<- v5:userguide:learn_abstraction:using_execute|Using Execute ^ v5:userguide:learn_abstraction:start_lesson|Start Of Lesson ^ ->
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====== Inserting And Updating Records ======
===== AutoExecute =====
ADOdb provides a helper routine, [[v5:reference:connection:autoexecute|autoExecute()]]. It simplifies the task of inserting and updating records by providing a structured, easy to understand methodology.
==== Inserting A Record ====
In order to insert a record, it is sufficient to know:
  - The name of the table to insert the data into
  - The name of the fields to fill

In the following example, the table to update is called **people**, and the field names in the table are **first_name** and **last_name**.


<code php>
/*
* We must declare a variable to hold the name of the table
*/
$table               = 'people';

$record = array();
$record["first_name"] = "Carol";
$record["last_name"]  = "Smith"; 
 
$db->autoExecute($table,$record,'INSERT');
 
/*
 * result executes "INSERT INTO people (first_name,last_name) 
                                values ('Carol',Smith')";
 */
</code>

AutoExecute helps, because it can automatically determine the type of the field to be created, quoting data appropriately, and can even handle special characters in the fields.
==== Updating A Record ====
To update a record, we must also know how to retrieve the record uniquely, for example there might be a sequence number on the table that uniquely identifies each one. In the following example, the requested record is identified by an id number of 305:
<code php>

$table                = 'people';

$record               = array();
$record["first_name"] = "Caroline"; 
$record["last_name"]  = "Jones"; # Update Caroline's lastname from Smith To Jones

$db->autoExecute($table, $record, 'UPDATE', 'id = 305'); 

/*
 * result executes "UPDATE people SET first_name='Caroline',
*                                     last_name='Jones' 
*                                     WHERE id=305";
 */
</code>

==== Updating Multiple Records ====
If the record match statement produces a non-unique result set, then **ALL** records that match will be updated.

<code php>
$db->autoExecute($table, $record, 'UPDATE', "last_name like 'Sm%'");
</code>
===== Limitations =====
AutoExecute is designed to be used as a UX helper, and contains multiple layers of validation which may cause performance issues. For improved performance, use can be made of [[v5:reference:connection:getinsertsql|getInsertSql()]] and [[v5:reference:connection:getupdatesql|getUpdateSql()]]. In OLTP environments, consider crafting inserts/updates programatically and using [[v5:reference:connection:execute|execute()]]  

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**End Of Lesson**
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