mySql IFNULL()

If expr1 is not NULL, IFNULL() returns expr1; otherwise it returns expr2. IFNULL() returns a numeric or string value, depending on the context in which it is used.

mysql> SELECT IFNULL(1,0);
        -> 1
mysql> SELECT IFNULL(NULL,10);
        -> 10
mysql> SELECT IFNULL(1/0,10);
        -> 10
mysql> SELECT IFNULL(1/0,'yes');
        -> 'yes'

The default result value of IFNULL(expr1,expr2) is the more �general� of the two expressions, in the order STRING, REAL, or INTEGER. Consider the case of a table based on expressions or where MySQL must internally store a value returned by IFNULL() in a temporary table:

mysql> CREATE TABLE tmp SELECT IFNULL(1,'test') AS test;
mysql> DESCRIBE tmp;
+-------+---------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field | Type    | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+-------+---------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| test  | char(4) |      |     |         |       |
+-------+---------+------+-----+---------+-------+

In this example, the type of the test column is CHAR(4).