How do I do a Not Equal condition t 2

[lobstah]

How do I do a Not Equal condition to a text field? Is the following correct? I do not get any records returned when I should. If I remove the &quot;fd.export_flag <> 'y'&quot; portion, it selects all the records, as it should.

SELECT * FROM Form_Data fd, Users u
WHERE fd.export_flag <> 'y'
AND u.user_id = fd.user_id

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[bryant89]

That is the correct statement for a not equal condition. The select from is what is bothering me. I am not sure what you are selecting from.

 

[lobstah]

solved my problem. apparently if the field is empty, it doesn't compare correctly? anyway, with data in the field, it works.

 

[bryant89]

You might want to try a join condition on those 2 tables rather than selecting from 2 tables that way.

 

[tlbroadbent]

Lobstah,

I just want to follow up on Bryant89's tip and the solution you found. I agree that you should use ANSI Join syntax. This will separate the Join criteria from the selection criteria. Once you become used to the syntax it makes a lot of sense and is easier to understand.

A NULL column cannot be tested for equal or not equal. You must check for Null or do as you did and fill the column with data. I recommend the following query for your consideration.
[/tt]
SELECT *
FROM Form_Data fd
INNER JOIN Users u
ON fd.user_id = u.user_id
WHERE fd.export_flag <> 'y'
OR fd.export_flag Is Null[/tt] Terry L. Broadbent
Programming and Computing Resources

http://tlbroadbent.home.attbi.com/prog.htm

 

[lobstah]

Excellent Terry!! Worked like a charm, thank you so much!

Thank you and Bryant89!!

:-D