Why does Sql Server keep executing after raiserror when xact_abort is on?

Question

I just got surprised by something in TSQL. I thought that if xact_abort was on, calling something like

raiserror(\'Something bad happened\', 16, 1);
         


        

Answer 1

As pointed out on the docs for SET XACT_ABORT, the THROW statement should be used instead of RAISERROR.

The two behave slightly differently. But when XACT_ABORT is set to ON, then you should always use the THROW command.