title: Insert empty string into INT column for SQL Server
body: <p>A <code>SAMPLE</code> table has only one column <code>ID</code> of type <code>int</code>, default null.</p>
  
  <p>In Oracle when I do:</p>
  
  <pre><code>  insert into SAMPLE (ID) values ('');
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>the new record is added with blank value. But in SQL Server 2008, when I run the same <code>insert</code> statement, the new record has the value of 0. </p>
  
  <p>Is there a way to force SQL Server 2008 to default blank string to NULL instead of 0 (for numerical type of columns)?</p>