SQL Server - How to change table column only having some specific values?

Question

TABLE Family(
BrothersName varchar(30)
);

I have added some names (values) into BrothersName, but now I want it to only have 2 specific names 'Alex' and 'Tom'. However later it should also accept other names. What is the best way to handle this problem?

Answer 1

Add a check constraint stating BrothersName should accept only 'Alex' and 'Tom'. In future when you don't need it you can drop the constraint

ALTER TABLE Family
ADD CONSTRAINT chk_BrothersName CHECK (BrothersName in ('Alex','Tom'))

To Drop the Check Constraint

ALTER TABLE Family
DROP CONSTRAINT chk_BrothersName