[thelist] Friday Freebie

[rudy]

>  Select isnull(uid,0) ...
> 
> the (MS SQL Server) isnull function allows you 
> to specify a return value if the field is Null. 
> Check your local db's documentation for it, 
> I'm not sure if its standard sql or an MS add-on....

in db2 it's value() 

in oracle it's nvl() 

the standard sql function is called coalesce()

not sure whether this is sql-92, sql-3, or whatever -- you'd think i'd be 
right up to date on what was what, but i'm not

as the above examples show, it is important to know *about* the function 
and when to use it, and where to look it up for your database du jour

rudy
r937.com