An UPDATE runs with no WHERE clause. What happens?

Question

Accepted Answer

Every row is updated, with no warning at all — A missing WHERE means every row matches, and the server does it without comment — which is why this is the classic production incident and why clients such as psql offer no protection. Wrapping the statement in a transaction and checking the row count before COMMIT is the habit that saves you.

Answer

The statement is rejected, since UPDATE requires a WHERE

Answer

Only the first row is updated, as a safety default

Answer

Nothing changes until a WHERE clause is supplied

An UPDATE runs with no WHERE clause. What happens?

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