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INSERT

The INSERT statement is used to insert new records into a table. You can insert a single row or multiple rows at once, and you can also use the NULL, NOT NULL, and DEFAULT constraints to define how values are inserted.

Basic INSERT Syntax​

INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3, ...)
VALUES
    (value1, value2, value3, ...),
    (value4, value5, value6, ...),
    ...
;

Handling NULL, NOT NULL, and DEFAULT Constraints​

When inserting data into a table, the database handles NULL, NOT NULL, and DEFAULT constraints as follows:

  • NULL: If a column is defined with the NULL constraint (or no constraint is provided), you can insert a NULL value or omit the column in the INSERT statement. The database will store a NULL value for the omitted column.

  • NOT NULL: If a column is defined with the NOT NULL constraint, you must provide a value for the column in the INSERT statement. If you try to insert a NULL value or omit the column, the database will return an error.

  • DEFAULT: If a column is defined with a DEFAULT value, you can omit the column in the INSERT statement. The database will automatically use the default value for the omitted column.

Examples​

Consider the following Test table:

CREATE TABLE Test (
    id INTEGER DEFAULT 1,
    num INTEGER NULL,
    name TEXT NOT NULL
);

Basic INSERT​

To insert a single row:

INSERT INTO Test (id, num, name) VALUES (1, 2, 'Hi boo');

Inserting Multiple Rows​

To insert multiple rows at once:

INSERT INTO Test (id, num, name)
VALUES
    (3, 9, 'Kitty!'),
    (2, 7, 'Monsters');

Inserting with Omitted Columns​

If you want to insert a row without specifying a value for a column with a DEFAULT constraint, you can simply omit the column:

INSERT INTO Test (num, name) VALUES (28, 'Wazowski');

For columns with NULL constraint, you can either omit the column or explicitly insert a NULL value:

INSERT INTO Test (name) VALUES ('The end');

Handling NOT NULL Constraint​

If you try to insert a row without specifying a value for a column with the NOT NULL constraint, the database will return an error:

INSERT INTO Test (id, num) VALUES (1, 10);
-- Error: LackOfRequiredColumn("name")