PostgreSQL UPDATE
Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the PostgreSQLUPDATE
statement to update existing data in a table.
Introduction to the PostgreSQL UPDATE statement
The PostgreSQLUPDATE
statement allows you to update data in one or more columns of one or more rows in a table.
Here’s the basic syntax of theUPDATE
statement:
UPDATE table_nameSET column1 = value1, column2 = value2, ...WHERE condition;
In this syntax:
- First, specify the name of the table that you want to update data after the
UPDATE
keyword. - Second, specify columns and their new values after
SET
keyword. The columns that do not appear in theSET
clause retain their original values. - Third, determine which rows to update in the condition of the
WHERE
clause.
TheWHERE
clause is optional. If you omit theWHERE
clause, theUPDATE
statement will update all rows in the table.
When theUPDATE
statement is executed successfully, it returns the following command tag:
UPDATE count
Thecount
is the number of rows updated including rows whose values did not change.
Returning updated rows
TheUPDATE
statement has an optionalRETURNING
clause that returns the updated rows:
UPDATE table_nameSET column1 = value1, column2 = value2, ...WHERE conditionRETURNING * | output_expression AS output_name;
PostgreSQL UPDATE examples
Let’s take some examples of using the PostgreSQLUPDATE
statement.
Setting up a sample table
The following statementscreate a table calledcourses
andinsert data into it:
CREATE TABLE courses( course_idserial PRIMARY KEY, course_nameVARCHAR(255)NOT NULL, priceDECIMAL(10,2)NOT NULL, description VARCHAR(500), published_datedate);INSERT INTO courses( course_name, price,description, published_date)VALUES('PostgreSQL for Developers',299.99,'A complete PostgreSQL for Developers','2020-07-13'),('PostgreSQL Admininstration',349.99,'A PostgreSQL Guide for DBA',NULL),('PostgreSQL High Performance',549.99,NULL,NULL),('PostgreSQL Bootcamp',777.99,'Learn PostgreSQL via Bootcamp','2013-07-11'),('Mastering PostgreSQL',999.98,'Mastering PostgreSQL in 21 Days','2012-06-30');SELECT * FROM courses;
Output:
course_id | course_name | price | description | published_date-----------+-----------------------------+--------+--------------------------------------+---------------- 1 | PostgreSQL for Developers | 299.99 | A complete PostgreSQL for Developers | 2020-07-13 2 | PostgreSQL Admininstration | 349.99 | A PostgreSQL Guide for DBA | null 3 | PostgreSQL High Performance | 549.99 | null | null 4 | PostgreSQL Bootcamp | 777.99 | Learn PostgreSQL via Bootcamp | 2013-07-11 5 | Mastering PostgreSQL | 999.98 | Mastering PostgreSQL in 21 Days | 2012-06-30(5 rows)
1) Basic PostgreSQL UPDATE example
The following statement uses theUPDATE
statement to update the course with id 3 by changing thepublished_date
to'2020-08-01'
.
UPDATE coursesSET published_date = '2020-08-01'WHERE course_id = 3;
The statement returns the following message indicating that one row has been updated:
UPDATE 1
The following statement retrieves the course with id 3 to verify the update:
SELECT course_id, course_name, published_dateFROM coursesWHERE course_id = 3;
Output:
course_id | course_name | published_date-----------+-----------------------------+---------------- 3 | PostgreSQL High Performance | 2020-08-01(1 row)
2) Updating a row and returning the updated row
The following statement uses theUPDATE
statement updatepublished_date
of the course id 2 to2020-07-01
and returns the updated course.
UPDATE coursesSET published_date = '2020-07-01'WHERE course_id = 2RETURNING *;
Output:
course_id | course_name | price | description | published_date-----------+----------------------------+--------+----------------------------+---------------- 2 | PostgreSQL Admininstration | 349.99 | A PostgreSQL Guide for DBA | 2020-07-01(1 row)
3) Updating a column with an expression
The following statement uses anUPDATE
statement to increase the price of all the courses 5%:
UPDATE coursesSET price = price * 1.05;
Because we don’t use a WHERE clause, the UPDATE statement updates all the rows in thecourses
table.
Output:
UPDATE 5
The following statement retrieves data from thecourses
table to verify the update:
SELECT * FROM courses;
Output:
SELECT course_name, priceFROM courses;
Output:
course_name | price-----------------------------+--------- PostgreSQL for Developers | 314.99 PostgreSQL Bootcamp | 816.89 Mastering PostgreSQL | 1049.98 PostgreSQL High Performance | 577.49 PostgreSQL Admininstration | 367.49(5 rows)
Summary
- Use the
UPDATE
statement to update data in one or more columns of a table. - Specify a condition in a WHERE clause to determine which rows to update data.
- Use the
RETURNING
clause to return the updated rows from theUPDATE
statement
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