I am building a query for a search in MS SQL 05
i have 4 things the user can select, and i want to use AND logic on it.
but i can't seem to get it to work when NULLs are being passed in.
this is what i have:
ALTER PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_FindSource]
-- Add the parameters for the stored procedure here
#Code varchar(500),
#ssid varchar(50),
#serialNo varchar(50),
#category decimal(10,5)
as begin
SELECT *
FROM tblSource
WHERE Code IN (
SELECT Value
FROM funcListToTableInt(#Code,',')
)
and SSID LIKE '%' + #ssID + '%'
and serialNo LIKE '%' + #serialNo + '%'
and category = #category
end
NOTE: funcListToTableInt function, parses comma seporated values passed in (it works by itself, if i take the other where statements out)
The above search never returns anything, how can i ignore values if they are passed in black and only query the ones that have something in them? uuggh, it's been killing me.
You just have to wrap some OR #param IS NULL checks around your WHERE conditions:
ALTER PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_FindSource]
-- Add the parameters for the stored procedure here
#Code varchar(500),
#ssid varchar(50),
#serialNo varchar(50),
#category decimal(10,5)
as begin
SELECT *
FROM tblSource
WHERE (Code IN (SELECT Value FROM funcListToTableInt(#Code,',')) OR #Code IS NULL)
AND (SiteSourceID LIKE '%' + #ssID + '%' OR #ssID IS NULL)
AND (serialNo LIKE '%' + #serialNo + '%' OR #serialNo IS NULL)
AND (category = #category OR #category IS NULL)
end
This looks very strange at first glance, since it is checking the parameters for IS NULL, but it works.
Try adding OR clauses for the nulls. SO for example change 'and category = #category' to 'and ((category = #category) or (category is null)).
Do this for all the items for whiuch you want to have a null imput essectially disable that particular test.
There are two ways:
Way 1, ADD OR Clause: It can kill the performance ....
SELECT *
FROM tblSource
WHERE (Code IN (
SELECT Value
FROM funcListToTableInt(#Code,',')
) OR #Code IS NULL)
and (SiteSourceID LIKE '%' + #ssID + '%' OR #SSID IS NULL)
and (serialNo LIKE '%' + #serialNo + '%' OR #serialNo IS NULL)
and (category = #category OR #category)
Way 2: Conditional logic
Considering you have 4 parameters and each may have a value or may not have a value, So you have 2*2*2*2 , 16 different cases. You can write something like:
IF (#SSID IS NULL AND #Code IS NULL AND #serialNo IS NULL AND #category IS NOT NULL) THEN
-- SEARCH only of category
ELSE IF (#SSID IS NULL AND #Code IS NULL AND #serialNo IS NOT NULL AND #category IS NULL) THEN
-- SEARCH only on Serial Number
.
.
.
.
.
As in SQL Server each If block cache its own plan, it will be more performing but based on parameter and there possible combinations this approach may or may not be desired ...
Related
I am creating a stored procedure to do a search through a table. I have many different search columns, all of which are optional. Is there a way to create a stored procedure that will handle this? Let's say I have a table with four columns ID, N1, N2 and N3. I could do something like this:
Table:
INSERT INTO [dbo].[Sample]
VALUES ('1', 'A,B,C', 'A,B,C', 'A,B,C'),
('2', 'B,D,N', 'B,D,N', 'B,D,N'),
('3', 'A,N,S', 'A,N,S', 'A,N,S'),
('4', 'S,F,G', 'S,F,G', 'S,F,G'),
('5', 'D,F,K', 'D,F,K', 'D,F,K'),
('6', 'S,H,Y', 'S,H,Y', 'S,H,Y'),
('7', 'Z,B,C', 'Z,B,C', 'Z,B,C')
Stored procedure:
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.Sample2
#n11 varchar(max) = null,
#n12 varchar(max) = null,
#n21 varchar(max) = null,
#n22 varchar(max) = null,
#n31 varchar(max) = null,
#n32 varchar(max) = null
AS
BEGIN
SELECT COUNT(*)
FROM Sample
WHERE
(#n11 IS NULL OR Sample.N1 LIKE '%' + #n11 + '%'
OR #n12 IS NULL OR Sample.N1 LIKE '%' + #n12 + '%')
AND (#n21 IS NULL OR Sample.N2 LIKE '%' + #n21 + '%'
OR #n22 IS NULL OR Sample.N2 LIKE '%' + #n22 + '%')
AND (#n31 IS NULL OR Sample.N3 LIKE '%' + #n31 + '%'
OR #n32 IS NULL OR Sample.N3 LIKE '%' + #n32 + '%')
END
If user enters #n11 as A and leave the rest, since N1 contains A in 2 rows, output should be 2 but above query is providing 7. If a parameter is not specified, I need that to be ignored and pass the rest to where condition.
I think you need to AND every separate input condition e.g.
