SQL Server row date last modified

Question

A colleague of mine says that SQL Server saves the date and time of last modification in a \"hidden column\" in each record. I am pretty sure that he said something wrong. C

Answer 1

There is no hidden column, maintained on a per-row basis, that contains the date/time of the last modification. Nor is there a column containing the identity of the user who performed such a change, nor is there a column that identifies what the last change performed was (insert or update).

If you want any of these features, you have to implement them. For some users, every last bit of overhead could matter to them, so having hidden features (with hidden costs) would not be acceptable.