SQL INSERT INTO

SQL INSERT INTO Statement

The INSERT INTO statement is used to insert new records in a table.

INSERT INTO Syntax

It is possible to write the INSERT INTO statement in two ways:

  1. Specify both the column names and the values to be inserted:
SQL 
INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3, ...)
VALUES (value1, value2, value3, ...);
  1. If you are adding values for all the columns of the table, you do not need to specify the column names in the SQL query. However, make sure the order of the values is in the same order as the columns in the table. Here, the INSERT INTO syntax would be as follows:
SQL 
INSERT INTO table_name
VALUES (value1, value2, value3, ...);

INSERT INTO Example

The following SQL statement inserts a new record in the “Customers” table:

SQL 
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, ContactName, Address, City, PostalCode, Country)
VALUES ('Cardinal', 'Tom B. Erichsen', 'Skagen 21', 'Stavanger', '4006', 'Norway');

Insert Data Only in Specified Columns

It is also possible to only insert data in specific columns.

The following SQL statement will insert a new record, but only insert data in the “CustomerName”, “City”, and “Country” columns (CustomerID will be updated automatically):

SQL 
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, City, Country)
VALUES ('Cardinal', 'Stavanger', 'Norway');