The SELECT clause has more uses than just returning those columns you specify in your query. Want to see a handy use for it? Need to populate a table with values from another table? But don’t want to do it by hand? You are in luck…
Note: All data, names or naming found within the database presented in this post, are strictly used for practice, learning, instruction, and testing purposes. It by no means depicts actual data belonging to or being used by any party or organization.
OS and DB used:
- Xubuntu Linux 16.04.5 LTS (Xenial Xerus)
- MySQL 5.7.24
I have these query results:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 | mysql> SELECT * -> FROM cell_phone_storage -> WHERE phone_number IS NOT NULL; +----+--------+--------------+ | id | f_name | phone_number | +----+--------+--------------+ | 1 | Josh | 222-333-4444 | | 2 | Mark | 888-888-0000 | | 3 | Kim | 444-111-5555 | +----+--------+--------------+ 3 rows in set (0.01 sec) |
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
And I want to store them in a similar table, such as this one:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | mysql> DESC cell_phone_2; +-------------+-------------+------+-----+---------+-------+ | Field | Type | Null | Key | Default | Extra | +-------------+-------------+------+-----+---------+-------+ | id | int(11) | NO | PRI | NULL | | | f_name | varchar(25) | NO | MUL | NULL | | | cell_number | char(12) | NO | | NULL | | +-------------+-------------+------+-----+---------+-------+ 3 rows in set (0.04 sec) |
No need to make things difficult. Hard coding those results individually in a VALUES clause is extra, unnecessary work.
You can use SELECT instead:
1 2 3 4 5 6 | mysql> INSERT INTO cell_phone_2 -> SELECT * -> FROM cell_phone_storage -> WHERE phone_number IS NOT NULL; Query OK, 3 rows affected (0.39 sec) Records: 3 Duplicates: 0 Warnings: 0 |
And there you have it. Easy as pie.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | mysql> SELECT * FROM cell_phone_2; +----+--------+--------------+ | id | f_name | cell_number | +----+--------+--------------+ | 1 | Josh | 222-333-4444 | | 3 | Kim | 444-111-5555 | | 2 | Mark | 888-888-0000 | +----+--------+--------------+ 3 rows in set (0.00 sec) |
To note: For this to work, the number of columns in your query, along with the data type(s), must match that of the target table.
Like what you have read? See anything incorrect? Please share your thoughts and comments below. Thanks for reading!!!
Explore the official MySQL 5.7 Online Manual for more information.
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Josh Otwell has a passion to study and grow as a SQL Developer and blogger. Other favorite activities find him with his nose buried in a good book, article, or the Linux command line. Among those, he shares a love of tabletop RPG games, reading fantasy novels, and spending time with his wife and two daughters.
Disclaimer: The examples presented in this post are hypothetical ideas of how to achieve similar types of results. They are not the utmost best solution(s). The majority, if not all, of the examples provided, are performed on a personal development/learning workstation-environment and should not be considered production quality or ready. Your particular goals and needs may vary. Use those practices that best benefit your needs and goals. Opinions are my own.