RE: bug or feature, <> 'blah' does NOT work with null records

[Jay Blanchard]

[snip]
I cant tell if this is a bug or a feature.

Select from table where col <> 'blah'

I use this all the time with other databases, works great, gives me 
everything that's not "blah"

but in mysql, it wont work if there's null records in the table

I have to do this, select from table where ( col <> 'blah or isnull(col)
)
[/snip]

Feaature.

Thematically NULL is not the same as NOT EQUAL TO something. Something
can be NOT NULL, and if it is NOT NULL it could then be EQUAL TO or NOT
EQUAL TO something. NOT NULL is the state of having or being
'something', whereas NULL is that indescribable state of not being
anything...for even zero is 'something'.

MySQL Philosophy 101 :)