Transact-SQL supports the same logical operators as C# with small variations. The operators are:
A conditional statement is an expression you formulate to evaluate it. Most of the time, the statement is written so that, when evaluated, it can produce a result of true or false, then, depending on the outcome, you can take action. A condition is usually written as simple as possible to make it clear to you and the SQL interpreter. Although the interpreter never gets confused, if you create a difficult statement, you may receive an unpredictable result. In the next few sections, we will review the keywords and formulas that Transact-SQL provides to help you formulate clear expressions. Expressions usually start with a keyword, followed by the expression itself. After the expression, you can tell the interpreter what to do. The statement may appear as follows: Keyword Expression Statement With the above formula, we will always let you know what keyword you can use, why, and when. After the expression, you can write the statement in one line. This is the statement that would be executed if/when the Expression of our formula is satisfied. In most cases, you will need more than one line of code to specify the Statement. As it happens, the interpreter considers whatever comes after the Statement as a unit but only the line immediately after the Expression. To indicate that your Statement covers more than one line, start it with the BEGIN keyword. Then you must use the END keyword to indicate where the Statement ends. In this case, the formula of a conditional statement would appear as follows: Keyword Expression BEGIN Statement Line 1 Statement Line 2 Statement Line n END You can still use the BEGIN...END combination even if your Statement covers only one line: Keyword Expression BEGIN Statement END Using the BEGIN...END combination makes your code easier to read because it clearly indicates the start and end of the Statement.
Probably the primary comparison you can perform on a statement is to find out whether it is true. This operation is performed using an IF statement in Transact-SQL. Its basic formula is: IF Condition Statement When creating an IF statement, first make sure you provide a Condition expression that can be evaluated to produce true or false. To create this Condition, you can use variables and the logical comparison operator reviewed above. When the interpreter executes this statement, it first examines the Condition to evaluate it to a true result. If the Condition produces true, then the interpreter executes the Statement. Here is an example: using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
public class Exercise : System.Windows.Forms.Form
{
Button btnDatabase;
public Exercise()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
void InitializeComponent()
{
btnDatabase = new Button();
btnDatabase.Text = "Database";
btnDatabase.Location = new Point(12, 12);
btnDatabase.Click += new EventHandler(btnDatabaseClick);
Controls.Add(btnDatabase);
}
void btnDatabaseClick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
using (SqlConnection connection =
new SqlConnection("Data Source=(local);" +
"Database='Exercise1';" +
"Integrated Security=yes;"))
{
SqlCommand command =
new SqlCommand("DECLARE @DateHired As DateTime, " +
"@CurrentDate As DateTime " +
"SET @DateHired = N'1996/10/04' " +
"SET @CurrentDate = N'2007/04/11' " +
"IF @DateHired < @CurrentDate " +
" SELECT N'You have the experience required for a new promotion in this job'",
connection);
connection.Open();
SqlDataReader rdr = command.ExecuteReader();
while (rdr.Read())
{
MessageBox.Show(rdr[0].ToString(),
"Database Application",
MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Information);
}
rdr.Close();
}
}
public static int Main()
{
System.Windows.Forms.Application.Run(new Exercise());
return 0;
}
}
This would produce:
The IF condition we used above is appropriate when you only need to know if an expression is true. There is nothing to do in other alternatives. Consider the following code: void btnDatabaseClick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
using (SqlConnection connection =
new SqlConnection("Data Source=(local);" +
"Database='Exercise1';" +
"Integrated Security=yes;"))
{
SqlCommand command =
new SqlCommand("DECLARE @DateHired As DateTime," +
" @CurrentDate As DateTime;" +
"SET @DateHired = N'1996/10/04'" +
"SET @CurrentDate = N'2007/04/16';" +
"IF @DateHired > @CurrentDate" +
" SELECT N'You have the experience required for a new promotion';",
connection);
connection.Open();
SqlDataReader rdr = command.ExecuteReader();
while (rdr.Read())
{
MessageBox.Show(rdr[0].ToString(),
"Database Application",
MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Information);
}
rdr.Close();
}
}
In case the expression to examine produces a false result, there is nothing to do. Sometimes this will happen. The CASE keyword is used as a conditional operator that considers a value, examines it, and acts on an option depending on the value. The formula of the CASE statement is: CASE Expression
WHEN Value1 THEN Result
WHEN Value2 THEN Result
WHEN Value_n THEN Result
END
In the following example, a letter that represents a student is provided. If the letter is m or M, a string is created as Male. If the value is provided as f or F, a string is created as Female: void btnDatabaseClick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
