PDO Prepared Inserts multiple rows in single query

Multiple Values Insert with PDO Prepared Statements

Inserting multiple values in one execute statement. Why because according to this page it is faster than regular inserts.

$datafields = array('fielda', 'fieldb', ... );

$data[] = array('fielda' => 'value', 'fieldb' => 'value' ....);
$data[] = array('fielda' => 'value', 'fieldb' => 'value' ....);

more data values or you probably have a loop that populates data.

With prepared inserts you need to know the fields you're inserting to, and the number of fields to create the ? placeholders to bind your parameters.

insert into table (fielda, fieldb, ... ) values (?,?...), (?,?...)....

That is basically how we want the insert statement to look like.

Now, the code:

function placeholders($text, $count=0, $separator=","){
    $result = array();
    if($count > 0){
        for($x=0; $x<$count; $x++){
            $result[] = $text;
        }
    }

    return implode($separator, $result);
}

$pdo->beginTransaction(); // also helps speed up your inserts.
$insert_values = array();
foreach($data as $d){
    $question_marks[] = '('  . placeholders('?', sizeof($d)) . ')';
    $insert_values = array_merge($insert_values, array_values($d));
}

$sql = "INSERT INTO table (" . implode(",", $datafields ) . ") VALUES " .
       implode(',', $question_marks);

$stmt = $pdo->prepare ($sql);
$stmt->execute($insert_values);
$pdo->commit();

Although in my test, there was only a 1 sec difference when using multiple inserts and regular prepared inserts with single value.

Same answer as Mr. Balagtas, slightly clearer...

Recent versions MySQL and PHP PDO do support multi-row INSERT statements.

SQL Overview

The SQL will look something like this, assuming a 3-column table you'd like to INSERT to.

INSERT INTO tbl_name
            (colA, colB, colC)
     VALUES (?, ?, ?), (?, ?, ?), (?, ?, ?) [,...]

ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE works as expected even with a multi-row INSERT; append this:

ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE colA = VALUES(colA), colB = VALUES(colB), colC = VALUES(colC)

PHP Overview

Your PHP code will follow the usual $pdo->prepare($qry) and $stmt->execute($params) PDO calls.

$params will be a 1-dimensional array of all the values to pass to the INSERT.

In the above example, it should contain 9 elements; PDO will use every set of 3 as a single row of values. (Inserting 3 rows of 3 columns each = 9 element array.)

Implementation

Below code is written for clarity, not efficiency. Work with the PHP array_*() functions for better ways to map or walk through your data if you'd like. Whether you can use transactions obviously depends on your MySQL table type.

Assuming:

• $tblName - the string name of the table to INSERT to
• $colNames - 1-dimensional array of the column names of the table These column names must be valid MySQL column identifiers; escape them with backticks (``) if they are not
• $dataVals - mutli-dimensional array, where each element is a 1-d array of a row of values to INSERT

Sample Code

// setup data values for PDO
// memory warning: this is creating a copy all of $dataVals
$dataToInsert = array();

foreach ($dataVals as $row => $data) {
    foreach($data as $val) {
        $dataToInsert[] = $val;
    }
}

// (optional) setup the ON DUPLICATE column names
$updateCols = array();

foreach ($colNames as $curCol) {
    $updateCols[] = $curCol . " = VALUES($curCol)";
}

$onDup = implode(', ', $updateCols);

// setup the placeholders - a fancy way to make the long "(?, ?, ?)..." string
$rowPlaces = '(' . implode(', ', array_fill(0, count($colNames), '?')) . ')';
$allPlaces = implode(', ', array_fill(0, count($dataVals), $rowPlaces));

$sql = "INSERT INTO $tblName (" . implode(', ', $colNames) . 
    ") VALUES " . $allPlaces . " ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE $onDup";

// and then the PHP PDO boilerplate
$stmt = $pdo->prepare ($sql);

$stmt->execute($dataToInsert);

$pdo->commit();

Two possible approaches:

