Practical PostgreSQL

Insert

Inserts new rows into a table.

Synopsis

INSERT INTO table [ ( column [, ...] ) ]
            { DEFAULT VALUES |
              VALUES ( value [, ...] ) |
              query }

Parameters

table

The table into which you are inserting data.

column

A column for which a value will be specified. The name must match a column in the table, though these columns need not be listed in their literal order within the table.

value

A constant or expression to insert into a column within table. This value is associated with the corresponding column in the column list if a column list was specified (columns in the column list correspond in a one-to-one fashion with expressions in the value list). If the expression for each column is not of the correct data type, automatic type coercion will be attempted. If this fails, the INSERT will fail completely.

query

A valid SQL SELECT statement. The number of columns returned by the query must match the number of columns you are inserting, as well as be of a compatible data type.

Results

INSERT oid 1

The message returned if one row of data is inserted correctly. The oid is the object identifier of the newly inserted row.

INSERT 0 #

The message returned if more than one row is inserted. The # symbol represents how many rows were updated in total.

Description

Use the INSERT command to add new rows into a table. This can be done either one row at a time, or in sets. Used with the VALUES keyword, an INSERT statement can only insert one row of data. To insert multiple rows, you can instead supply a query. Results ...