INSERT INTO (SELECT & VALUES) TOGETHER

Question

I'm trying to INSERT INTO a table, and I know 2 ways:

Adding rows as values:

INSERT INTO db_example.tab_example (id,name,surname,group)
VALUES ('','Tom','Hanks','1');

or from another table:

INSERT INTO db_example.tab_example (id,name,surname)
SELECT ID,first_name,last_name FROM db_contacts.tab_mygroup;

but what if I want to insert some values from another table (the second way), and some values manually like a default value (the first way).

here's my try (it didn't work):

INSERT INTO db_example.tab_example (id,name,surname,group)
VALUES (
 SELECT ID FROM db_contacts.tab_mygroup,
 SELECT first_name FROM db_contacts.tab_mygroup,
 SELECT last_name FROM db_contacts.tab_mygroup,
 '1'
);

I thought of creating a VIEWtable and it might solve the problem, but I thought there might be someway to add both together.

Thank you guys! I hope I described well what I need :)

Solution

Just return the literal value from the SELECT statement; add an expression to the SELECT list. For example:

INSERT INTO db_example.tab_example (id,name,surname,group)
SELECT ID
     , first_name
     , last_name
     , '1' AS group
  FROM db_contacts.tab_mygroup;

---

FOLLOWUP

Q: can I SELECT first_name and last_name in the same column using the AS function? or I need another function?

A: If you want to combine the values in the first_name and last_name into a single column, you could concatenate them using an expression, and use that expression in the SELECT list, e.g

CONCAT(last_name,', ',first_name')

or

CONCAT(first_name,' ',last_name)

The AS keyword won't have any effect in the context of an INSERT ... SELECT, but assigning an alias to that expression that matches the name of the column the expression is being inserted into does serve as an aid for the future reader.

INSERT INTO db_example.tab_example (id,name,surname,group,full_name)
SELECT ID
     , first_name
     , last_name
     , '1' AS group
     , CONCAT(first_name,' ',last_name) AS full_name
  FROM db_contacts.tab_mygroup

Comments

[Hituptony]

what was the error you got when it failed?

[beercodebeer]

Well, you're SELECTing 4 values, for one...

[spencer7593]

@rand: the INSERT ... VALUES and INSERT ... SELECT forms of the INSERT statement are distinct; those two forms cannot be combined. But it is possible to use a SELECT statement that returns literal values.

[rand]

Yes, I understood! it's just not logical the way I wrote it, but since I'm a beginner I didn't know the AS function. Thank you again!

[rand]

can I SELECT first_name and last_name in the same column using the AS function? or I need another function?

[spencer7593]

@rand: if you want to combine the first_name and last_name into a single column, you could concatenate them using an expression, and use that expression in the SELECT list, e.g CONCAT(last_name,', ',first_name'), or CONCAT(first_name,' ',last_name). The AS keyword won't have any effect in the INSERT ... SELECT, but assigning an alias that matches the name of the column the expression is being inserted into does serve as an aid for the future reader.