Re: Does Null == ""?

[Bob Hall]

On Tue, Sep 16, 2003 at 05:39:35PM -0400, Bruce Feist wrote:
> 1)  It is the responsibility of the DBD to document the meaning of NULL if 
> NULLs are allowed.

No, it's not. The meaning of NULL is documented in the SQL specification. 
It's the responsibility of people working with databases to know what that 
definition is.

If you need to specify one of the meanings of NULL, then you should 
use something other than NULL. Since NULL has two meanings, redefining 
it to have only one will create unnecessary confusion. Anyone working on 
or with the database will rightly assume that it has the standard meaning 
defined in the the SQL standard. Any problems caused by the confusion are 
the fault of the person who altered the meaning. If you want to indicate 
something other than the two standard meanings, then you should use 
something other than NULL. Otherwise, you create unnecessary confusion.

Bob Hall