COALESCE

Dear MySQLers,

I have a guide for MySQL and it doesn't mention the COALESCE command at all
or how to use it. Does it exist in MySQL, or only in MS SQL? Thanks.

Michael

"Michael Dunn" <michaelsinai@comcast.net> wrote in
news:9a6dncmPrIgz5yDYnZ2dnUVZ_tadnZ2d@comcast.com:

> I have a guide for MySQL and it doesn't mention the COALESCE command
> at all or how to use it. Does it exist in MySQL, or only in MS SQL?
> Thanks.

mysql> SELECT VERSION();
+----------------------+
| VERSION() |
+----------------------+
| 5.0.24a-community-nt |
+----------------------+
1 row in set (0.09 sec)

mysql> HELP COALESCE;
Name: 'COALESCE'
Description:
Syntax:
COALESCE(value,...)

Returns the first non-NULL value in the list, or NULL if there are no
non-NULL values.
Examples:
mysql> SELECT COALESCE(NULL,1);
-> 1
mysql> SELECT COALESCE(NULL,NULL,NULL);
-> NULL

mysql>

--
felix