MySQL IS NULL & IS NOT NULL

In SQL Null is both a value as well as a keyword. Let's look into NULL value first -

Null as a Value

In simple terms, NULL is simply a place holder for data that does not exist. When performing insert operations on tables, they will be times when some  field values will not be available. 
In order to meet the requirements of true relational database management systems, MySQL uses NULL as the place holder for the values that have not been submitted. The screenshot below shows how NULL values look in database.

Let's now look at some of the basics for NULL before we go further into the discussion.

• NULL is not a data type - this means it is not recognized as an "int", "date" or any other defined data type.
• Arithmetic operations involving NULL always return NULL for example, 69 + NULL = NULL.
• All aggregate functions affect only rows that do not have NULL values.

Let's now demonstrate how the count function treats null values.  Let's see the current contents of the members table-

SELECT * FROM `members`;

Executing the above script gives us the following results

 

membership_ number
full_ names
gender
date_of_ birth
physical_ address
postal_ address
contact_ number
email
1
Janet Jones
Female
21-07-1980
First Street Plot No 4
Private Bag
0759 253 542
janetjones@yagoo.cm
2
Janet Smith Jones
Female
23-06-1980
Melrose 123
NULL
NULL
jj@fstreet.com
3
Robert Phil
Male
12-07-1989
3rd Street 34
NULL
12345
rm@tstreet.com
4
Gloria Williams
Female
14-02-1984
2nd Street 23
NULL
NULL
NULL
5
Leonard Hofstadter
Male
NULL
Woodcrest
NULL
845738767
NULL
6
Sheldon Cooper
Male
NULL
Woodcrest
NULL
976736763
NULL
7
Rajesh Koothrappali
Male
NULL
Woodcrest
NULL
938867763
NULL
8
Leslie Winkle
Male
14-02-1984
Woodcrest
NULL
987636553
NULL
9
Howard Wolowitz
Male
24-08-1981
SouthPark
P.O. Box 4563
987786553
lwolowitz[at]email.me

Let's count all members who have updated their contact_number

SELECT COUNT(contact_number)  FROM `members`;

Executing the above query gives us the following results.

 

COUNT(contact_number)
7

Note: Values that are NULL have not been included

What is NOT?

The NOT logical operator is used to test for Boolean conditions and returns true if the condition is false. The NOT operator returns false if the condition been tested is true

Condition	NOT Operator Result
True	False
False	True

 

Why use NOT null?

There will be cases when we will have to perform computations on a query result set and return the values. Performing any arithmetic operations on columns that have the NULL value returns null results. In order to avoid such situations from happening, we can employ the use of the NOT NULL clause to limit the results on which our data operates.

NOT NULL Values

Let's suppose that we want to create a table with certain fields that should always be supplied with values when inserting new rows in a table. We can use the NOT NULL clause on a given field when creating the table.
The example shown below creates a new table that contains employee's data. The employee number should always be supplied

CREATE TABLE `employees`(
  employee_number int NOT NULL,
  full_names varchar(255) ,
  gender varchar(6)
);

Let's now try to insert a new record without specifying the employee name and see what happens.

INSERT INTO `employees` (full_names,gender) VALUES ('Steve Jobs', 'Male');

Executing the above script in MySQL workbench gives the following error -

NULL Keywords

NULL can also be used as a keyword when performing Boolean operations on values that include NULL. The "IS/NOT" keyword is used in conjunction with the NULL word for such purposes. The basic syntax when null is used as a keyword is as follows

`comlumn_name'  IS NULL
`comlumn_name' NOT NULL

HERE

• "IS NULL" is the keyword that performs the Boolean comparison. It returns true if the supplied value is NULL and false if the supplied value is not NULL.
• "NOT NULL" is the keyword that performs the Boolean comparison. It returns true if the supplied value is not NULL and false if the supplied value is null.

Let's now look at a practical example that uses the NOT NULL keyword to eliminate all the column values that have null values.
Continuing with the example above , suppose we need details of members whose contact number is not null . We can execute a query like

SELECT * FROM `members` WHERE contact_number IS NOT NULL;

Executing the above query gives only records where contact number is not null.
Suppose we want member records where contact number is null. We can use following query

SELECT * FROM `members` WHERE contact_number IS NULL;

 

Executing the above query gives member details whose contact number is NULL

 

membership_ number
full_names
gender
date_of_birth
physical_address
postal_address
contact_ number
email
1
Janet Jones
Female
21-07-1980
First Street Plot No 4
Private Bag
0759 253 542
janetjones@yagoo.cm
3
Robert Phil
Male
12-07-1989
3rd Street 34
NULL
12345
rm@tstreet.com
5
Leonard Hofstadter
Male
NULL
Woodcrest
NULL
845738767
NULL
6
Sheldon Cooper
Male
NULL
Woodcrest
NULL
976736763
NULL
7
Rajesh Koothrappali
Male
NULL
Woodcrest
NULL
938867763
NULL
8
Leslie Winkle
Male
14-02-1984
Woodcrest
NULL
987636553
NULL
9
Howard Wolowitz
Male
24-08-1981
SouthPark
P.O. Box 4563
987786553
lwolowitz[at]email.me

Comparing null values

 
Three-value logic - performing Boolean operations on conditions that involve NULL can either return "Unknown", "True" or "False".
For example, using the "IS NULL" keyword when doing comparison operations involving NULL can either return true or false. Using other comparison operators returns "Unknown"(NULL).
Suppose you compare number five with 5

SELECT 5 =5;

The query result is 1 which means TRUE

 

5 =5
1

Let's do the same operation with NULL

SELECT NULL = NULL;

 

  

NULL = NULL
NULL

Let's look at another example

SELECT 5 > 5;

  

5 > 5
0

The query result is 0 which means FALSE
Let's look at same example using NULL

SELECT NULL > NULL;

 

  

NULL > NULL
NULL

Lets use the IS NULL keyword

SELECT 5 IS NULL;

  

5 IS NULL
0

The query result is 0 which is FALSE

SELECT NULL IS NULL;

  

NULL IS NULL
1

The query result is 1 which is TRUE

Summary

• NULL is a value place holder for optional table fields.
• MySQL treats the NULL value differently from other data types. The NULL values when used in a condition evaluates to the false Boolean value.
• The NOT logical operate is used to test for Boolean values and evaluates to true if the Boolean value is false and false if the Boolean value is true.
• The NOT NULL clause is used to eliminate NULL values from a result set
• Performing arithmetic operations on NULL values always returns NULL results.
• The comparison operators such as [, =, etc.] cannot be used to compare NULL values.