Let us see how to write the SQL Server UPDATE statement. The SQL UPDATE Statement is used to update the existing records with new data. The syntax of the SQL Server update statement is
-- SQL Server UPDATE Syntax UPDATE [Table] SET [Column1] = [Value1], [Column2] = [Value2], [ColumnN] = [ValueN] WHERE Condition
- Table: Table name to perform SQL update operations (updating records)
- Column1…ColumnN: Please select the column names on which you want to update.
- Value1…ValueN: Please specify the values that you want to update.
- Condition: Here, we have to provide filters or conditions. If the condition is TRUE, then only the SQL Server update statement will update the records.
We are going to perform the different types of update operations on this table in SQL Server
SQL UPDATE Statement Example
We are going to update the Yearly Income of all the Employees in [SQL Update] Table.
-- Example for SQL Server Update Statement UPDATE [SQL Update] SET [YearlyIncome] = 100000
Above query will update the yearly income of all the Employees to 100000
Here, we haven’t specified WHERE condition. That’s why the SQL Server updated all the 15 records. It is the most critical approach in the real-time environment because if you forgot the where clause, you are ruing the client data
SQL UPDATE Statement to Update Single record
In this example, we update one single record.
-- Example for Update Query in SQL Server UPDATE [SQL Update] SET [YearlyIncome] = 250000 WHERE [EmpId] = 5
See, it has updated the [Yearly Income] with 250000 for the Employee whose ID value = 5
SQL UPDATE Multiple records
In this example, We are going to update multiple records into [SQL Update] Table.
-- Example for Update Query in SQL Server UPDATE [SQL Update] SET [YearlyIncome] = 123456, [Sales] = 4500 WHERE [Occupation] = 'Professional'
As you see, the update statement updated the [Yearly Income] with 123456 and sale as 4500 for all the records whose Occupation is Professional
UPDATE Statement to Update with New values
Suppose the government has increased some Tax values to 0.5% for all Goods and Services (or any particular Good). Then we can use this Update statement to update those values with a new one. OR you want to increase the prices of your goods then you can use it.
-- Example for Update Query in SQL Server UPDATE [SQL Update] SET [Sales] = [Sales] * 2
How to update from another table
In this SQL Server update statement example, we show how to update a table using records from another table. Here, we update the record in [SQL Update] Table with the new values in a [SQL Updates] Table.
-- Example for Update Query in SQL Server UPDATE [SQL Update] SET [YearlyIncome] = ( SELECT [YearlyIncome] FROM [SQL Updates] WHERE [SQL Update].[FirstName] = [SQL Updates].[FirstName] AND [SQL Update].[LastName] = [SQL Updates].[LastName])
Let me see the data
SQL Server Update Stored Procedure
In this example, we use the SQL Server Update Statement inside a Stored procedure. We update the Last Name as Tutorial Gateway, and Occupation as Admin for all the records present in the Update table whose Yearly Income is greater than or equal to 80000.
-- Example for SQL UPDATE Stored Procedure USE [SQL Tutorial] GO IF OBJECT_ID ( 'sp_UpdateEmployees', 'P' ) IS NOT NULL DROP PROCEDURE sp_UpdateEmployees; GO CREATE PROCEDURE sp_UpdateEmployees AS BEGIN SET NOCOUNT ON; UPDATE [SQL Update] SET [LastName] = N'Tutorial Gateway', [Occupation] = N'Admin' WHERE [YearlyIncome] >= 80000 END GO
Let me use EXEC Command (Execute Command) to execute the Update stored procedure
-- Example for SQL UPDATE Stored Procedure USE [SQL Tutorial] GO EXEC dbo.sp_UpdateEmployees GO
Now, let us see whether the execution of the stored procedure updated the Last Name and Occupation or not
-- Sql Server update statement example USE [SQL Tutorial] GO SELECT [EmpID], [FirstName], [LastName], [Education] ,[Occupation], [YearlyIncome], [Sales] FROM [SQL Update]
Update Statement from Management Studio
If you can access the Management Studio, use the Intellisense to generate the UPDATE Statement. To do so, right-click on the Table, and Select Script Table as -> Update To -> New Query Editor Window
Once you selected the Update To New Query Editor Window, it will generate the below-shown Sql Server update statement query. As you can see, it is displaying all the column names and the data type that it will accept. All you have to do is, replace <> with your required value, and change the where condition.
and the Code generated by the Management Studio is:
-- Update Statement in Sql Server example USE [SQL Tutorial] GO UPDATE [dbo].[SQL Update] SET [FirstName] = <FirstName, nvarchar(255),> ,[LastName] = <LastName, nvarchar(255),> ,[Education] = <Education, nvarchar(255),> ,[Occupation] = <Occupation, nvarchar(255),> ,[YearlyIncome] = <YearlyIncome, float,> ,[Sales] = <Sales, float,> WHERE <Search Conditions,,> GO
For the Update statement demonstration purpose, let me add 100000 to employees yearly income column.
-- SQL Server UPDATE Example USE [SQL Tutorial] GO UPDATE [dbo].[SQL Update] SET [YearlyIncome] = [YearlyIncome] + 100000 GO
Let me show you the Updated information or records