MySQL OR Operator

n MySQL, the OR operator is a logical operator used to combine multiple conditions in a query’s WHERE clause. It allows you to retrieve rows that satisfy at least one of the specified conditions.

Here’s how the OR operator works in MySQL:

Syntax:

SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table
WHERE condition1 OR condition2 OR condition3 ...;

Usage:

The OR operator is placed between two or more conditions.
Each condition can be a simple comparison or a complex expression.
The conditions can contain column names, constants, and operators such as =, <>, <, >, LIKE, etc.

Example: Let’s assume we have a table named users with columns id, name, and age. We want to retrieve all rows where the age is either 25 or the name is “John”.

SELECT id, name, age
FROM users
WHERE age = 25 OR name = 'John';

In this example, the query will return all rows from the users table where either the age is 25 or the name is “John”. If a row satisfies either of these conditions, it will be included in the result.

It’s important to understand that when using the OR operator, the query will return any row that matches at least one of the conditions. If both conditions are true for a particular row, that row will still be included in the result.

Additionally, parentheses can be used to group conditions and control the order of evaluation. This is especially useful when combining AND and OR operators together.

SELECT id, name, age
FROM users
WHERE (age >= 18 AND age <= 30) OR (name LIKE 'J%');

In this example, the query will return rows where the age is between 18 and 30 (inclusive) or the name starts with the letter ‘J’.

The OR operator provides flexibility in querying the database by allowing the selection of rows that match at least one of the specified conditions. By combining OR with other operators and using proper grouping, you can create complex queries that retrieve the desired data from your MySQL database.