using (SqlConnection connection =
new SqlConnection("Data Source=(local);" +
"Database='Exercise1';" +
"Integrated Security=yes;"))
{
SqlCommand command =
new SqlCommand("DECLARE @CharGender Char(1)," +
"@Gender Varchar(20);" +
"SET @CharGender = N'F';" +
"SET @Gender = " +
"CASE @CharGender" +
" WHEN N'm' THEN N'Male'" +
" WHEN N'M' THEN N'Male'" +
" WHEN N'f' THEN N'Female'" +
" WHEN N'F' THEN N'Female'" +
"END;" +
"SELECT N'Student Gender: ' + @Gender;",
connection);
connection.Open();
SqlDataReader rdr = command.ExecuteReader();
while (rdr.Read())
{
MessageBox.Show(rdr[0].ToString(),
"Database Application",
MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Information);
}
rdr.Close();
}
}
Here is the result of executing it:
In most cases, you may know the only types of values that would be submitted to a CASE statement. In some other cases, an unpredictable value may be submitted. If you anticipate a value other than those you are aware of, the CASE statement provides a "fit-all' alternative by using the last statement as ELSE. In this case, the formula of the CASE statement would be: CASE Expression WHEN Value1 THEN Result WHEN Value2 THEN Result WHEN Value_n THEN Result ELSE Alternative END The ELSE statement, as the last, is used when none of the values of the WHEN statements fits. Here is an example: void btnDatabaseClick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
using (SqlConnection connection =
new SqlConnection("Data Source=(local);" +
"Database='Exercise1';" +
"Integrated Security=yes;"))
{
SqlCommand command =
new SqlCommand("DECLARE @CharGender Char(1)," +
"@Gender Varchar(20);" +
"SET @CharGender = N'g';" +
"SET @Gender = " +
"CASE @CharGender" +
" WHEN N'm' THEN N'Male'" +
" WHEN N'M' THEN N'Male'" +
" WHEN N'f' THEN N'Female'" +
" WHEN N'F' THEN N'Female'" +
"ELSE N'Unknown'" +
"END;" +
"SELECT N'Student Gender: ' + @Gender;",
connection);
connection.Open();
SqlDataReader rdr = command.ExecuteReader();
while (rdr.Read())
{
MessageBox.Show(rdr[0].ToString(),
"Database Application",
MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Information);
}
rdr.Close();
}
}
This would produce:
If you do not produce an ELSE statement but a value not addressed by any of the WHEN statements is produced, the result would be NULL. Here is an example: void btnDatabaseClick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
using (SqlConnection connection =
new SqlConnection("Data Source=(local);" +
"Database='Exercise1';" +
"Integrated Security=yes;"))
{
SqlCommand command =
new SqlCommand("DECLARE @CharGender Char(1)," +
"@Gender Varchar(20);" +
"SET @CharGender = N'Q';" +
"SET @Gender = " +
"CASE @CharGender" +
" WHEN N'm' THEN N'Male'" +
" WHEN N'M' THEN N'Male'" +
" WHEN N'f' THEN N'Female'" +
" WHEN N'F' THEN N'Female'" +
"ELSE N'Unknown'" +
"END;" +
"SELECT N'Student Gender: ' + @Gender;",
connection);
connection.Open();
SqlDataReader rdr = command.ExecuteReader();
while (rdr.Read())
{
MessageBox.Show(rdr[0].ToString(),
"Database Application",
MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Information);
}
rdr.Close();
}
}
This would produce:
This means that it is a valuable safeguard to always include an ELSE sub-statement in a CASE statement. As done in C#, to examine a condition and evaluate it before taking action in SQL, you can use the WHILE operator. The basic formula of this statement is: WHILE Expression
Statement
When implementing this statement, first provide an Expression after the WHILE keyword. The Expression must produce a true or a false result. If the Expression is true, then the interpreter executes the Statement. After executing the Statement, the Expression is checked again. AS LONG AS the Expression is true, it will keep executing the Statement. When or once the Expression becomes false, it stops executing the Statement. This scenario can be illustrated as follows:
Here is an example: DECLARE @Number As int WHILE @Number < 5 SELECT @Number AS Number GO To effectively execute a while condition, you should make sure you provide a mechanism for the interpreter to get a referenced value for the condition, variable, or expression being checked. This is sometimes in the form of a variable being initialized although it could be some other expression. Such a while condition could be illustrated as follows:
This time, the statement would be implemented as follows: private void btnConditions_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
SqlConnection connection =
new SqlConnection("Data Source=(local);" +
"Database='Exercise1';" +
"Integrated Security=yes;");
SqlCommand command =
new SqlCommand("DECLARE @Number As int;" +
"SET @Number = 1;" +
"WHILE @Number < 5" +
" BEGIN" +
" SELECT @Number AS Number;" +
" SET @Number = @Number + 1;" +
" END;",
connection);
connection.Open();
SqlDataReader rdr = command.ExecuteReader();
while (rdr.Read())
MessageBox.Show(rdr[0].ToString());
rdr.Close();
connection.Close();
}
Databases and other programming environments provide operators you can use to perform data analysis. The operators used are called logical operators because they are used to perform comparisons that produce a result of true or false (there is no middle result; in other words, something is not half true or half false or "Don't Know": either it is true or it is false).
