MERGE and TRUNCATE in SQL

SQL has two more table update operators, MERGE and TRUNCATE. MERGE, like INSERT, takes a source table s and uses it to update a target table t. Briefly, a MERGE statement specifies a matching condition to determine which rows of s have at least one matching row in t (under that specified matching condition). It then specifies an open-ended series of conditions to be applied to each row of s paired with actions to be applied on t.

WHEN MATCHED AND c1 THEN x1 specifies that action x1, necessarily an UPDATE or DELETE, is to be applied on t for each matching row in s that satisfies the condition c1. WHEN NOT MATCHED AND c2 THEN x2 specifies that action x2, necessarily an INSERT, is to be applied on t for each non-matching row in s that satisfies the condition c2. The curiously named TRUNCATE statement deletes all the rows from its specified target, bypassing any triggered actions, including compensatory actions, specified for that target. The target must be a base table.