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('INSERT INTO foo VALUES(:v1_1, :v1_2, :v1_3),
    (:v2_1, :v2_2, :v2_3),
    (:v2_1, :v2_2, :v2_3)');
$stmt->bindValue(':v1_1', $data[0][0]);
$stmt->bindValue(':v1_2', $data[0][1]);
$stmt->bindValue(':v1_3', $data[0][2]);
// etc...
$stmt->execute();

Or:

$stmt = $pdo->prepare('INSERT INTO foo VALUES(:a, :b, :c)');
foreach($data as $item)
{
    $stmt->bindValue(':a', $item[0]);
    $stmt->bindValue(':b', $item[1]);
    $stmt->bindValue(':c', $item[2]);
    $stmt->execute();
}

If the data for all the rows are in a single array, I would use the second solution.

That's simply not the way you use prepared statements.

It is perfectly okay to insert one row per query because you can execute one prepared statement multiple times with different parameters. In fact that is one of the greatest advantages as it allows you to insert you a great number of rows in an efficient, secure and comfortable manner.

So it maybe possible to implement the scheme you proposing, at least for a fixed number of rows, but it is almost guaranteed that this is not really what you want.

Based on my experiments I found out that mysql insert statement with multiple value rows in single transaction is the fastest one.

However, if the data is too much then mysql's max_allowed_packet setting might restrict the single transaction insert with multiple value rows. Hence, following functions will fail when there is data greater than mysql's max_allowed_packet size:

1. singleTransactionInsertWithRollback
2. singleTransactionInsertWithPlaceholders
3. singleTransactionInsert

The most successful one in insert huge data scenario is transactionSpeed method, but it consumes time more the above mentioned methods. So, to handle this problem you can either split your data into smaller chunks and call single transaction insert multiple times or give up speed of execution by using transactionSpeed method.

Here's my research

<?php

class SpeedTestClass
{
    private $data;

    private $pdo;

    public function __construct()
    {
        $this->data = [];
        $this->pdo = new \PDO('mysql:dbname=test_data', 'admin', 'admin');
        if (!$this->pdo) {
            die('Failed to connect to database');
        }
    }

    public function createData()
    {
        $prefix = 'test';
        $postfix = 'unicourt.com';
        $salutations = ['Mr.', 'Ms.', 'Dr.', 'Mrs.'];

        $csv[] = ['Salutation', 'First Name', 'Last Name', 'Email Address'];
        for ($i = 0; $i < 100000; ++$i) {
            $csv[] = [
                $salutations[$i % \count($salutations)],
                $prefix.$i,
                $prefix.$i,
                $prefix.$i.'@'.$postfix,
            ];
        }

        $this->data = $csv;
    }

    public function truncateTable()
    {
        $this->pdo->query('TRUNCATE TABLE `name`');
    }

    public function transactionSpeed()
    {
        $timer1 = microtime(true);
        $this->pdo->beginTransaction();
        $sql = 'INSERT INTO `name` (`first_name`, `last_name`) VALUES (:first_name, :last_name)';
        $sth = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);

        foreach (\array_slice($this->data, 1) as $values) {
            $sth->execute([
                ':first_name' => $values[1],
                ':last_name' => $values[2],
            ]);
        }

        // $timer2 = microtime(true);
        // echo 'Prepare Time: '.($timer2 - $timer1).PHP_EOL;
        // $timer3 = microtime(true);

        if (!$this->pdo->commit()) {
            echo "Commit failed\n";
        }
        $timer4 = microtime(true);
        // echo 'Commit Time: '.($timer4 - $timer3).PHP_EOL;

        return $timer4 - $timer1;
    }

    public function autoCommitSpeed()
    {
        $timer1 = microtime(true);
        $sql = 'INSERT INTO `name` (`first_name`, `last_name`) VALUES (:first_name, :last_name)';
        $sth = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        foreach (\array_slice($this->data, 1) as $values) {
            $sth->execute([
                ':first_name' => $values[1],
                ':last_name' => $values[2],
            ]);
        }
        $timer2 = microtime(true);

