What's the equivalent of --safe-updates of mysql in MS SQL Server?

In MySQL, you can use the feature called --safe-updates (--i-am-a-dummy) to limit the number of rows updated per query.

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/mysql-tips.html#safe-updates

Is there such a thing in MS SQL Server?

There may or may not be such a thing in MS SQL, but why would you want this?

There is already a way to limit what UPDATE affects (the WHERE clause).

There is already a mechanism to safeguard your data when making changes (Transactions).

Combining the two, we get the general-case solution: "Do your updates in a transaction, with appropriate WHERE clauses to limit what they touch, and make sure the results look right before you commit":

> BEGIN;
> UPDATE mytable SET foostring='NewValue' WHERE id > 16 AND id  SELECT * FROM mytable;

  [Omitted -- Make sure it looks right]

> COMMIT;  --- Or ROLLBACK if the SELECT doesn't look right

StackExchange Database Administrators Q#8902, answer score: 10