SQL: Visual QuickStart Guide

List Filtering with IN

Use IN to determine whether a given value matches any value in a specified list. The IN condition’s important characteristics are:

• IN works with character strings, numbers, and datetimes.

• The IN list is a parenthesized listing of one or more comma-separated values. The list items needn’t be in any particular order.

• IN is a convenient, shorthand clause. You can replicate its behavior by using OR:

  WHERE test_column IN
        (value1, value2, value3)
  

  is equivalent to:

  WHERE (test_column = value1)
     OR (test_column = value2)
     OR (test_column = value3)
  

• String comparisons may be case-insensitive or case-sensitive, depending on your DBMS; see the DBMS Tip in “Filtering Rows with WHERE” earlier in this chapter.

• You can negate an IN condition ...