        return $timer2 - $timer1;
    }

    public function noBindAutoCommitSpeed()
    {
        $timer1 = microtime(true);

        foreach (\array_slice($this->data, 1) as $values) {
            $sth = $this->pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO `name` (`first_name`, `last_name`) VALUES ('{$values[1]}', '{$values[2]}')");
            $sth->execute();
        }
        $timer2 = microtime(true);

        return $timer2 - $timer1;
    }

    public function singleTransactionInsert()
    {
        $timer1 = microtime(true);
        foreach (\array_slice($this->data, 1) as $values) {
            $arr[] = "('{$values[1]}', '{$values[2]}')";
        }
        $sth = $this->pdo->prepare('INSERT INTO `name` (`first_name`, `last_name`) VALUES '.implode(', ', $arr));
        $sth->execute();
        $timer2 = microtime(true);

        return $timer2 - $timer1;
    }

    public function singleTransactionInsertWithPlaceholders()
    {
        $placeholders = [];
        $timer1 = microtime(true);
        $sql = 'INSERT INTO `name` (`first_name`, `last_name`) VALUES ';
        foreach (\array_slice($this->data, 1) as $values) {
            $placeholders[] = '(?, ?)';
            $arr[] = $values[1];
            $arr[] = $values[2];
        }
        $sql .= implode(', ', $placeholders);
        $sth = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        $sth->execute($arr);
        $timer2 = microtime(true);

        return $timer2 - $timer1;
    }

    public function singleTransactionInsertWithRollback()
    {
        $placeholders = [];
        $timer1 = microtime(true);
        $sql = 'INSERT INTO `name` (`first_name`, `last_name`) VALUES ';
        foreach (\array_slice($this->data, 1) as $values) {
            $placeholders[] = '(?, ?)';
            $arr[] = $values[1];
            $arr[] = $values[2];
        }
        $sql .= implode(', ', $placeholders);
        $this->pdo->beginTransaction();
        $sth = $this->pdo->prepare($sql);
        $sth->execute($arr);
        $this->pdo->commit();
        $timer2 = microtime(true);

        return $timer2 - $timer1;
    }
}

$s = new SpeedTestClass();
$s->createData();
$s->truncateTable();
echo "Time Spent for singleTransactionInsertWithRollback: {$s->singleTransactionInsertWithRollback()}".PHP_EOL;
$s->truncateTable();
echo "Time Spent for single Transaction Insert: {$s->singleTransactionInsert()}".PHP_EOL;
$s->truncateTable();
echo "Time Spent for single Transaction Insert With Placeholders: {$s->singleTransactionInsertWithPlaceholders()}".PHP_EOL;
$s->truncateTable();
echo "Time Spent for transaction: {$s->transactionSpeed()}".PHP_EOL;
$s->truncateTable();
echo "Time Spent for AutoCommit: {$s->noBindAutoCommitSpeed()}".PHP_EOL;
$s->truncateTable();
echo "Time Spent for autocommit with bind: {$s->autoCommitSpeed()}".PHP_EOL;
$s->truncateTable();

The results for 100,000 entries for a table containing only two columns is as below

$ php data.php
Time Spent for singleTransactionInsertWithRollback: 0.75147604942322
Time Spent for single Transaction Insert: 0.67445182800293
Time Spent for single Transaction Insert With Placeholders: 0.71131205558777
Time Spent for transaction: 8.0056409835815
Time Spent for AutoCommit: 35.4979159832
Time Spent for autocommit with bind: 33.303519010544

Here is another (slim) solution for this issue:

At first you need to count the data of the source array (here: $aData) with count(). Then you use array_fill() and generate a new array wich as many entries as the source array has, each with the value "(?,?)" (the number of placeholders depends on the fields you use; here: 2). Then the generated array needs to be imploded and as glue a comma is used. Within the foreach loop, you need to generate another index regarding on the number of placeholders you use (number of placeholders * current array index + 1). You need to add 1 to the generated index after each binded value.

