DML Full Form and How is it used in SQL?

If you are a beginner or intermediate then this article gives you a good overview of DML, DML full form, and if you are an expert then it may help you to get something new on the same or help to refresh your knowledge. Well, in this article post, you will learn all about DML full form, the definition of DML, types of DML commands and their uses, and its advantage, etc.

DML Full Form

Hey guys, In a relational database management system, DML full form is Data Manipulation Language. DML commands act like a name that is being used to manipulate the data within the database. Every RDBMS are using SQL to perform different operations where data manipulation language plays a common part in SQL instructions.

Definition of DML in SQL

Well, A data manipulation language is a SQL component command similar to other programming languages that are used to manipulate and populate the data stored in the database. It is used to retrieve, store, modify and delete data in a database. DML command is not auto-committed which means it is not a permanent change. A user can use the ‘BEGIN TRANSACTION’, and ‘COMMIT’ to save a permanent change, or ‘ROLLBACK’ commands to roll back the changes in DML operation.

Type of DML Commands in SQL

There are two types of data manipulation commands in SQL database management systems –

1. High Level / Declarative Programming / Non-Procedural Programming
2. Low Level / Procedural Programming

Summary of DML in SQL

DML was initially used in computer programs, but now it has been interacted with by database administrators with the advent of SQL. Most SQL database management systems have been implemented to extend their SQL capabilities by providing and most focus on procedural programming. Examples are MS SQL Server’s T-SQL, IBM Db2’s ‘SQL-PL’, Oracle’s ‘PL-SQL’, and MS Access’s ‘Jet-SQL’.

DML has many different capabilities from many DBMS. ANSI (American National Standards Institute) has established many standards for SQL but still, DBMSs provide their extensions while not following the complete standard.

How Do DML Commands Work in SQL?

DML commands are executed using SQL statements. These statements are sent to the database directly and then executes. The database performs the necessary action, such as inserting, updating, or deleting data when a DML command is executed. DML commands can also be used in combination with other SQL commands to perform more complex operations.

DML Commands in SQL

There are three(3) commands under data manipulation language and ‘SELECT’ is considered to be a DML command in SQL because it also manipulates or modifies data i.e. SELECT … INTO … FROM … WHERE …, which populates the required data and also inserts into a desired new table. We have included ‘SELECT’ as DML here as well –

Example: INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and SELECT statements

Note 1: SQL Server runs auto commit for every DML statement but if we want to control this then we need to execute “Begin Tran” or we can change this behavior. By default SQL Server Management Studio is in an Auto commit mode, which means whenever a transaction is executed then that is committed by default. If we want to disable Auto commit mode in SSMSL, then follow the below steps:

1. Connect to SQL Server using SSMS
2. Go to the Menu bar, Click on Tools – Click on Options
3. Select Query Execution – SQL Server – ANSI
4. Then check the check box SET IMPLICIT_TRANSACTIONS
5. Click on OK

OR

Run the below query as needed –

Query:

SET IMPLICIT_TRANSACTIONS [ OFF | ON ]

Note 2: DML commands are a subset of SQL changes data statements which also contain the SELECT statement. The ‘SELECT’ statement is strictly a part of DQL (Data Query Language) commands not DML. Although SELECT is considered to be a part of DML command in common practice. Thus all the SQL data statements consist of a DML command.

Data Manipulation Language Statements

DML has many functional capabilities which are organized by initial word statement as follows –

1. INSERT Statement

There are two (2) types of insert statements – INSERT INTO and INSERT INTO SELECT statement

INSERT INTO Statement

An user can add or insert a new row or a data set into a specific table using an INSERT INTO statement. There are a few conditions to perform this statement. The number of columns of the desired table and its values should be the same while inserting a new record or a new row into the table. All constraints like primary key, check, not null, etc. must be satisfied into the values given in the INSERT statement. If any violations in constraints or syntax errors are found while executing this statement then new rows or records will not be added to the desired table.

Syntax

INSERT INTO Table_Name (Column1, Column2, Column3, ColumnN) VALUES ('Value1', 'Value2', 'Value3', 'ValueN');

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
INSERT INTO Employee (Employee_ID, Salutation, First_Name) VALUES ('001', 'Mr', 'Devid');
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

An user can insert multiple rows in a single query as follows –

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
INSERT INTO Employee (Employee_ID, Salutation, First_Name) VALUES 
('002', 'Mrs', 'Batra'),
('003', 'Ms', 'Lee'),
('004', 'Mr', 'Codd'),
('005', 'Mr', 'Fernandes');
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

The default value of the column will be stored in a column that is not mentioned. I am not mentioning Salutation here and the default value is ‘Mr’ for this data field in the Employee table. If you will run the below queries then the default value Mr will be stored in the table –

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
INSERT INTO Employee (Employee_ID, First_Name) VALUES ('006', 'Chopra');
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

