SQL WHERE Clause

The SQL WHERE Clause

The WHERE clause is used to filter records.

The WHERE clause is used to extract only those records that fulfill a specified condition.

WHERE Syntax

SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;

Note: The WHERE clause is not only used in SELECT statement, it is also used in UPDATE, DELETE statement, etc.!

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Demo Database

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table in the Northwind sample database:

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
1	Alfreds Futterkiste	Maria Anders	Obere Str. 57	Berlin	12209	Germany
2	Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados	Ana Trujillo	Avda. de la Constitución 2222	México D.F.	05021	Mexico
3	Antonio Moreno Taquería	Antonio Moreno	Mataderos 2312	México D.F.	05023	Mexico
4	Around the Horn	Thomas Hardy	120 Hanover Sq.	London	WA1 1DP	UK
5	Berglunds snabbköp	Christina Berglund	Berguvsvägen 8	Luleå	S-958 22	Sweden

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WHERE Clause Example

The following SQL statement selects all the customers from the country "Mexico", in the "Customers" table:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Mexico';

Try it Yourself »

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Text Fields vs. Numeric Fields

SQL requires single quotes around text values (most database systems will also allow double quotes).

However, numeric fields should not be enclosed in quotes:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerID=1;

Try it Yourself »

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Operators in The WHERE Clause

The following operators can be used in the WHERE clause:

Operator	Description
=	Equal
<>	Not equal. Note: In some versions of SQL this operator may be written as !=
>	Greater than
<	Less than
>=	Greater than or equal
<=	Less than or equal
BETWEEN	Between a certain range
LIKE	Search for a pattern
IN	To specify multiple possible values for a column

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Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:

Select all records where the City column has the value "Berlin".

SELECT * FROM Customers
  = ;

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