$do = $db->prepare("INSERT INTO table (id, name) VALUES ".implode(',', array_fill(0, count($aData), '(?,?)')));

foreach($aData as $iIndex => $aValues){
 $iRealIndex = 2 * $iIndex + 1;
 $do->bindValue($iRealIndex, $aValues['id'], PDO::PARAM_INT);
 $iRealIndex = $iRealIndex + 1;
 $do->bindValue($iRealIndex, $aValues['name'], PDO::PARAM_STR);
}

$do->execute();

I had the same problem and this is how i accomplish for myself, and i made a function for myself for it ( and you can use it if that helps you).

Example:

INSERT INTO countries (country, city) VALUES (Germany, Berlin), (France, Paris);

$arr1 = Array("Germany", "Berlin");
$arr2 = Array("France", "France");

insertMultipleData("countries", Array($arr1, $arr2));


// Inserting multiple data to the Database.
public function insertMultipleData($table, $multi_params){
    try{
        $db = $this->connect();

        $beforeParams = "";
        $paramsStr = "";
        $valuesStr = "";

        for ($i=0; $i < count($multi_params); $i++) { 

            foreach ($multi_params[$i] as $j => $value) {                   

                if ($i == 0) {
                    $beforeParams .=  " " . $j . ",";
                }

                $paramsStr .= " :"  . $j . "_" . $i .",";                                       
            }

            $paramsStr = substr_replace($paramsStr, "", -1);
            $valuesStr .=  "(" . $paramsStr . "),"; 
            $paramsStr = "";
        }


        $beforeParams = substr_replace($beforeParams, "", -1);
        $valuesStr = substr_replace($valuesStr, "", -1);


        $sql = "INSERT INTO " . $table . " (" . $beforeParams . ") VALUES " . $valuesStr . ";";

        $stmt = $db->prepare($sql);


        for ($i=0; $i < count($multi_params); $i++) { 
            foreach ($multi_params[$i] as $j => &$value) {
                $stmt->bindParam(":" . $j . "_" . $i, $value);                                      
            }
        }

        $this->close($db);
        $stmt->execute();                       

        return true;

    }catch(PDOException $e){            
        return false;
    }

    return false;
}

// Making connection to the Database 
    public function connect(){
        $host = Constants::DB_HOST;
        $dbname = Constants::DB_NAME;
        $user = Constants::DB_USER;
        $pass = Constants::DB_PASS;

        $mysql_connect_str = 'mysql:host='. $host . ';dbname=' .$dbname;

        $dbConnection = new PDO($mysql_connect_str, $user, $pass);
        $dbConnection->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);

        return $dbConnection;
    }

    // Closing the connection
    public function close($db){
        $db = null;
    }

If insertMultipleData($table, $multi_params) returns TRUE, your data has been inserted to your database.

what about something like this:

        if(count($types_of_values)>0){
         $uid = 1;
         $x = 0;
         $sql = "";
         $values = array();
          foreach($types_of_values as $k=>$v){
            $sql .= "(:id_$k,:kind_of_val_$k), ";
            $values[":id_$k"] = $uid;
            $values[":kind_of_val_$k"] = $v;
          }
         $sql = substr($sql,0,-2);
         $query = "INSERT INTO table (id,value_type) VALUES $sql";
         $res = $this->db->prepare($query);
         $res->execute($values);            
        }

The idea behind this is to cycle through your array values, adding "id numbers" to each loop for your prepared statement placeholders while at the same time, you add the values to your array for the binding parameters. If you don't like using the "key" index from the array, you could add $i=0, and $i++ inside the loop. Either works in this example, even if you have associative arrays with named keys, it would still work providing the keys were unique. With a little work it would be fine for nested arrays too..

**Note that substr strips the $sql variables last space and comma, if you don't have a space you'd need to change this to -1 rather than -2.