Menu
The PostgreSQL NULL is the term used to represent a missing value. A NULL value in a table is a value in a field that appears to be blank. A field with a NULL value is a field with no value.
The PostgreSQL IS NULL condition is used to test for a NULL value in a SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statement.
Comparing COALESCE and ISNULL Data type determination of the resulting expression is different. ISNULL uses the data type of the first parameter, COALESCE follows the CASE expression rules and returns the data type of value with the highest precedence.
Here is an example of how to use the PostgreSQL IS NOT NULL condition in a SELECT statement: SELECT * FROM employees WHERE first_name IS NOT NULL; This PostgreSQL IS NOT NULL example will return all records from the employees table where the first_name does not contain a null value.
SELECT CASE WHEN field IS NULL THEN 'Empty' ELSE field END AS field_alias
Or more idiomatic:
SELECT coalesce(field, 'Empty') AS field_alias
Use COALESCE() instead:
SELECT COALESCE(Field,'Empty') from Table;
It functions much like ISNULL, although provides more functionality. Coalesce will return the first non null value in the list. Thus:
SELECT COALESCE(null, null, 5);
returns 5, while
SELECT COALESCE(null, 2, 5);
returns 2
Coalesce will take a large number of arguments. There is no documented maximum. I tested it will 100 arguments and it succeeded. This should be plenty for the vast majority of situations.
How do I emulate the ISNULL() functionality ?
SELECT (Field IS NULL) FROM ...
Try:
SELECT COALESCE(NULLIF(field, ''), another_field) FROM table_name
If you love us? You can donate to us via Paypal or buy me a coffee so we can maintain and grow! Thank you!
Donate Us With