Improving SQL Insert statement syntax

Question

It's about insert statement syntax, in insert statement, unlike in update statement column names and corresponding values are separated in two different sets. With this separation debugging/writing of insert statement is going to be time taking activity. To identify what value is getting stored in any column, first column position needs to be identified and after that by counting commas in the values list value is located. If functions are included in insert statement then counting of commas doesn't help to locate the value.
In any non trivial application column count in insert statement is going to be very big number and it is unmanageable.
If column name and value are written next to each other as it is done in cause of UPDATE statement, it is going to drastically reduce the debugging efforts and there by improves the productivity of the developers.
So I request SQL community please consider having a variant of insert statement in similar lines of update statement. This will simplify the life of millions of developers.
Edited by: user9110509 on Feb 6, 2010 10:19 AM

Answer 1

Hi,
That's a good idea! An optional alternate way of specifying the columns would be handy.
Perhaps the reason it hasn't been done yet is that most people, like those who have responded to this message, do not find the current syntax much of a problem. We can't be sure if your idea "is going to drastically reduce the debugging efforts" until it is available, but my guess is that it isn't.
One thing I do to make sure the two lists match is to indent the values directly below the column names, like this:
INSERT INTO emp (empno, ename,   hiredate,                job)
      VALUES (9876,  'OBAMA', TO_DATE ( '20-JAN-2009'
                          , 'DD-MON-YYYY), 'PRESIDENT');If the list is very long, or individual values are very complicated, then I might start with a list of the column names
INSERT INTO emp          -- Step 1: not ready to run yet
(     empno
,     ename
,     hiredate
,     job
VALUESthen use the editor's copy and paste commands to duplicate that list:
INSERT INTO emp          -- Step 2: not ready to run yet
(     empno
,     ename
,     hiredate
,     job
VALUES
(     empno
,     ename
,     hiredate
,     job
;and then fill in the VALUES section, leaving the copied names as comments:
INSERT INTO emp          -- Step 3: ready to run
(     empno
,     ename
,     hiredate
,     job
VALUES
(     9876               -- empno
,     'OBAMA'               -- ename
,     TO_DATE ( '20-JAN-2009'
          , 'DD-MON-YYYY
          )          -- hiredate
,     'PRESIDENT'          -- job
;