Joe Celko's SQL for Smarties, 3rd Edition

8.2. INSERT INTO Statement

The INSERT INTO statement is the only way to get new data into a base table. In practice, there are always other tools for loading large amounts of data into a table, but they are very vendor-dependent.

8.2.1. INSERT INTO Clause

The syntax for INSERT INTO is:

<insert statement> :: = INSERT INTO <table name> <insert columns and source> <insert columns and source> :: = [(<insert column list>)] <query expression> | VALUES <table value constructor list> | DEFAULT VALUES <table value constructor list> :: = <row value constructor> [{<comma> <row value constructor>}...] <row value constructor> :: = <row value constructor element> | <left paren> <row value constructor list> <right paren> | <row subquery> <row value constructor ...