Forming a MySQL insertion statement

As with record retrieval in the previous chapter, inserting data into MySQL through Python relies on understanding data insertion in MySQL itself. You will recall that the requirements of a computing language necessitate the use of as few words as possible to do anything. Ideally, there should be only one word as the Zen of Python reads:

There should be one—and preferably only one—obvious way to do it.

For retrieval, we used the SELECT command. For putting data into the database, we use INSERT. So instead of saying "Put everything on the far table!" or "Stick everything over there!", MySQL needs specification such as:

INSERT INTO far VALUES("everything");

This is perhaps the most basic insertion statement that one can make for MySQL. You can tell from it that the basic syntax of MySQL's INSERT statement is as follows:

INSERT INTO <some table> (<some column names>) VALUES("<some values>");

Now let's take this skeleton of a statement apart and...