How Group_Concat() Works in SQLite

SQLite has a group_concat() function that allows you to concatenate multiple results returned for a column into one.

This is sometimes referred to as “string aggregation”.

For example, when querying a database, instead of having each column’s value output in a new row, you can use group_concat() to have them output as a comma separated list.

Continue reading

How SQLite Nullif() Works

The SQLite nullif() function is a handy function that allows you to treat certain values as NULL when required.

It’s not to be confused with the ifnull() function, which does the opposite – enables you to treat NULL values as something else.

The nullif() function accepts two arguments, and returns its first argument if the arguments are different and NULL if the arguments are the same.

Continue reading

How SQLite Random() Works

The SQLite random() function returns a pseudo-random integer between -9223372036854775808 and +9223372036854775807.

A pseudo-random number is a number that appears to be random, but is not truely random. A pseudo-random number is not truely random because its value was generated by a known seed. However, a pseudo-random number will appear to be random if the user has no knowledge of the seed or algorithm that created it.

Therefore, pseudo-random numbers are often considered good enough for many applications.

Continue reading