INSERT

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Adds new rows (records) to a table.

Syntax

INSERT INTO <table name>
 [(<column list>)] VALUES (<value list>) |
 SELECT <command>

Insertion from one table to another through a subquery is not allowed.

Description

Use INSERT to add rows, or records, to a table. There are two forms of this command. In the first form, you use <value list> to specify individual column values that are to be inserted for the new row. The values to be inserted must match in number, order, and type with the columns specified in <column list>, if <column list> is specified. Columns in the new row for which no value is given are left blank. If no <column list> is given, the order of the columns as they appear in the table is assumed. Without a <column list> a value must be provided for each column in the <value list>.

In the second form, the SELECT clause is executed just like a SELECT command. The row or rows returned by the SELECT are inserted into <table name>. The columns of the rows returned by the SELECT are matched up with the columns listed in <column list>. Therefore, the columns returned by SELECT must match in number, order, and type with the columns specified in <column list>, if <column list> is specified. If no <column list> is given, the number, order, and type of the columns returned by the SELECT must match the number, order, and type of the columns in <table name>.