SQL Or
The SQL OR Operator
There may be one or more OR operators in the WHERE clause.
When filtering data based on several criteria, such as wanting to return both Spanish and German customers, you can use the OR operator to do so:
Example
Select all customers from Germany or Spain:
SELECT *
FROM Customers
WHERE Country = 'Germany' OR Country = 'Spain';
Syntax
SELECT column1, column2, …
FROM table_name
WHERE condition1 OR condition2 OR condition3 …;
OR vs AND
The OR operator displays a record if any of the conditions are TRUE.
The AND operator displays a record if all the conditions are TRUE.
Demo 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 |
At Least One Condition Must Be True
The SQL query that follows picks all Customer fields where either the Country is “Norway,” the City is “Berlin,” or the CustomerName begins with the letter “G”:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE City = 'Berlin' OR CustomerName LIKE 'G%' OR Country = 'Norway';
Combining AND and OR
It is possible to combine the operators AND and OR.
The clients from Spain that begin with a “G” or a “R” are all chosen by the SQL query that follows.
For the desired outcome, make sure you utilize parentheses.
Example
Select all Spanish customers that starts with either “G” or “R”:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country = 'Spain' AND (CustomerName LIKE 'G%' OR CustomerName LIKE 'R%');
When the select statement is run without parenthesis, all Spanish customers with a “G” as well as all customers with a “R” as of any nation value will be returned:
Example
Select all customers that either:
are from Spain and starts with either “G”, or
starts with the letter “R”:
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country = 'Spain' AND CustomerName LIKE 'G%' OR CustomerName LIKE 'R%';
