Home > Ask the Oracle Database / Applications Experts > SQL Questions & Answers > Counting a row's NULL columns
Ask The Oracle Expert: Questions & Answers
EMAIL THIS

Counting a row's NULL columns

Rudy Limeback EXPERT RESPONSE FROM: Rudy Limeback

Pose a Question
Other Oracle Categories
Meet all Oracle Experts
Become an Expert for this site


Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us   


>
QUESTION POSED ON: 08 October 2007
How can I count the number of columns in a row that are not null?


Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us   


RELATED CONTENT
Oracle and SQL
Using the SQL GROUP BY clause for counting combinations
How to use an SQL CASE expression
How to use the Oracle Database SQL Reference Manual
How to use SQL Developer to run SQL statements
How to work with the Oracle database home page
How to use SQL*Plus in Oracle
How to use SQL Developer to work with an Oracle database
How to view and edit table column definitions
How to sort an SQL UNION query with special ORDER BY sequence
How to use string functions to make an SQL join
Oracle and SQL Research

Oracle tutorials, tips and FAQs
SearchOracle.com podcasts
Do I need to buy an Oracle license for a development database?
Special Report: Collaborate '09
IOUG on 2009 Collaborate conference: what's hot, what's not
How to create a database link in Oracle
Most clicked stories of 2007
How do I do that in Oracle?
Data integration challenges and solutions revealed
How many redo log files?
How to start multiple instances in Oracle 10g
Oracle tutorials, tips and FAQs Research

SQL
How to check SQL query construction with the Mimer Validator
Using the SQL GROUP BY clause for counting combinations
How to use an SQL CASE expression
How to sort an SQL UNION query with special ORDER BY sequence
How to use string functions to make an SQL join
An SQL solution for a customer order homework problem
How to use SQL's POSITION function with substrings
Using SQL date functions to get totals for last three days
Using CASE in the SQL ORDER BY clause
What's the difference between an SQL inner join and equijoin?

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS
Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary
autonomous transaction  (SearchOracle.com)
CFML  (SearchOracle.com)
dynamic SQL  (SearchOracle.com)
foreign key  (SearchOracle.com)
Java Database Connectivity  (SearchOracle.com)
Open Database Connectivity  (SearchOracle.com)
Oracle  (SearchOracle.com)
stored procedure  (SearchOracle.com)
The Open Group  (SearchOracle.com)

RELATED RESOURCES
2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems
Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts
Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary


Assuming your table looks something like this:

 id column1 column2 column3 ...
187    2       9     null
456  null     37      42
937    7      12       4
...

The real answer is: you shouldn't need to. The answer to the question you asked is:

select case when column1 is null
            then 0 else 1 end
      +case when column2 is null
            then 0 else 1 end
      +case when column3 is null
            then 0 else 1 end
      +...
            as not_null_columns
  from TableA
 where id = 937

Any time you find yourself wanting to do something to "all columns in a row" like this, step back and consider redesigning the table. There's a good chance the table isn't in first normal form. The main symptom is finding yourself writing clumsy queries with a lot of repetitive expressions.

A normalized one-to-many table would look something like this:

 id columnx columnvalue
187    1          2
187    2          9
456    2         37
456    3         42
937    1          7
937    2         12
937    3          4
...

Now the query gets a lot simpler:

select count(columnx) as not_null_columns
  from TableB
 where id = 937

Much nicer, wouldn't you agree?




Search and Browse the Expert Answer Center
Search and browse more than 25,000 question and answer pairs from more than 250 TechTarget industry experts.
Browse our Expert Advice



Oracle White Papers: Fusion Middleware
HomeNewsTopicsTipsAsk the ExpertsMultimediaWhite PapersProductsBlogs
About Us  |  Contact Us  |  For Advertisers  |  For Business Partners  |  Site Index  |  RSS
SEARCH 
TechTarget provides technology professionals with the information they need to perform their jobs - from developing strategy, to making cost-effective purchase decisions and managing their organizations' technology projects - with its network of technology-specific websites, events and online magazines.

TechTarget Corporate Web Site  |  Media Kits  |  Site Map




All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2003 - 2009, TechTarget | Read our Privacy Policy
  TechTarget - The IT Media ROI Experts