>Matthew...
>
>SQL-Server's identity field capabilities work fine. What you are proposing here is to go outside the SQL-Server realm for PK's. In most cases, this is simply not allowed, and is generally not a good idea. Mostly because you don't need to. For Fox data...sure. For SQL data, not acceptable at all... And, if you have a DBA on board, no way he/she would let something like this go through, at least, if they knew what they were doing....
>

John,

I would have to say this is a little MS-sited. Oracle doesn't have 'Identity Fields' in the sense SQL Server does... They support an ID table which holds the next value... It is just a little more automated than it is in VFP... So, the technique is sound and acceptable... if you want to use the same database design and code for SQL Server and Oracle I see no problem with using an ID table instead of identity fields.

Also, you may use a database that is highly distributed... (Out side sales people adding customers and orders to offline views) you can't wait to assign PK's till you get a connection... Or, doing it would not be the most efficient way... so, you decided to use UUID's as PK's... that rules out the Identity field.

Let's think outside the [MS] box here.

BOb