The BEGIN and END statements are used to group multiple Transact-SQL statements into a logical block. Use the BEGIN and END statements anywhere a control-of-flow statement must execute a block of two or more Transact-SQL statements.
For example, when an IF statement controls the execution of only one Transact-SQL statement, no BEGIN or END statement is needed:
IF (@@ERROR <> 0)
SET @ErrorSaveVariable = @@ERROR
If @@ERROR is 0, only the single SET statement is jumped.
Use BEGIN and END statements to make the IF statement skip a block of statements when it evaluates to FALSE:
IF (@@ERROR <> 0)
BEGIN
SET @ErrorSaveVariable = @@ERROR
PRINT 'Error encountered, ' +
CAST(@ErrorSaveVariable AS VARCHAR(10))
END
The BEGIN and END statements must be used as a pair: one cannot be used without the other. The BEGIN statement appears on a line by itself followed by the block of Transact-SQL statements. Finally, the END statement appears on a line by itself to indicate the end of the block.
The BEGIN and END statements are used when:
BEGIN...END | END (BEGIN...END) |
Control-of-Flow Language |