ELSE (IF...ELSE) (Transact-SQL)

Article
05/16/2013

Imposes conditions on the execution of a Transact-SQL statement. The Transact-SQL statement (sql_statement) following the Boolean_expression is executed if the Boolean_expression evaluates to TRUE. The optional ELSE keyword is an alternate Transact-SQL statement that is executed when Boolean_expression evaluates to FALSE or NULL.

Topic link icon Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions

Syntax

IF Boolean_expression { sql_statement | statement_block } 
    [ ELSE { sql_statement | statement_block } ]

Arguments

Boolean_expression
Is an expression that returns TRUE or FALSE. If the Boolean_expression contains a SELECT statement, the SELECT statement must be enclosed in parentheses.
{ sql_statement | statement_block }
Is any valid Transact-SQL statement or statement grouping as defined with a statement block. To define a statement block (batch), use the control-of-flow language keywords BEGIN and END. Although all Transact-SQL statements are valid within a BEGIN...END block, certain Transact-SQL statements should not be grouped together within the same batch (statement block).

Result Types

Boolean

Examples

A. Using a simple Boolean expression

The following example has a simple Boolean expression (1=1) that is true and, therefore, prints the first statement.

IF 1 = 1 PRINT 'Boolean_expression is true.'
ELSE PRINT 'Boolean_expression is false.' ;

The following example has a simple Boolean expression (1=2) that is false, and therefore prints the second statement.

IF 1 = 2 PRINT 'Boolean_expression is true.'
ELSE PRINT 'Boolean_expression is false.' ;
GO

B. Using a query as part of a Boolean expression

The following example executes a query as part of the Boolean expression. Because there are 10 bikes in the Product table that meet the WHERE clause, the first print statement will execute. Change > 5 to > 15 to see how the second part of the statement could execute.

USE AdventureWorks2012;
GO
IF 
(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Production.Product WHERE Name LIKE 'Touring-3000%' ) > 5
PRINT 'There are more than 5 Touring-3000 bicycles.'
ELSE PRINT 'There are 5 or less Touring-3000 bicycles.' ;
GO

C. Using a statement block

The following example executes a query as part of the Boolean expression and then executes slightly different statement blocks based on the result of the Boolean expression. Each statement block starts with BEGIN and completes with END.

USE AdventureWorks2012;
GO
DECLARE @AvgWeight decimal(8,2), @BikeCount int
IF 
(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Production.Product WHERE Name LIKE 'Touring-3000%' ) > 5
BEGIN
   SET @BikeCount = 
        (SELECT COUNT(*) 
         FROM Production.Product 
         WHERE Name LIKE 'Touring-3000%');
   SET @AvgWeight = 
        (SELECT AVG(Weight) 
         FROM Production.Product 
         WHERE Name LIKE 'Touring-3000%');
   PRINT 'There are ' + CAST(@BikeCount AS varchar(3)) + ' Touring-3000 bikes.'
   PRINT 'The average weight of the top 5 Touring-3000 bikes is ' + CAST(@AvgWeight AS varchar(8)) + '.';
END
ELSE 
BEGIN
SET @AvgWeight = 
        (SELECT AVG(Weight)
         FROM Production.Product 
         WHERE Name LIKE 'Touring-3000%' );
   PRINT 'Average weight of the Touring-3000 bikes is ' + CAST(@AvgWeight AS varchar(8)) + '.' ;
END ;
GO

D. Using nested IF...ELSE statements

The following example shows how an IF … ELSE statement can be nested inside another. Set the @Number variable to 5, 50, and 500 to test each statement.

DECLARE @Number int;
SET @Number = 50;
IF @Number > 100
   PRINT 'The number is large.';
ELSE 
   BEGIN
      IF @Number < 10
      PRINT 'The number is small.';
   ELSE
      PRINT 'The number is medium.';
   END ;
GO

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