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Comparison operators

SQL Less Than or Equal To

What is the SQL Less Than or Equal To Operator?

The SQL "Less Than or Equal To" operator, denoted as "<=", is used to compare values in a database table and retrieve rows where a specific column's value is less than or equal to a given criteria.

When you would use it

You would use the "Less Than or Equal To" operator when you want to filter and retrieve data from a database table based on values that are less than or equal to a particular value or expression. This is useful when you need to extract data that meets specific conditions related to lower values, including the specified value itself.

Syntax

The basic syntax for using the "Less Than or Equal To" operator in an SQL query is as follows:

SELECT column1, column2
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name <= value;
  • SELECT: Specifies the columns you want to retrieve.
  • FROM: Specifies the table from which you want to retrieve data.
  • WHERE: Specifies the condition for filtering rows.
  • column_name: The name of the column you want to compare.
  • value: The value or expression you want to compare the column with.

Parameter values

  • column_name: The name of the column you want to filter.
  • value: The value or expression you want to compare against.

Example query

Assuming we have a table named "orders" with columns: "order_id," "customer_id," and "order_total." Here's an example query using the "Less Than or Equal To" operator:

SELECT order_id, order_total
FROM orders
WHERE order_total <= 100.00;

In this query, we're retrieving the order IDs and order totals for orders where the order_total is less than or equal to $100.00.

Example table response

Suppose the "orders" table has the following data:

order_idcustomer_idorder_total
110175.50
2102120.00
310395.25
4104100.00

The query would return:

order_idorder_total
175.50
395.25
4100.00

Use cases

The "Less Than or Equal To" operator is useful in various scenarios, including:

  1. Filtering data that falls within a specified budget or price range.
  2. Retrieving data related to events occurring on or before a particular date or time.
  3. Selecting records based on numeric comparisons that include equality.

SQL languages this is available for

The "Less Than or Equal To" operator is a standard feature supported by all major SQL database management systems (DBMS) and SQL-based languages, including but not limited to:

  • MySQL
  • PostgreSQL
  • Oracle Database
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • SQLite
  • IBM Db2

In summary, the "Less Than or Equal To" operator is a fundamental tool for filtering and retrieving data based on numerical comparisons in SQL databases. It is available in all major SQL database systems, allowing you to specify conditions for extracting rows with values less than or equal to your criteria.


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