SQL UPDATE Statement

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The SQL UPDATE Statement

The UPDATE statement is used to modify the existing records in a table.

UPDATE Syntax

UPDATE table_name
SET column1 = value1, column2 = value2, ...
WHERE condition;

Note: Be careful when updating records in a table! Notice the WHERE clause in the UPDATE statement. The WHERE clause specifies which record(s) that should be updated. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records in the table will be updated!

Demo Database

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table in the Northwind sample database:

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
1	Alfreds Futterkiste	Maria Anders	Obere Str. 57	Berlin	12209	Germany
2	Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados	Ana Trujillo	Avda. de la Constitución 2222	México D.F.	05021	Mexico
3	Antonio Moreno Taquería	Antonio Moreno	Mataderos 2312	México D.F.	05023	Mexico
4	Around the Horn	Thomas Hardy	120 Hanover Sq.	London	WA1 1DP	UK
5	Berglunds snabbköp	Christina Berglund	Berguvsvägen 8	Luleå	S-958 22	Sweden

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UPDATE Table

The following SQL statement updates the first customer (CustomerID = 1) with a new contact person and a new city.

Example

UPDATE Customers
SET ContactName = 'Alfred Schmidt', City= 'Frankfurt'
WHERE CustomerID = 1;

The selection from the "Customers" table will now look like this:

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
1	Alfreds Futterkiste	Alfred Schmidt	Obere Str. 57	Frankfurt	12209	Germany
2	Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados	Ana Trujillo	Avda. de la Constitución 2222	México D.F.	05021	Mexico
3	Antonio Moreno Taquería	Antonio Moreno	Mataderos 2312	México D.F.	05023	Mexico
4	Around the Horn	Thomas Hardy	120 Hanover Sq.	London	WA1 1DP	UK
5	Berglunds snabbköp	Christina Berglund	Berguvsvägen 8	Luleå	S-958 22	Sweden

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UPDATE Multiple Records

It is the WHERE clause that determines how many records that will be updated.
The following SQL statement will update the contactname to "Juan" for all records where country is "Mexico":

Example

UPDATE Customers
SET ContactName='Juan'
WHERE Country='Mexico';

The selection from the "Customers" table will now look like this:

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
1	Alfreds Futterkiste	Alfred Schmidt	Obere Str. 57	Frankfurt	12209	Germany
2	Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados	Juan	Avda. de la Constitución 2222	México D.F.	05021	Mexico
3	Antonio Moreno Taquería	Juan	Mataderos 2312	México D.F.	05023	Mexico
4	Around the Horn	Thomas Hardy	120 Hanover Sq.	London	WA1 1DP	UK
5	Berglunds snabbköp	Christina Berglund	Berguvsvägen 8	Luleå	S-958 22	Sweden

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Update Warning!

Be careful when updating records. If you omit the WHERE clause, ALL records will be updated!

Example

UPDATE Customers
SET ContactName='Juan';

The selection from the "Customers" table will now look like this:

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
1	Alfreds Futterkiste	Juan	Obere Str. 57	Frankfurt	12209	Germany
2	Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados	Juan	Avda. de la Constitución 2222	México D.F.	05021	Mexico
3	Antonio Moreno Taquería	Juan	Mataderos 2312	México D.F.	05023	Mexico
4	Around the Horn	Juan	120 Hanover Sq.	London	WA1 1DP	UK
5	Berglunds snabbköp	Juan	Berguvsvägen 8	Luleå	S-958 22	Sweden