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Sql Null Coalesce — Free Sql Tutorial

Learn Sql Null Coalesce in Sql with a free, beginner-friendly tutorial, examples and practice for Indian students on Syllab.in.

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TL;DR: Learn Sql Null Coalesce in Sql with a free, beginner-friendly tutorial, examples and practice for Indian students on Syllab.in.

Written & reviewed by the Syllab.in Academic Team (CBSE/NCERT subject experts) · Updated Jul 14, 2026

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Sql Null Coalesce in Sql

NULL represents missing or unknown data — it's not zero, not empty string, not false. IS NULL and IS NOT NULL are the only ways to check for NULL.

COALESCE(expr1, expr2, expr3, ...) returns the first non-NULL value. Useful for providing defaults, handling missing data in JOINs.

IFNULL (MySQL) and NVLEVEL (Oracle) are single-argument alternatives. Arithmetic with NULL always returns NULL.

Sql Null Coalesce — Syntax

WHERE column IS NULL
WHERE column IS NOT NULL
COALESCE(col1, col2, col3, 'default')
IFNULL(col, 'default')  -- MySQL only

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