How to exclude rows that have a specific column blank

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How to exclude rows that have a specific column blank

sdhines3

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Points: 26
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June 21, 2013 at 10:34 am

#294967

I am looking for a case statement that will only show me rows that Have the Column First name filled in, if the first name column is blank then I do not want to see the entire row...I hope I expained this correct
case when First.Name is null then ???

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david.alcock SSCertifiable Points: 6021 More actions · Answer 1

WHERE firstname IS NOT NULL?

'Only he who wanders finds new paths'

Sean Lange SSC Guru Points: 286609 More actions · Answer 2

Or maybe this?

where ISNULL(firstname, '') > ''

This will exclude NULL and empty strings.

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Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

PaulB-TheOneAndOnly SSC Guru Points: 66772 More actions · Answer 3

sdhines3 (6/21/2013)
case when First.Name is null then ???

Life is complicated enough, why try to force the use of "case" there?

_____________________________________
Pablo (Paul) Berzukov

Author of Understanding Database Administration available at Amazon and other bookstores.

Disclaimer: Advice is provided to the best of my knowledge but no implicit or explicit warranties are provided. Since the advisor explicitly encourages testing any and all suggestions on a test non-production environment advisor should not held liable or responsible for any actions taken based on the given advice.

Luis Cazares SSC Guru Points: 183706 More actions · Answer 4

Sean Lange (6/21/2013)
Or maybe this?
where ISNULL(firstname, '') > ''
This will exclude NULL and empty strings.

Sean,

there's no need for the ISNULL as NULL > '' won't return true. 🙂

where firstname > ''

Example:

DECLARE @Test TABLE(

firstname varchar( 50) NULL)

INSERT @Test

VALUES( 'Luis'), (''), ('Sean'), (NULL), ('David')

SELECT * FROM @Test

SELECT * FROM @Test WHERE firstname > ''

Luis C.
General Disclaimer:
Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2

Sean Lange SSC Guru Points: 286609 More actions · Answer 5

Luis Cazares (6/21/2013)
Sean Lange (6/21/2013)
Or maybe this?
where ISNULL(firstname, '') > ''
This will exclude NULL and empty strings.
Sean,
there's no need for the ISNULL as NULL > '' won't return true. 🙂
where firstname > ''
Example:
DECLARE @Test TABLE(
firstname varchar( 50) NULL)
INSERT @Test
VALUES( 'Luis'), (''), ('Sean'), (NULL), ('David')
SELECT * FROM @Test
SELECT * FROM @Test WHERE firstname > ''

Good point Luis. 🙂

_______________________________________________________________

Need help? Help us help you.

Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.

Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/

sdhines3 SSC Rookie Points: 26 More actions · Answer 6

Thanks everyone...Your suggesstions are right on target!