Re: [SQL] behavior of ' = NULL' vs. MySQL vs. Standards - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Tom Lane
Subject Re: [SQL] behavior of ' = NULL' vs. MySQL vs. Standards
Date
Msg-id 6689.991880382@sss.pgh.pa.us
Whole thread Raw
Responses Re: [SQL] behavior of ' = NULL' vs. MySQL vs. Standards  (Stephan Szabo <sszabo@megazone23.bigpanda.com>)
Re: Re: [SQL] behavior of ' = NULL' vs. MySQL vs. Standards  (Tom Ivar Helbekkmo <tih@kpnQwest.no>)
List pgsql-hackers
Stephan Szabo <sszabo@megazone23.bigpanda.com> writes:
> Yes, column = NULL should *never* return true according to the spec (it
> should always return NULL in fact as stated).  The reason for breaking
> with the spec is AFAIK to work with broken microsoft clients that seem to
> think that =NULL is a meaningful test and generate queries using that.

Microsoft Access is the guilty party, IIRC.  I recently tried to stir up
some interest in changing this behavior back to the standard, but
apparently there are still too many people using broken versions of
Access.

A compromise answer might be to offer a SET variable that selects the
Microsoft-compatible misimplementation.  Would that fly?
        regards, tom lane


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