Adding Data

Microsoft® SQL Server™ supports these ways to add data to a table:

• The INSERT statement with one of two options:
  • A VALUES clause to insert one row with a specific set of values.
    
    
  • A SELECT subquery to insert data selected from a table or view.
• Database application programming interfaces (APIs)

  Support options for inserting data while processing a result set.

• The WRITETEXT statement and several database API options

  Can be used to add ntext, text, or image data to a row.

• Functions in the database APIs (ADO, OLE DB, ODBC, and DB-Library)

  Support adding new ntext, text, and image data to a row.

• The SELECT INTO statement

  Can be used to create a new table containing all the rows of the SELECT INTO result set.

• The bulk copy component for inserting large numbers of rows

  There are three main ways to specify bulk copy operations:

  • The bulk copy program (the bcp utility), a command prompt utility.
    
    
  • The BULK INSERT statement used in Transact-SQL batches, stored procedures, and triggers.
    
    
  • The bulk copy APIs for OLE DB, ODBC, and DB-Library applications.

INSERT statements work on views as well as on tables, with some restrictions. For more information, see Creating a View.