SELECT count(*)
FROM [Sample] S
WHERE (#n11 IS NULL OR S.N1 LIKE '%'+#n11+'%')
AND (#n12 IS NULL OR S.N1 LIKE '%'+#n12+'%')
AND (#n21 IS NULL OR S.N2 LIKE '%'+#n21+'%')
AND (#n22 IS NULL OR S.N2 LIKE '%'+#n22+'%')
AND (#n31 IS NULL OR S.N3 LIKE '%'+#n31+'%')
AND (#n32 IS NULL OR S.N3 LIKE '%'+#n32+'%')
Note the alias, which is the best practice way to avoid having to repeat a long table name all over the query.
Try to remove the next conditions from your stored procedure query:
#n12 IS NULL
#n22 IS NULL
#n32 IS NULL
As the above conditions are returning always true while there were sent when calling the procedure.
Stored procedure code after modified:
Alter Procedure dbo.Sample2
#n11 varchar(max) = null,
#n12 varchar(max) = null,
#n21 varchar(max) = null,
#n22 varchar(max) = null,
#n31 varchar(max) = null,
#n32 varchar(max) = null
AS
BEGIN
select count(*)
from Sample
where (#n11 IS NULL OR Sample.N1 LIKE '%'+#n11+'%' OR Sample.N1 LIKE '%'+#n12+'%')
AND (#n21 IS NULL OR Sample.N2 LIKE '%'+#n21+'%' OR Sample.N2 LIKE '%'+#n22+'%')
AND (#n31 IS NULL OR Sample.N3 LIKE '%'+#n31+'%' OR Sample.N3 LIKE '%'+#n32+'%')
END
Now while executing exec dbo.Sample2 #n11 = 'A' the output will be 2 instead of 7
select
sum(iif(N1 like '%'+#N11+'%',1,0)
+ iif(N1 like '%'+#N12+'%',1,0)
+ iif(N2 like '%'+#N21+'%',1,0)
+ iif(N2 like '%'+#N22+'%',1,0)
+ iif(N3 like '%'+#N31+'%',1,0)
+ iif(N3 like '%'+#N32+'%',1,0)
)
from Sample
Any NULL variables will be ignored.
I want to write a stored procedure in order to filter some columns in which some of them might be NULL or not. code below is mine, but it does not work.
procedure .[s p_organization](#expert nvarchar(100),
#name nvarchar(100), #last_name nvarchar(200),
#organization n varchar(200) )
where
((Person.expert LIKE #expert or Person.expert LIKE #expert)
and (is null(l trim(r trim #last_name)),'')=''
or person.last_name like #last_name + '%'
and Person.Name LIKE #name
or #name is null
and Organization.Name LIKE N'%'+#organization +'%' )
Add ( ) when using or and and mixed:
A AND B OR C will return C totally independent of A AND B.
A AND (B OR C) will returnA AND BorA AND C` (depending on the content of the data
In your case:
((Person.expert LIKE #expert or Person.expert LIKE #expert)
and ((is null(l trim(r trim #last_name)),")="
or person.last_name like #last_name + '%')
and (Person.Name LIKE #name
or #name is null )
and Organization.Name LIKE N'%'+#organization +'%' )
might work better (you need to tune it for your own purposes and results
I can't seem to properly use the LIKE statement using a variable from a stored procedure. I want to find all the rows from a table that start with the variable passed.
I am currently using the following query where #id is the value passed to the stored procedure as nvarchar(20). This works fine when the IDs completely match, but does not properly use the '%' appended. What is the proper way to complete this task?
SELECT * FROM Table WHERE id LIKE #id + '%'
This works for me:
declare #id nvarchar(20)
select #id = '1'
SELECT * FROM tab WHERE id LIKE #id + '%'
Sql Fiddle DEMO
The query doesn't work if #id is null. So what you can do is set it to empty string if #id is null. Please try the following:
begin
declare #id nvarchar(20)
set #id = isnull(#id, '')
select * from table where id like #id + '%'
end
So in your procedure, adding the following line should work for your query:
set #id = isnull(#id, '')
Simple solution:
$search_q = '%' . $this_search_q. '%';
$stmt = $db->prepare("SELECT * FROM tbl_tablename WHERE tablecollumn LIKE :id");
$stmt ->bindParam(":id", $search_q );
$stmt->execute();
OR
$search_q = '%' . $this_search_q. '%';
$stmt = $db->prepare("SELECT * FROM tbl_tablename WHERE tablecollumn LIKE $search_q");
$stmt->execute();
CREATE PROCEDURE `SP_GENRE_SELECT`(
IN _Id INTEGER,
IN _Name VARCHAR(50),
IN _account VARCHAR (50),
IN _Password VARCHAR (50),
IN _LastConnexionDate DATETIME,
IN _CreatedDate DATETIME,
IN _UpdatedDate DATETIME,
IN _CreatedUserId INTEGER,
IN _UpdatedUserId INTEGER,
IN _Status TINYINT
)
BEGIN
SELECT *
FROM user
WHERE Id LIKE _id IS NULL + '%',CAST(_Id AS VARCHAR)
AND
WHERE Name LIKE _Name IS NULL + '%' ,'%',CONCAT('%',_Name,'%')
