value of identity column, that is 2 for TBL_AAA and 3 for TBL_BBB

 TBL_AAA Table −
+----------------+
|    seed_Value  |
+----------------+
|             2  |
+----------------+

 TBL_BBB Table −
+----------------+
|    seed_Value  |
+----------------+
|             3  |
+----------------+

Example

In the following example, we are inserting records in both tables and showing the seed value of the identity column of these tables.

Let's insert record into these tables using the INSERT statement

-- TBL_AAA Table -
INSERT INTO TBL_AAA (NAME) VALUES('tutorialspoint');
INSERT INTO TBL_AAA (NAME) VALUES('Sarika Singh');

-- TBL_BBB Table -
INSERT INTO TBL_BBB (NAME) VALUES('tutorix');
INSERT INTO TBL_BBB (NAME) VALUES('Aman');
INSERT INTO TBL_BBB (NAME) VALUES('Vivek');

Let's display the inserted records using the SELECT statement

-- TBL_AAA Table -
SELECT * FROM TBL_AAA;

-- TBL_BBB Table -
SELECT * FROM TBL_BBB;

Following is the details of the TBL_AAA table, where ID value is started with 2 because seed is 2 and incremented by 1 −

+----+-----------------+
| ID |  NAME           |
+----+-----------------+
|  2 |  tutorialspoint |
+----+-----------------+
|  3 |	Sarika Singh   |
+----+-----------------+

Following is the details of the TBL_BBB table, where ID value is started with 3 because seed is 3 and incremented by 2 −

+----+-----------+
| ID |  NAME     |
+----+-----------+
|  3 |  tutorix  |
+----+-----------+
|  5 |	Aman     |
+----+-----------+
|  7 |  Vivek    |
+----+-----------+

Let's see the SEED value of the identity column after the insertion of records using the IDENT_SEED function.

following is the query −

-- TBL_AAA Table -
SELECT IDENT_SEED('TBL_AAA') AS Increment_Value;

-- TBL_BBB Table -
SELECT IDENT_SEED('TBL_BBB') AS Increment_Value;

Output

Following is the output of the above query, which shows the SEED value of the identity column of both tables −

 TBL_AAA Table −
+----------------+
|    seed_Value  |
+----------------+
|             2  |
+----------------+

 TBL_BBB Table −
+----------------+
|    seed_Value  |
+----------------+
|             3  |
+----------------+