INSERT also allows a syntax similar to the one used by an UPDATE statement. Instead of saying the following:
mysql> INSERT INTO customer_sales_values(first_name, surname, value) VALUES('Charles', 'Dube', 0);
you could say this:
mysql> INSERT INTO customer_sales_values SET first_name = 'Charles', surname='Dube', value=0;
You can also do a limited form of calculation when you add records. To demonstrate, add another field onto the customer_sales_value table:
mysql> ALTER TABLE customer_sales_values ADD value2 INT;
Now, you can insert into this table and populate value2 with twice the value:
mysql> INSERT INTO customer_sales_values(first_name, surname, value, value2) VALUES('Gladys', 'Malherbe', 5, value*2);
This record now contains the following:
mysql> SELECT * FROM customer_sales_values WHERE first_name='Gladys';
+------------+----------+-------+--------+
| first_name | surname | value | value2 |
+------------+----------+-------+--------+
| Gladys | Malherbe | 5 | 10 |
+------------+----------+-------+--------+