Re: INSERT, UPDATE, REPLACE INTO alternate key

[Peter Brawley]

> Q1: Is there a way to supply a separate field to be used as a "key" for a REPLACE INTO or a INSERT INTO command, such as (faux code):

?! Read again, that's exactly the question I answered.

If you intended to ask whether such key creation can be done within s REPLACE statement, the answer is no.

> Second question is whether modifying the PRIMARY KEY of an existing database, and setting it back after an operation, if that would result in any loss of data, unique identifiers, etc.

If the PK you are restoring is a correct candidate key, it will be fine unless the update process created duplicates in that PK.