I'm trying to drop a constraint on a db table, something like:
ALTER TABLE MyTable drop CONSTRAINT FK_MyTable_AnotherTable
But the execution just runs and runs. If I stop it I see:
Msg 3727, Level 16, State 0, Line 2
Could not drop constraint. See previous errors.
Web search throws up various pages but note that the constraint is properly named and I am trying to remove it using the correct name
Verify that you've not already dropped the constraint, like:
SELECT OBJECT_ID('FK_MyTable_AnotherTable')
If this returns null, your constraint no longer exists. That would explain the error message.
Found a way to sort this, although I don't understand why it was necessary.
Have been able to drop the constraint by disabling it first:
ALTER MyTable NOCHECK CONSTRAINT FK_MyTable_AnotherTable
The drop then completes fine
Would still welcome any comments on the reason why this is necessary