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Oracle: uses IS NULL to check for empty string I don't know anything about Oracle, and I realize the semantics of "null" are subtle, but this seems like a pecu
by redler 6y ago
Oracle: uses IS NULL to check for empty string
I don't know anything about Oracle, and I realize the semantics of "null" are subtle, but this seems like a peculiar design decision that conflates two different things. With Oracle, how would one represent the state of a text field we don't know anything about? An empty string implies "we know the value and it is <nothing>" versus "it could be anything; we just don't know".
[edit: reworded for clarity]
- irrational 6y agoIn Oracle there is no difference between a NULL and an empty string. My understanding is that this design decision was made long long ago before there were any standards or a realization that this was a bad thing and now it is too late to change. By far and away, the way NULLs are handled in Oracle is the biggest problem with moving to a different database.