Like C#, in SQL, a Boolean variable can hold a TRUE value. The value is also considered as 1. By contrast, if something doesn't hold a value, it is considered non-existent and non-worthy of consideration. Such a thing has a value of FALSE, 0, or No. To retrieve such a value, you can just find out if the value of a field is existent or not. The comparison for a True or False value is mostly performed on Boolean fields, such a case is the SPHome (which specifies whether a student lives in a single parent home) field of the Students table of the HighSchool database. If a record has a value of 1, the table considers that such a field is True. If the field has a 0 value, then it holds a FALSE value. After you have declared a variable, the SQL interpreter reserves a space in the computer memory for it but does not put anything in that memory space. At that time, that area of memory does not hold a significant value. Also at that time, the variable is considered null. Here is note to be careful about: when a variable is said to hold a null value, it does not mean its value is 0. It does not even mean that the variable's memory space is empty. It actually means that we cannot clearly determine the current value that the variable is holding. To support the null value, Transact-SQL provides a constant named NULL. The NULL constant is mostly used for comparison purposes. For example, you can use an IF statement to check the nullity of a variable. To validate something as being possible, you can use the IS operator. For example, to acknowledge that something is NULL, you can use the IS NULL expression. Here is an example: // Square Calculation
private void btnConditions_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
SqlConnection connection =
new SqlConnection("Data Source=(local);" +
"Database='Exercise1';" +
"Integrated Security=yes;");
SqlCommand command =
new SqlCommand("DECLARE @Side As Decimal(10,3)," +
" @Perimeter As Decimal(10,3)," +
" @Area As Decimal(10,3);" +
"SET @Perimeter = @Side * 4;" +
"SET @Area = @Side * @Side;" +
"IF @Side IS NULL" +
" PRINT 'A null value is not welcome'" +
"ELSE IF @Side > 0" +
" BEGIN" +
" SELECT @Side AS Side;" +
" SELECT @Perimeter AS Perimeter ;" +
" SELECT @Area AS Area;" +
" END;" +
"ELSE" +
" PRINT 'You must provide a positive value';",
connection);
connection.Open();
SqlDataReader rdr = command.ExecuteReader();
while (rdr.Read())
{
MessageBox.Show(rdr[0].ToString());
}
rdr.Close();
connection.Close();
}
To avoid having a NULL value, you can either initialize the variable or you can assign it a value. Here is an example:
// Square Calculation
private void btnCalculate_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
SqlConnection connection =
new SqlConnection("Data Source=(local);" +
"Database='Exercise1';" +
"Integrated Security=yes;");
SqlCommand command =
new SqlCommand("DECLARE @Side As Decimal(10,3)," +
" @Perimeter As Decimal(10,3)," +
" @Area As Decimal(10,3);" +
"SET @Side = 48.126;" +
"SET @Perimeter = @Side * 4;" +
"SET @Area = @Side * @Side;" +
"IF @Side IS NULL" +
" PRINT 'A null value is not welcome'" +
"ELSE IF @Side > 0" +
" BEGIN" +
" SELECT @Side, @Perimeter, @Area;" +
" END;" +
"ELSE" +
" PRINT 'You must provide a positive value';",
connection);
connection.Open();
SqlDataReader rdr = command.ExecuteReader();
while (rdr.Read())
{
txtSide.Text = rdr[0].ToString();
txtPerimeter.Text = rdr[1].ToString();
txtArea.Text = rdr[2].ToString();
}
rdr.Close();
connection.Close();
}
This would produce:
To deny the presence, the availability, or the existence of a value, you can use the NOT operator. This operator is primarily used to reverse a Boolean value. For example, we have learned that FALSE is the opposite of TRUE. In the same way, TRUE is the opposite of FALSE. If you want to compare a value as not being TRUE, the NOT TRUE would produce the same result as the FALSE value. For the same reason, the expression NOT FALSE is the same as TRUE.
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