# COALESCE function

The COALESCE function takes two or more compatible arguments and returns the first argument that is not null.

The result is null only if all the arguments are null.

If all the parameters of the function call are dynamic, an error occurs.

Note: A synonym for COALESCE is VALUE. VALUE is accepted by Derby but is not recognized by the SQL standard.

## Syntax

    COALESCE ( expression, expression [ , expression ]* )

The function must have at least two arguments.

## Example

    ij> -- create table with three different integer types
    ij> create table temp(smallintcol smallint, bigintcol bigint, intcol integer);
    0 rows inserted/updated/deleted

    ij> insert into temp values (1, null, null);
    1 row inserted/updated/deleted
    ij> insert into temp values (null, 2, null);
    1 row inserted/updated/deleted
    ij> insert into temp values (null, null, 3);
    1 row inserted/updated/deleted

    ij> select * from temp;
    SMALL&|BIGINTCOL           |INTCOL
    ---------------------------------------
    1     |NULL                |NULL
    NULL  |2                   |NULL
    NULL  |NULL                |3

    3 rows selected

    ij> -- the return data type of coalesce is bigint
    ij> select coalesce (smallintcol, bigintcol) from temp;
    1
    --------------------
    1
    2
    NULL

    3 rows selected

    ij> -- the return data type of coalesce is bigint
    ij> select coalesce (smallintcol, bigintcol, intcol) from temp;
    1
    --------------------
    1
    2
    3

    3 rows selected

    ij> -- the return data type of coalesce is integer
    ij> select coalesce (smallintcol, intcol) from temp;
    1
    -----------
    1
    NULL
    3

    3 rows selected

Parent topic: Built-in functions
Related reference
CASE expression
NULLIF function