SQL: How can I update a value on a column only if that value is null?
mysql, sql, sql-server, sql-update, where-clause
Solution
Id use coalesce for this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190349.aspx
update Person
set Car = coalesce(@Car, Car), HairColour = coalesce(@HairColour, HairColour)
Problem
I have an SQL question which may be basic to some but is confusing me. Here is an example of column names for a table 'Person': PersonalID, FirstName, LastName, Car, HairColour, FavDrink, FavFood Let's say that I input the row: 121312, Rayna, Pieterson, BMW123d, Brown, NULL, NULL Now I want to update the values for this person, but only if the new value is not null, Update: 121312, Rayna, Pieterson, NULL, Blonde, Fanta, NULL The new row needs to be: 121312, Rayna, Pieterson, BMW123d, Blonde, Fanta, NULL So I was thinking something along the lines of: Update Person(PersonalID, FirstName, LastName, Car, HairColour, FavDrink, FavFood) set Car = @Car (where @Car is not null), HairColour = @HairColour (where @HairColour...)... etc. My only concern is that I can't group all the conditions at the end of the query because it will require all the values to have the same condition. Can't i do something like Update HairColour if @HairColour is not Null