SQL Inner Join On Null Values

Question

I have a Join

SELECT * FROM Y
INNER JOIN X ON ISNULL(X.QID, 0) = ISNULL(y.QID, 0) 

Isnull in a Join like this makes it slow.

Answer 1

You could also use the coalesce function. I tested this in PostgreSQL, but it should also work for MySQL or MS SQL server.

INNER JOIN x ON coalesce(x.qid, -1) = coalesce(y.qid, -1)

This will replace NULL with -1 before evaluating it. Hence there must be no -1 in qid.