Member Avatar for vishalkhialani

Hi,
I want the db to return records which have either "bmw" or "audi". Below is my code but the db only shows records which have bmw.

SELECT * FROM `details` WHERE BRAND = 'bmw' OR 'audi'

Thank you in advance.

Cheers,
Vishal

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Generated

Quick diagnosis and the fix summarized

The WHERE clause in the original query used a bare string literal on one side of OR, so the database treated that literal as a non-boolean expression and it had no effect — which explains why only the rows matching the first comparison showed up. As noted, the correct approach is to compare the column to each value or use the IN shorthand so the engine checks the column against both candidates.

Practical checklist to avoid this class of bug

  • Verify what values are actually stored (different case, extra spaces, typos). For a quick check, list distinct BRAND values.

  • Be aware that string comparisons respect the column collation (case sensitivity). If needed, normalize data on insert or use a case-insensitive collation so matches behave as expected. Using functions like LOWER() to compare will work but can prevent index use — consider normalizing the data or adding a generated column you can index instead.

  • NULLs and leading/trailing whitespace can mask matches. Trim and handle NULLs explicitly when cleaning data or writing conditions.

  • For safety and maintainability, parameterize user input rather than constructing SQL strings directly.

References

This addresses why only the first brand matched and adds practical checks (distinct values, collation, trimming, indexing) beyond the correction suggested by .

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for d5e5 
SELECT *
FROM details
WHERE BRAND IN('bmw', 'audi')

Alternatively you can say WHERE BRAND = 'bmw' OR BRAND = 'audi'

Member Avatar for vishalkhialani

thank you :)

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