PostgreSQL provides a large number of functions and operators for the built-in data types. Users can also define their own functions and operators, as described in Part V. The psql commands \df and \do can be used to show the list of all actually available functions and operators, respectively.

If you are concerned about portability then take note that most of the functions and operators described in this chapter, with the exception of the most trivial arithmetic and comparison operators and some explicitly marked functions, are not specified by the SQL standard. Some of the extended functionality is present in other SQL database management systems, and in many cases this functionality is compatible and consistent between the various implementations. This chapter is also not exhaustive; additional functions appear in relevant sections of the manual.

9.1. Logical Operators

The usual logical operators are available:

AND

OR

NOT

SQL uses a three-valued Boolean logic where the null value represents "unknown". Observe the following truth tables:

`a`	`b`	`a` AND `b`	`a` OR `b`
TRUE	TRUE	TRUE	TRUE
TRUE	FALSE	FALSE	TRUE
TRUE	NULL	NULL	TRUE
FALSE	FALSE	FALSE	FALSE
FALSE	NULL	FALSE	NULL
NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL

`a`	NOT `a`
TRUE	FALSE
FALSE	TRUE
NULL	NULL

The operators AND and OR are commutative, that is, you can switch the left and right operand without affecting the result. But see Section 4.2.12 for more information about the order of evaluation of subexpressions.

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User Comments

Tjibbe <tjibbe AT hotmail.com>

28 Nov 2005 23:14:01

A good NULL guide:

http://firebird.sourceforge.net/manual/nullguide.html

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