How to include column values as null even when condition is not met? - sql

Question

Write a query to show ALL building names, their metering company name and meter type for all buildings that do not have postpaid meters.
The image 1 is the result that I should get and image 2 is the results that i am getting:
USE Ultimate_DataBase
GO
SELECT [Bld_Name], [Elec_company_name], [Mtype_Name]
FROM [dbo].[Metering_Company] A
FULL OUTER JOIN [dbo].[Metering_Type] D
ON A.[MType_ID]= D.MType_ID
FULL OUTER JOIN [dbo].[Building_metering] B
ON A.[Elec_ID]= B.[Elec_ID]
FULL OUTER JOIN [dbo].[Building] C
ON C.[Bld_ID]= B.[Bld_ID]
WHERE [Mtype_Name] != 'POSTPAID'

Answer 1

Try moving the WHERE logic to the corresponding ON clause:
SELECT [Bld_Name], [Elec_company_name], [Mtype_Name]
FROM [dbo].[Metering_Company] A
FULL OUTER JOIN [dbo].[Metering_Type] D
ON A.[MType_ID]= D.MType_ID AND
[Mtype_Name] != 'POSTPAID' -- change is here
FULL OUTER JOIN [dbo].[Building_metering] B
ON A.[Elec_ID]= B.[Elec_ID]
FULL OUTER JOIN [dbo].[Building] C
ON C.[Bld_ID]= B.[Bld_ID];
Note: Please add aliases to your select clause. They are not mandatory, assuming no two tables ever have columns by the same name, but just having aliases would have made your question easier to answer.

Answer 2

FULL JOIN isn't seem necessary -- in fact FULL JOIN is almost never needed, and especially not for routine JOINs in a well-structured database.
The structure of the question suggests NOT EXISTS:
SELECT b.*
FROM dbo.Building b
WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1
FROM dbo.Building_metering bm JOIN
dbo.Metering_Company mc
ON bm.Elec_ID = mc.Elec_ID JOIN
dbo.Metering_Type mt
ON mt.MType_ID = mc.MType_ID
WHERE bm.Bld_ID = b.Bld_ID AND mt.Mtype_Name = 'POSTPAID'
);
You can also express this as a LEFT JOIN and filtering:
SELECT b.*
FROM dbo.Building b LEFT JOIN
dbo.Building_metering bm
ON bm.Bld_ID = b.Bld_ID LEFT JOIN
dbo.Metering_Company mc
ON bm.Elec_ID = mc.Elec_ID LEFT JOIN
dbo.Metering_Type mt
ON mt.MType_ID = mc.MType_ID AND
mt.Mtype_Name = 'POSTPAID'
WHERE mt.MType_ID IS NULL;
This allows you to select columns from any of the tables.
Notes:
FULL JOIN is almost never needed.
Use meaningful table aliases! Arbitrary letters mean nothing. Use table abbreviations.
Escaping column and table names with square braces just makes code harder to write and to read.

Answer 3

USE Ultimate_DataBase
GO
SELECT [Bld_Name], [Elec_company_name], [Mtype_Name]
FROM [dbo].[Metering_Company] A
LEFT JOIN [dbo].[Metering_Type] D
ON A.[MType_ID]= D.MType_ID
LEFT JOIN [dbo].[Building_metering] B
ON A.[Elec_ID]= B.[Elec_ID]
LEFT JOIN [dbo].[Building] C
ON C.[Bld_ID]= B.[Bld_ID]
Use this