you still need some sort of an ID for the row ex
id name age gpa
1 dan 23 3.0
2 dan 20 2.8
3 mike 21 3.3
then if you want to update you do it like this
update table set name=dan, age=23, gpa=3.1 where id = 2;
if you did it like this
update table set name=dan, age=23, gpa=3.1 where name = dan;
it would change all data where the name is dan, this would create bad data.
you can set up the id field using a sequence (in oracle) or an auto-increment in mysql
no offence at all, but it seems you are pretty new to databases and sql, might i suggest a GREAT site to get you started.
www.sqlcourse.com and after you get through that
www.sqlcourse2.com these helped me when I was just starting out, they let you build a database on there server as you are going thorough the course. Best part is that you never have to leave the page!
-Bob
[ November 15, 2004: Message edited by: Bob Rocks ]
[ November 15, 2004: Message edited by: Bob Rocks ]