Difference between IN and ANY operators in SQL

Question

What is the difference between IN and ANY operators in SQL?

Answer 1

IN - It is easy to understand. The query should select only those values which are specified in 'IN' clause. Now, let us understand 'ANY' with a query. ANY means it should be greater or less than any of the values in the list.

Assume a Orders table which has OrderID from 1 to 10

Observer the below query:
select OrderID from Orders
where OrderID < ANY (3,5,7)

The answer to above query is :
OrderID
1,2,3,4,5,6

Explanation :The query says find OrderIDs which are less than ANY of the specified values. So the database searches and includes OrderID as follows:
Is 1<3- Yes hence OrderID 1 is included
Is 2<3- Yes hence OrderID 2 is included
Is 3<3- No, is 3<5 -Yes (as 5 is specified value), hence OrderID 3 is included
Is 4<3- No, is 4<5 -Yes, hence OrderID 4 is included
Is 5<3- No, is 5<5 -No, is 5<7(as 5 is specified value)-Yes hence OrderID 5 is included
Is 6<3- No, is 6<5 -No, is 6<7-Yes hence OrderID 6 is included
Is 7<3- No, is 7<5 -No, is 7<7-No hence OrderID 7 is NOT included as no more values in specified list to compare
Is 8<3- No, is 8<5 -No, is 8<7-No hence OrderID 8 is NOT included as no more values in specified list to compare
Is 9<3- No, is 9<5 -No, is 9<7-No hence OrderID 9 is NOT included as no more values in specified list to compare
Is 9<3- No, is 9<5 -No, is 9<7-No hence OrderID 9 is NOT included as no more values in specified list to compare

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Apply the same logic for greater than
select OrderID from Orders
where OrderID > ANY (3,5,7)

The answer to above query is :
OrderID
4,5,6,7,8,9,10