3.2INSERT: Creating Test Data

-- Create a test user with specific attributes
INSERT INTO users (id, name, email, role, created_at)
VALUES ('test-uuid-001', 'Test User', 'testuser@automation.com', 'admin',
        NOW() - INTERVAL '90 days');

-- Create multiple orders for the test user
INSERT INTO orders (id, user_id, status, total, created_at) VALUES
    ('order-001', 'test-uuid-001', 'completed', 99.99, NOW() - INTERVAL '30 days'),
    ('order-002', 'test-uuid-001', 'pending',  149.50, NOW() - INTERVAL '1 day'),
    ('order-003', 'test-uuid-001', 'cancelled', 75.00, NOW() - INTERVAL '15 days');

-- Create line items for an order
INSERT INTO line_items (order_id, product_id, quantity, unit_price) VALUES
    ('order-001', 'prod-a', 2, 25.00),
    ('order-001', 'prod-b', 1, 49.99);

Why Direct DB Setup Is Faster

Method	Time to Create User + 3 Orders	Dependencies
UI clicks	Minutes	Browser, page loads, forms
API calls	Seconds	Auth flow, business logic
Direct SQL	Milliseconds	Database connection only

For complex test scenarios (user with 100 orders, specific date distributions, edge-case data), SQL is orders of magnitude faster.