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1.7.5.2 Transactions and Atomic Operations »
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1.7.5.1. SELECT INTO TABLE

MySQL Server doesn't support the SELECT ... INTO TABLE Sybase SQL extension. Instead, MySQL Server supports the INSERT INTO ... SELECT standard SQL syntax, which is basically the same thing. See Section 12.2.5.1, “INSERT ... SELECT Syntax”. For example: 

INSERT INTO tbl_temp2 (fld_id)
    SELECT tbl_temp1.fld_order_id
    FROM tbl_temp1 WHERE tbl_temp1.fld_order_id > 100;

Alternatively, you can use SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE or CREATE TABLE ... SELECT.

As of MySQL 5.0, you can use SELECT ... INTO with user-defined variables. The same syntax can also be used inside stored routines using cursors and local variables. See Section 12.8.3.3, “SELECT ... INTO Statement”.


User Comments

Posted by Sean Nolan on March 24 2005 5:57pm[Delete] [Edit]

This topic states that INSERT ... SELECT is basically the same as the Sybase SELECT ... INTO TABLE statement. That is wrong, the two are very different. SELECT ... INTO TABLE creates a NEW table with the rows from the SELECT, this is completely different from INSERT ... SELECT, which just appends rows to an existing table.

It is correct to say that the MySql CREATE TABLE ... SELECT statement is basically the same as the Sybase SELECT ... INTO TABLE statement.

Microsoft SQL Server also supports SELECT ... INTO TABLE.


Posted by Ann B on July 29 2005 9:57am[Delete] [Edit]

With INSERT..SELECT you must first have created the table. If you wish to create the table with the select, use CREATE..SELECT.

Posted by Geo Cabs on April 26 2006 10:49am[Delete] [Edit]

If table structure is the same then you can use:
INSERT INTO `table2` SELECT * FROM `table1`;

Posted by Matthew Green on May 29 2006 10:35am[Delete] [Edit]

Syabse select/into is also a minimally logged operation, making it much faster than insert....select. So, as already stated it is not the same thing by a long way!

Posted by Heinz Mueller on November 4 2009 4:47pm[Delete] [Edit]

There is an alternative for the "select into problem":

create table mynewtable (select * from myoldtable)

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