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Data & Analytics · Foundational

INSERT Statement

The DML statement that adds new rows to a table, from literal values or from a SELECT.

Definition

INSERT INTO ... VALUES adds explicit rows, while INSERT INTO ... SELECT copies query results. Columns left out of the list receive defaults or NULLs. Bulk loading tools such as COPY INTO or BULK INSERT are faster for large files.

Example

INSERT INTO Archive (ID, Total) SELECT ID, Total FROM Orders WHERE Year < 2020;

Exam tip

Always list target columns explicitly; positional inserts break when the table structure changes.

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