Comparison operators

A comparison operator tests the relationship between two values and returns a corresponding value of true, false, or NULL.

Basic operators

For simple data types, the following basic operators can be used:

When comparing strings, a lexicographical comparison is performed:

1. cr> select name from locations where name > 'Argabuthon' order by name;
2. +------------------------------------+
3. | name                               |
4. +------------------------------------+
5. | Arkintoofle Minor                  |
6. | Bartledan                          |
7. | Galactic Sector QQ7 Active J Gamma |
8. | North West Ripple                  |
9. | Outer Eastern Rim                  |
10. +------------------------------------+
11. SELECT 5 rows in set (... sec)

When comparing dates, ISO date formats can be used:

1. cr> select date, position from locations where date <= '1979-10-12' and
2. ... position < 3 order by position;
3. +--------------+----------+
4. | date         | position |
5. +--------------+----------+
6. | 308534400000 |        1 |
7. | 308534400000 |        2 |
8. +--------------+----------+
9. SELECT 2 rows in set (... sec)

Tip

Comparison operators are commonly used to filter rows (e.g., in the WHERE and HAVING clauses of a SELECT statement). However, basic comparison operators can be used as value expressions in any context. For example:

1. cr> SELECT 1 < 10 as my_column;
2. +--------------+
3. | my_column    |
4. +--------------+
5. | true         |
6. +--------------+
7. SELECT 1 rows in set (... sec)

WHERE clause operators

Within a WHERE clause, the following operators can also be used:

See also

• Array comparisons
• Subquery expressions