OR

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
INSERT INTO Employee VALUES ('007', 'Mr', 'Raghawendra','Kumar','Shukla','Raghawendra Kumar Shukla','IT','Male','01-01-1980','9876543210');
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

INSERT INTO SELECT Statement

An user can add or insert a new row or data set into the specific table using INSERT INTO – SELECT statement as follows –

Syntax

INSERT INTO Table_Name
SELECT 'Value1', 'Value2', 'ValueN';

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
INSERT INTO Employee
SELECT '008', 'Ms', 'Herry','M','Tom','Herry M Tom','Operations','Male','01-02-1981','9876543210';
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

OR

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
INSERT INTO Employee
SELECT '009', 'Ms', 'Herry','T','Melan','Herry T Melan','Business','Female','01-03-1984','9876543210'
UNION ALL
SELECT '010', 'Mrs', 'ABC','Devi','Chawla','ABC Devi Chawla','Products','Female','01-04-1985','9876543210';
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

Users also can select appropriate columns from a different table to insert into the desired table as follows –

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
INSERT INTO Employee
SELECT Employee_ID, Salutation, First_Name, Middle_Name,Last_Name, Full_Name, Department_ID,Gender,Date_Of_Birth,Mobile_No FROM Employee_Back WHERE Salutation = 'Mr';
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

2. UPDATE Statement

An user can edit or modify an existing record in a table using the UPDATE statement as follows –

Syntax

UPDATE Table_Name SET ColumnA= 'ValueA', ColumnB = 'ValueB', ColumnN = 'ValueN' WHERE Condition;

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
UPDATE Employee SET First_Name='Mongo', Last_Name = 'DB', Salutation = 'Mr' WHERE Employee_ID='007';
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

3. DELETE Statement

An user can remove or delete an existing record in a table using the statement as follows –

Syntax

DELETE FROM Table_Name WHERE Condition;

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
DELETE FROM Employee WHERE Employee_ID = '007';
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

4. SELECT Statement

An user can add or insert a new row or data set into a new table using the SELECT INTO FROM statement. Using this statement new table will be created at the time of this query statement execution only. Refer to the below syntax and examples –

Syntax

SELECT Column1, Column2, ColumnN INTO New_Table_Name FROM Old_Table_Name WHERE Condition;

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
SELECT Employee_ID, Salutation, First_Name INTO Employee_New FROM Employee_Back WHERE Salutation='Ms';
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

OR

Example

USE SQLPOST
GO
SELECT * INTO Employee_New1 FROM Employee_Back WHERE Salutation='Mrs';
GO

Screenshot: Below screenshot for reference –

Note 3: As discussed earlier that in SQL Server run auto commit for every DML statement but if we want to control this then we need to execute “Begin Tran”

Example

    BEGIN TRAN
        SELECT………
        INSERT…………
        UPDATE…………
        DELETE…………
    COMMIT TRAN 
        OR 
    ROLLBACK TRAN

Best Practices for Using DML Commands

Below are the best practices for using DML commands in SQL for reference –

1. Always make sure you have a backup of your data before executing DML commands.
2. Use transactions when working with DML commands to ensure that the data is consistent.
3. Use prepared statements to avoid SQL injection attacks.
4. Test your DML commands on a test or UAT database before applying them to a live or production database.
5. Avoid using wildcard characters in the WHERE clause as it can slow down the query.

Difference between DDL and DML

Here is the basic difference between the DDL and DML command in RDBMS –

1. An user can define the structure of a database or its objects using DDL commands but data can be managed or manipulated and stored in a database using DML commands.
2. A DDL is not classified but DML is classified as procedural and non-procedural.
3. User cannot roll back DDL statements but DML statements can be rolled-back.
4. Whole database object impacts while using DDL statements but DML statements impact only one or more rows.
5. A DDL defines the column of a database object i.e. table but DML defines the data rows of a database object i.e. data
6. DDL comes under declarative but DML comes under imperative
7. CREATE, ALTER, DROP, TRUNCATE, RENAME, and COMMENT come under DDL commands but INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE comes under DML commands

Advantages of DML in SQL

Below are the advantage of DML in SQL for reference –

1. DML have their many different capabilities among many database management systems
2. Users can specify what data they need using DML
3. DML performs the desired level of communication with the user and machine
4. User could edit the existing data stored within the database using DML commands

Disadvantage of DML in SQL

Below are the advantage of DML in SQL for reference –

1. DML cannot delete or create structure, sections, and lists of a database
2. User can access or see the data which is not stored in the table physically
3. There is a limit of the table view and DML can conceal a few columns of a table
4. User could not edit the structure of an existing database using the DML command

FAQs

Conclusion

This tutorial post described the basics and advanced knowledge of DML and DML full form. DML is used to retrieve, store, modify, and delete data in a database. DML command is not auto-committed which means it is not a permanent change. It will provide enough understanding for beginners and professionals. We hope you would have liked this tutorial very well.

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