MySQL - Insert Query
To insert data into a MySQL table, you would need to use the SQL INSERT INTO command. You can insert data into the MySQL table by using the mysql> prompt or by using any script like PHP.
Syntax
Here is a generic SQL syntax of INSERT INTO command to insert data into the MySQL table −
INSERT INTO table_name ( field1, field2,...fieldN )
VALUES
( value1, value2,...valueN );
To insert string data types, it is required to keep all the values into double or single quotes. For example "value".
Inserting Data from the Command Prompt
To insert data from the command prompt, we will use SQL INSERT INTO command to insert data into MySQL table tutorials_tbl.
Example
The following example will create 3 records into tutorials_tbl table −
root@host# mysql -u root -p password;
Enter password:*******
mysql> use TUTORIALS;
Database changed
mysql> INSERT INTO tutorials_tbl
->(tutorial_title, tutorial_author, submission_date)
->VALUES
->("Learn PHP", "John Poul", NOW());
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)
mysql> INSERT INTO tutorials_tbl
->(tutorial_title, tutorial_author, submission_date)
->VALUES
->("Learn MySQL", "Abdul S", NOW());
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)
mysql> INSERT INTO tutorials_tbl
->(tutorial_title, tutorial_author, submission_date)
->VALUES
->("JAVA Tutorial", "Sanjay", '2007-05-06');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)
mysql>
NOTE − Please note that all the arrow signs (->) are not a part of the SQL command. They are indicating a new line and they are created automatically by the MySQL prompt while pressing the enter key without giving a semicolon at the end of each line of the command.
In the above example, we have not provided a tutorial_id because at the time of table creation, we had given AUTO_INCREMENT option for this field. So MySQL takes care of inserting these IDs automatically. Here, NOW() is a MySQL function, which returns the current date and time.
Inserting Data Using a PHP Script
You can use the same SQL INSERT INTO command into the PHP function mysql_query() to insert data into a MySQL table.
Example
This example will take three parameters from the user and will insert them into the MySQL table −
<html>
<head>
<title>Add New Record in MySQL Database</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
if(isset($_POST['add'])) {
$dbhost = 'localhost:3036';
$dbuser = 'root';
$dbpass = 'rootpassword';
$conn = mysql_connect($dbhost, $dbuser, $dbpass);
if(! $conn ) {
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
if(! get_magic_quotes_gpc() ) {
$tutorial_title = addslashes ($_POST['tutorial_title']);
$tutorial_author = addslashes ($_POST['tutorial_author']);
} else {
$tutorial_title = $_POST['tutorial_title'];
$tutorial_author = $_POST['tutorial_author'];
}
$submission_date = $_POST['submission_date'];
$sql = "INSERT INTO tutorials_tbl ".
"(tutorial_title,tutorial_author, submission_date) "."VALUES ".
"('$tutorial_title','$tutorial_author','$submission_date')";
mysql_select_db('TUTORIALS');
$retval = mysql_query( $sql, $conn );
if(! $retval ) {
die('Could not enter data: ' . mysql_error());
}
echo "Entered data successfully\n";
mysql_close($conn);
} else {
?>
<form method = "post" action = "<?php $_PHP_SELF ?>">
<table width = "600" border = "0" cellspacing = "1" cellpadding = "2">
<tr>
<td width = "250">Tutorial Title</td>
<td>
<input name = "tutorial_title" type = "text" id = "tutorial_title">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width = "250">Tutorial Author</td>
<td>
<input name = "tutorial_author" type = "text" id = "tutorial_author">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width = "250">Submission Date [ yyyy-mm-dd ]</td>
<td>
<input name = "submission_date" type = "text" id = "submission_date">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width = "250"> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width = "250"> </td>
<td>
<input name = "add" type = "submit" id = "add" value = "Add Tutorial">
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
<?php
}
?>
</body>
</html>
While doing a data insert, it is best to use the function get_magic_quotes_gpc() to check if the current configuration for magic quote is set or not. If this function returns false, then use the function addslashes() to add slashes before the quotes.
You can put many validations around to check if the entered data is correct or not and can take the appropriate action.