Continue INSERT after key violation?

Hi there.
I have a simple table with a UNIQUE constraint on one field. I wish to
populate this table using a stored procedure that returns the equivalent
results set like so:
INSERT INTO MyTable EXECUTE p_GetMyResultsSet
My stored proc returns unique, distinct results each time it's called
(unique within each call!). The problem I'm having though is that, if the
stored proc returns any record that already exists in the table, the whole
statement quits with a 'constraint violation'.
I would like the statement to continue inserting the results - only leaving
out records which fail the criteria - is this possible?
e.g: 1. p_GetMyResultsSet returns one row with a key value of '1' - record
is inserted into the table OK.
2. p_GetMyResultsSet returns 4 rows with key values of 1, 2, 3, 4.
What happens now: none of the records are inserted because '1' already exist
s.
What I'd like to hapen: records 2, 3, 4 to be inserted.Can't you change the proc so that it only returns the rows that don't
exist? For example:
SELECT x, ...
FROM foo
WHERE NOT EXISTS
(SELECT *
FROM MyTable
WHERE x = foo.x) ;
If not, you could insert the results of the proc to a temp table and
then to MyTable using the same WHERE NOT EXISTS logic.
David Portas
SQL Server MVP
--|||Yes - I think I'll have to use the temp table approach. I'm restricted from
using the 'not exists' because the stored proc needs to be available for use
by other apps and processes- the "MyTable" population is just one process o
f
many using the proc to generate data...
Thanks for the help!
"David Portas" wrote:

> Can't you change the proc so that it only returns the rows that don't
> exist? For example:
> SELECT x, ...
> FROM foo
> WHERE NOT EXISTS
> (SELECT *
> FROM MyTable
> WHERE x = foo.x) ;
> If not, you could insert the results of the proc to a temp table and
> then to MyTable using the same WHERE NOT EXISTS logic.
> --
> David Portas
> SQL Server MVP
> --
>