Adding Rows Using the INSERT Statement : Insert « Insert Update Delete « Oracle PL/SQL Tutorial






INSERT statement adds rows to a table.

You can specify the following information in an INSERT statement:

  1. The table into which the row is to be inserted.
  2. A list of columns for which you want to specify column values.
  3. A list of values to store in the specified columns.
  4. When adding a row, you typically need to supply a value for the primary key and all other NOT NULL columns.
  5. You don't have to specify values for NULL columns if you don't want to, by default they will be set to null.
  6. You can find out which columns are defined as NOT NULL using the SQL*Plus DESCRIBE command.

The Syntax for the INSERT Command

INSERT into table_name  [column_name]  values (values)
SQL> -- create demo table
SQL> create table Employee(
  2    ID                 VARCHAR2(4 BYTE)         NOT NULL,
  3    First_Name         VARCHAR2(10 BYTE),
  4    Last_Name          VARCHAR2(10 BYTE),
  5    Start_Date         DATE,
  6    End_Date           DATE,
  7    Salary             Number(8,2),
  8    City               VARCHAR2(10 BYTE),
  9    Description        VARCHAR2(15 BYTE)
 10  )
 11  /

Table created.

SQL>
SQL> -- prepare data
SQL> insert into Employee(ID,  First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date,                     End_Date,                       Salary,  City,       Description)
  2               values ('01','Jason',    'Martin',  to_date('19960725','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('20060725','YYYYMMDD'), 1234.56, 'Toronto',  'Programmer')
  3  /

1 row created.

SQL> insert into Employee(ID,  First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date,                     End_Date,                       Salary,  City,       Description)
  2                values('02','Alison',   'Mathews', to_date('19760321','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19860221','YYYYMMDD'), 6661.78, 'Vancouver','Tester')
  3  /

1 row created.

SQL> insert into Employee(ID,  First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date,                     End_Date,                       Salary,  City,       Description)
  2                values('03','James',    'Smith',   to_date('19781212','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19900315','YYYYMMDD'), 6544.78, 'Vancouver','Tester')
  3  /

1 row created.

SQL> insert into Employee(ID,  First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date,                     End_Date,                       Salary,  City,       Description)
  2                values('04','Celia',    'Rice',    to_date('19821024','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19990421','YYYYMMDD'), 2344.78, 'Vancouver','Manager')
  3  /

1 row created.

SQL> insert into Employee(ID,  First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date,                     End_Date,                       Salary,  City,       Description)
  2                values('05','Robert',   'Black',   to_date('19840115','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19980808','YYYYMMDD'), 2334.78, 'Vancouver','Tester')
  3  /

1 row created.

SQL> insert into Employee(ID,  First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date,                     End_Date,                       Salary, City,        Description)
  2                values('06','Linda',    'Green',   to_date('19870730','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19960104','YYYYMMDD'), 4322.78,'New York',  'Tester')
  3  /

1 row created.

SQL> insert into Employee(ID,  First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date,                     End_Date,                       Salary, City,        Description)
  2                values('07','David',    'Larry',   to_date('19901231','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19980212','YYYYMMDD'), 7897.78,'New York',  'Manager')
  3  /

1 row created.

SQL> insert into Employee(ID,  First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date,                     End_Date,                       Salary, City,        Description)
  2                values('08','James',    'Cat',     to_date('19960917','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('20020415','YYYYMMDD'), 1232.78,'Vancouver', 'Tester')
  3  /

1 row created.

SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL> -- display data in the table
SQL> select * from Employee
  2  /

ID   FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME  START_DAT END_DATE      SALARY CITY       DESCRIPTION
---- ---------- ---------- --------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------------
01   Jason      Martin     25-JUL-96 25-JUL-06    1234.56 Toronto    Programmer
02   Alison     Mathews    21-MAR-76 21-FEB-86    6661.78 Vancouver  Tester
03   James      Smith      12-DEC-78 15-MAR-90    6544.78 Vancouver  Tester
04   Celia      Rice       24-OCT-82 21-APR-99    2344.78 Vancouver  Manager
05   Robert     Black      15-JAN-84 08-AUG-98    2334.78 Vancouver  Tester
06   Linda      Green      30-JUL-87 04-JAN-96    4322.78 New York   Tester
07   David      Larry      31-DEC-90 12-FEB-98    7897.78 New York   Manager
08   James      Cat        17-SEP-96 15-APR-02    1232.78 Vancouver  Tester

8 rows selected.

SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL> -- clean the table
SQL> drop table Employee
  2  /

Table dropped.

SQL>








4.1.Insert
4.1.1.Adding Rows Using the INSERT Statement
4.1.2.Omitting the Column List
4.1.3.Insert value for specific columns
4.1.4.Specifying a Null Value for a Column
4.1.5.Including Single and Double Quotes in a Column Value
4.1.6.Insert double quote
4.1.7.Use trunc in insert statement
4.1.8.Combine three tables with 'insert into statement'
4.1.9.Insert default value
4.1.10.Truncate sysdate in insert statement
4.1.11.Adding Multiple Rows to a Table
4.1.12.Conditional INSERT Statement
4.1.13.to_date() and insert statement
4.1.14.To insert records into a table using a subquery: