DEFAULT option
CREATE TABLE hire_dates ( id NUMBER(8), hire_date DATE DEFAULT SYSDATE); When you define a table, you can specify that a column be given a default value by using the DEFAULT option. This option prevents numm values from entering the columns if a row is inserted without a value for the column. - Literal, expressions, or SQL functions are legal. ie) SYSDATE, USER - A column name or a pseudocolumn ..