How does SqlBulkCopy circumnavigate foreign key constraints?

Question

I used SqlBulkCopy to insert a collection of rows into a table. I forgot to set an integer value on the rows. The missing column is used to reference another table and this

Answer 1

By default CHECK and FOREIGN KEY constraints are ignored during bulk copy operation. SqlBulkCopy is a managed class providing functionality similar to what SQL Server bcp command offers. The bcp command has a -h hint and unless you provide the CHECK_CONSTRAINTS hint the CHECK and FOREIGN KEY constraints are ignored during the bulk load. The technet article states that - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms162802.aspx

Similarly SqlBulkCopy class has a constructor which accepts SqlBulkCopyOptions enum. You would have to set the CheckConstraints enum option to ensure constraints are checked - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.data.sqlclient.sqlbulkcopyoptions(v=vs.110).aspx

Here is an article that talks about constraint check controlling - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms186247(v=sql.105).aspx

Hope this helps.