MySQL WHERE Clause Inequality Comparison Operators

Just as you want to filter the rows of data returned in a SELECT query with the equality comparison operator (=), you can also create a conditional filter to test if 2 values are not equal to one another. Learn more in the following article.

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In MySQL, there are 2 ‘not equal to’ comparison operators available:

  • <>
  • !=

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Even though both of these comparison operators mean the same thing and work exactly the same, I will use the <> operator as it is supported by the SQL Standard and is used in other SQL dialects as well.

Typically, the inequality conditional comparison filter will look like this:

some_column <> some_value

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Josh Otwell has a passion to grow as a PHP Developer, SQL expert, and technical blogger/writer.

Disclaimer: The majority of examples in this post, are performed in a personal development/learning workstation environment and should not be considered production quality or ready. Your particular goals and needs may vary. Like always, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. My opinions are my own.

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