How to find least non-null column in one particular row in SQL?

Question

I am trying to find the lowest number in two columns of a row in the same table, with the caveat that one of the columns may be null in a particular row. If one of the colum

Answer 1

This may perform a bit better (may have to be converted to corresponding MySql syntax):

SELECT
  CASE
    WHEN Col1 IS NULL THEN Col2
    WHEN Col2 IS NULL THEN Col1
    ELSE Least(Col1, Col2)
  END

Another alternative (probably slower though, but worth a try):

SELECT Col1
WHERE Col2 IS NULL
UNION
SELECT Col2
WHERE Col1 IS NULL
UNION
SELECT least(Col1, Col2)
WHERE Col1 IS NOT NULL AND Col2 IS NOT NULL