SQL (Structured Query Language) is a programming language used to manage and manipulate relational databases. One of the most commonly used SQL statements is the SELECT statement, which is used to retrieve data from a database. The SELECT INTO statement is a variation of the SELECT statement that allows you to create a new table and insert the results of a query into it.
The SELECT INTO statement is used to create a new table and insert the results of a query into it. The syntax for the SELECT INTO statement is as follows:
SELECT column1, column2, ... INTO new_table FROM table_name WHERE condition;
The SELECT INTO statement selects data from one or more tables and inserts it into a new table. The new table is created with the same column names and data types as the columns selected in the query. The WHERE clause is optional and is used to filter the data that is inserted into the new table.
The SELECT INTO statement is commonly used to create backup copies of tables, to create temporary tables for data manipulation, or to create summary tables for reporting purposes.
Let's look at some examples of how the SELECT INTO statement can be used:
The following example creates a backup copy of the "customers" table:
SELECT * INTO customers_backup FROM customers;
This statement creates a new table called "customers_backup" and inserts all the data from the "customers" table into it.
The following example creates a temporary table called "temp_orders" that contains only the orders that were placed in the last 30 days:
SELECT * INTO temp_orders FROM orders WHERE order_date >= DATEADD(day, -30, GETDATE());
This statement creates a new table called "temp_orders" and inserts only the orders that were placed in the last 30 days from the "orders" table into it.
The following example creates a summary table called "sales_summary" that contains the total sales for each product category:
SELECT category, SUM(sales) AS total_sales INTO sales_summary FROM sales GROUP BY category;
This statement creates a new table called "sales_summary" and inserts the total sales for each product category from the "sales" table into it.
The SELECT INTO statement is a powerful SQL statement that allows you to create a new table and insert the results of a query into it. It is commonly used to create backup copies of tables, to create temporary tables for data manipulation, or to create summary tables for reporting purposes.