intro
The INSERT INTO SQL clause is one of the golden standards for any database management system. The SQL query is part of the CRUD process for any DBMS and as its name suggests, it allows developers to add data into their database management systems, or, to be more concrete, it allows database administrators to insert data into their tables. Nothing revolutionary, right? Wrong!
Read this blog and find out why!
Introduction
The INSERT clause is part of the CRUD series of SQL commands. These commands help:
The above commands are not news to anyone, but before digging into the INSERT INTO SQL query, we’d like you to be aware of them.
This is what the most basic INSERT query looks like so:
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INSERT INTO dbvis(col1, col2) VALUES (‘col1, col2’);
The clause is split into a couple of parts:
These aspects form the basics of the INSERT clause. Let’s move on!
Optimizing INSERT INTO SQL Clauses
Now that we know how INSERT queries look like, it’s time to start optimizing them. Here’s what you can do to optimize your INSERT queries both now and in the future:
Using the example above we delay all commit operations until the very last INSERT INTO operation has been completed. That way we save disk I/O for our database and make INSERT INTO SQL operations faster as a result.
Always have a read through documentation of your DBMS of choice and adjust parameters accordingly – servers do a lot, but remember that the power of your databases depends on their configuration, too.
These tips should be enough to drastically improve your INSERT query performance. If they don’t help, use lifehacks.
Lifehacks for INSERT Queries
Want to cut corners to insert data? You can! There are a couple of methods that help you do that:
Consider using INSERTs together with SELECTs – always try combining INSERTs with SELECTs if nothing else helps:
We can’t guarantee that your INSERT INTO SQL clause will become 250% faster because of this, but if nothing helps (or if you simply don’t have enough time to wait), try this as well.
Use the DEFAULT clause – if you’re inserting data into some columns and need one value to be in some of the other columns, using the DEFAULT clause can help immensely because after using this clause, your database will pre-fill the values needed. Come back and read that again – pre-fill the values.
Creating a table like so will mean that the value of the dbvis column will be DbVisualizer without needing to insert anything into it in the first place:
Use LOAD DATA INFILE – LOAD DATA INFILE is designed for bulk data importing. It is significantly faster than INSERT because it doesn’t carry any of the overhead that INSERT queries do. Here’s an example:
Make sure that the data you’re loading into your table is residing in the directory defined in the secure-file-priv privilege inside of your my.cnf file. This clause comes with many parameters we can use to insert our data including the partition parameter (what parameter to insert data into), the IGNORE option to ignore errors, the FIELDS TERMINATED BY option to define what character the fields will be terminated by, etc. LOAD DATA INFILE is described in detail here.
The last thing you should do is ensure that you have sufficient knowledge over the basics of your databases. Reading blogs like this one is a great way to start – keep reading, learning, and you will be an expert in no-time. Make sure to use trusted SQL clients like DbVisualizer to easily edit your data like a spreadsheet, visualize the data you’re editing, protect the data inside of your database with a master password or export your data to a spreadsheet altogether – see all features.
DbVisualizer is used by worldwide companies like Tesla, Twitter, Google, NASA, and others, so you really don’t have anything to lose. Why not try it today?
Summary
In this INSERT INTO SQL guide, we have walked you through ways to improve INSERT query performance. Some of the ways we’ve shared are basic, some of the ways are more complex – take from this blog what you will, make sure to keep an eye on your databases at all times, and until next time.
