How to use INSERT IGNORE Statement in SQL

As a software developer, understanding SQL and its various statements is crucial. One such statement is the INSERT IGNORE statement. This statement is used to add new records to a table without causing any errors if the record already exists. It can be a powerful tool in managing your database and ensuring that data entries are unique.

In this article, we’ll explore the INSERT IGNORE statement in more detail, explaining what it does, how to use it, and providing examples to ensure you get a thorough comprehension of the statement.

What is the INSERT IGNORE Statement?

The INSERT IGNORE statement is a SQL statement that is used to insert new records into a table while avoiding errors. When using the statement, the data that is being inserted must correspond to the same data types of the columns in the table. The statement also demands that unique keys or primary keys must be present in the table.

After the statement is executed, it will add the record to the table without any errors. If the record already exists, it will not add any new information, and there will be no impact on the table.

How to Use the INSERT IGNORE Statement

Using the INSERT IGNORE statement is straightforward. Here is an example of how you can use it to insert data into a table named employees.

INSERT IGNORE INTO employees (id, name, age) VALUES (1, 'John Doe', 30);

In this example, we are inserting a new record into the employees table with an id of 1, a name of “John Doe,” and an age of 30. If there is already a record with an id of 1, the statement will not insert a new record, but instead, it will ignore the command.

Alternatively, you can also use the IGNORE keyword at the end of the INSERT statement.

INSERT INTO employees (id, name, age) VALUES (1, 'John Doe', 30) IGNORE;

This query is the same as the earlier statement and tells the database to not throw out any errors or warnings if there is a primary key violation.

Examples of Using the INSERT IGNORE Statement

Let’s look at some examples to illustrate how to use the INSERT IGNORE statement in SQL.

Example 1:

Suppose we have a table named students with the following columns:

| id | first_name | last_name |
| -- | ----------| ---------|
| 1  | John      | Doe      |
| 2  | Jane      | Doe      |

Now, let’s say we would want to insert another record with id of 1 and first_name of “John” and last_name of “Smith.” The INSERT IGNORE statement would look like this:

INSERT IGNORE INTO students (id, first_name, last_name) VALUES (1, 'John', 'Smith');

As there already is a record with the id 1 we added earlier, the statement will not insert the row with our new details (with different last_name) and instead will ignore the command.

Example 2:

Let’s look at another example where we want to add multiple records to a table without causing any errors. We have a table named fruits with the following columns:

| id | fruit_name | price |
| -- | ----------| ------|
| 1  | Apple     | 0.50  |
| 2  | Orange    | 0.55  |

To insert multiple records into this table, we can use the following INSERT IGNORE statement:

INSERT IGNORE INTO fruits (id, fruit_name, price) VALUES (1, 'Apple', 0.50), (3, 'Mango', 1.75), (4, 'Kiwi', 0.75);

Each record needs to be separated by a comma when using the statement. In this case we are telling the database to add rows with id values of 1, 3 and 4 with respective fruit and price values to the table without throwing out any errors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

We’ve explored the INSERT IGNORE statement in SQL, detailing what it is, how to use it, and providing examples to help you understand the statement better. It’s an essential tool for managing data entries and ensuring unique entries in a table. As a developer, understanding this statement’s functionality can profoundly enhance your database management system. As you use SQL, ensure you utilize this statement; it will save you valuable time and ensure your data is unique and accurate.

For more information on SQL and relational databases, visit W3Schools.

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