In MySQL, the CASE statement can be used in stored programs to perform a complex conditional construct. It compares a list of conditions and returns a different result depending on which condition (if any) is matched.
The CASE statement is different to the CASE operator, in that the CASE statement is specifically for use in stored programs. Also, there’s a slight difference in the syntax.
In MySQL, the CASE operator compares a list of conditions and returns one of multiple possible result expressions.
The CASE expression is included in the SQL standard (ISO/IEC 9075), and most major RDBMSs support it.
MySQL also has the CASE statement, which is slightly different to the CASE operator. This article is about the CASE operator.
In MariaDB, we can use the CASE operator to compare a list of conditions and return a different result depending on which condition (if any) is matched.
The CASE expression is included in the SQL standard (ISO/IEC 9075), and most major RDBMSs support it.
MariaDB also has the CASE statement, which is slightly different to the CASE operator. This article is about the CASE operator.
Some RDBMSs provide an IFNULL() function that can be used when dealing with potentially null values. In particular, MySQL, MariaDB, and SQLite each have an IFNULL() function that replaces any null values with another value.
Other RDBMSs, such as SQL Server, Oracle, and PostgreSQL provide similar functionality via functions of a different name.
In MariaDB, the ISNULL() function checks whether an expression is null or not. If the expression resolves to null, then ISNULL() returns 1, otherwise it returns 0.
In MariaDB, the NULLIF() function returns NULL if both of its arguments are equivalent. Otherwise it returns the first argument.