Re: Strange query problem... - Mailing list pgsql-admin

From Kevin Grittner
Subject Re: Strange query problem...
Date
Msg-id 49804A00.EE98.0025.0@wicourts.gov
Whole thread Raw
In response to Strange query problem...  ("Scott Whitney" <swhitney@journyx.com>)
List pgsql-admin
>>> "Scott Whitney" <swhitney@journyx.com> wrote:
> Um. How is this possible?

> mydb=# select * from time_recs where id_time_rec not in (select
> id_time_rec from punch_time_recs);

> (0 rows)

>                        Table "public.punch_time_recs"
>       Column       |          Type          |           Modifiers

>
-------------------+------------------------+-------------------------------

>  id_time_rec       | character varying(38)  |

The column in punch_time_recs is null capable.  Try using NOT EXISTS.

The SQL spec requires the NOT IN to be the equivalent of a "not
equals" test for all entries, and you can't say that any given value
is not equal to NULL, since NULL can mean that there is a value but
you don't know it.  The semantics of NOT EXISTS are subtly different
here -- it means there aren't any rows known to have the value.

-Kevin

pgsql-admin by date:

Previous
From: "Scott Whitney"
Date:
Subject: Strange query problem...
Next
From: "Scott Whitney"
Date:
Subject: Re: Strange query problem...