I found myself explaining the nuances of INSERT
statements and whether you should use named or positional
notation. While the class was on Zoom, I could imagine the blank
stares in the silence of my headphones. Then, I had to remind
them about mandatory (NOT NULL constrained) and
optional (nullable) columns in tables and how an
INSERT statement requires an explicit
NULL value for optional columns when the
INSERT statement isn’t inserting a value into that
column.
Then, I asked if somebody could qualify the different types of
INSERT statements; and what would happen if a table
with a first_name and last_name column
order evolves when a new DBA decides to restructure the table and
uses a last_name and first_name column
order in the new table structure. Only a couple of the students
recalled using a column-list …
