MySQL WHERE Clause

The MySQL WHERE Clause

The WHERE clause is used to filter records.

It is used to extract only those records that fulfill a specified condition.

WHERE Syntax

SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
WHERE condition; 

Note: The WHERE clause is not only used in SELECT statements, it is also used in UPDATE, DELETE, etc.!


Demo Database

Below is a selection from the “Customers” table in the Northwind sample database:

CustomerIDCustomerNameContactNameAddressCityPostalCodeCountry
1
Alfreds FutterkisteMaria AndersObere Str. 57Berlin12209Germany
2Ana Trujillo Emparedados y heladosAna TrujilloAvda. de la Constitución 2222México D.F.05021Mexico
3Antonio Moreno TaqueríaAntonio MorenoMataderos 2312México D.F.05023Mexico
4
Around the HornThomas Hardy120 Hanover Sq.LondonWA1 1DPUK
5Berglunds snabbköpChristina BerglundBerguvsvägen 8LuleåS-958 22Sweden

WHERE Clause Example

The following SQL statement selects all the customers from “Mexico”:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country = 'Mexico'; 

Text Fields vs. Numeric Fields

SQL requires single quotes around text values (most database systems will also allow double quotes).

However, numeric fields should not be enclosed in quotes:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerID = 1; 

Operators in The WHERE Clause

The following operators can be used in the WHERE clause:

OperatorEqual
=Equal
>Greater than
<Less than
>=Greater than or equal
<=Less than or equal
<>Not equal. Note: In some versions of SQL this operator may be written as !=
BETWEENBetween a certain range
LIKESearch for a pattern
INTo specify multiple possible values for a column