Re: how to select one column into another in same table?

On Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 12:24 PM, J.V. <jvsrvcs(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> Currently I can select one column into another with two statements:
>
>    alter table <table_name> add column id_old int;
>    update <table_name> set id_old = id;
>
> Is there a way to do this in one statement with a select into?  I have tried
> various select statements but want the new column (with the same data) to be
> in the same table and to have it execute much more quickly that the two
> statements currently do.

Do you need another column or do you just want to alter a column that
already exists? If so you can alter a column from one type to another
and throw a using clause at it to convert the data in some way. I
think we need to know a bit better what you're trying to do.,