AND
WHERE Account LIKE _Account IS NULL + '%' ,'%',CONCAT('%',_Account,'%')
AND
WHERE LastConnexionDate LIKE _LastConnexionDate IS NULL + '%' ,'%',CONCAT('%',CAST(LastConnexionDate AS VARCHAR(50),'%'))
AND
WHERE CreatedDate LIKE _CreatedDate IS NULL + '%' ,'%',CONCAT('%',CAST(_CreatedDate AS VARCHAR(50),'%'))
AND
WHERE UpdatedDate LIKE _UpdatedDate IS NULL + '%' ,'%',CONCAT('%',CAST(_UpdatedDate AS VARCHAR(50),'%'))
AND
WHERE CreatedUserID LIKE _CreatedUserID IS NULL +'%' ,'%',CONCAT('%',CAST(_CreatedUserID AS VARCHAR(50),'%'))
AND
WHERE UpdatedUserID LIKE _UpdatedUserID IS NULL +'%' ,'%',CONCAT('%',CAST(_UpdatedUserID AS VARCHAR(50),'%'))
AND
WHERE Status LIKE _Status IS NULL + '%' ,'%',CAST(_Status AS VARCHAR(50),'%');
END
When you need Dynamic WHERE Clause I can use;
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_sel_Articles]
#articleId INT = NULL
, #title NVARCHAR(250) = NULL
, #accessLevelId INT = NULL
AS
BEGIN
SELECT *
FROM table_Articles Art
WHERE
(Art.ArticleId = #articleId OR #articleId IS NULL)
AND (Art.Title LIKE '%' + #title + '%' OR #title IS NULL)
AND (Art.AccessLevelId = #accessLevelId OR #accessLevelId IS NULL)
END
So, I am able to invoke this procedure -for example- ONLY by ArticleId
EXEC [sp_sel_Articles] #articleId = 3
But, sometimes I'll need to invoke by AccessLevelId and sometimes NOT by an EXACT VALUE. For example, I'll need MORE THAN the given accesslevelId or LESS THAN.
Current procedure can ONLY handle the EXACT value by using
Art.AccessLevelId = #accessLevelId
Could also be possible to give the CONDITION type as well as the value into the procedure? It may seem very odd in this example but please just bear with me:
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_sel_Articles]
#articleId INT = NULL
, #title NVARCHAR(250) = NULL
, #accessLevelId INT = NULL
, **#accessLevelIdCondition**
AS
BEGIN
SELECT *
FROM table_Articles Art
WHERE
(Art.ArticleId = #articleId OR #articleId IS NULL)
AND (Art.Title LIKE '%' + #title + '%' OR #title IS NULL)
AND (Art.AccessLevelId **#accessLevelIdCondition** #accessLevelId OR #accessLevelId IS NULL)
END
Perhaps an Function can be used, I don't know. Since, there will be at least 20 Procedure that will require this flexibility, I'll need a better, more global solution as much as possible rather than writing IF ELSE condition in every procedure.
Thanks in advance,
You'd probably need to use dynamic SQL to pass in the operator. Or you could pass in two values, e.g.
#MinAccessLevelID INT,
#MaxAccessLevelID INT
...
WHERE (
(#MinAccessLevelID IS NULL AND #MaxAccessLevelID IS NULL)
OR
(AccessLevelID >= #MinAccessLevelID AND AccessLevelID <= #MaxAccessLevelID)
)
When you want exact (e.g. only 3), just pass 3 into both values. When you want anything above 3, pass 20000000000 into the #Max param, or 0 if you want everything below 3.
But you'll find as these permutations get more complex, you are going to be better off just using dynamic SQL (and with optimize for ad hoc workloads set, this will be better for plan cache reuse and thwarting parameter sniffing as well).
Read this www.sommarskog.se/dynamic_sql.html before applying
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_sel_Articles]
#articleId INT = NULL
, #title NVARCHAR(250) = NULL
, #accessLevelId INT = NULL
, #accessLevelIdCondition varchar(100)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #SQL varchar(8000)
SET #SQL='
SELECT *
FROM table_Articles Art
WHERE
(Art.ArticleId = '+cast(#articleId as varchar(100))+' OR '+cast(#articleId as varchar(100))+'IS NULL)
AND (Art.Title LIKE ''%'' + #title + ''%'' OR #title IS NULL)
AND (Art.AccessLevelId '+#accessLevelIdCondition+ cast(#accessLevelId as varchar(100))+' OR '+cast(#accessLevelId as varchar(100))+' IS NULL) '
EXEC(#sql)
END
You can always make a dynamic query with just making a querystring
execute ('select count(*) from table' )
So with the params entered in your stored procedure, you can also form up a querystring which you can execute.
You could use a case statement - it can look a little funny if not formatted correctly but you can try something like:
SELECT Columns FROM SomeTable
WHERE 1 = CASE
WHEN #SomeOption = '<>' AND SomeValue >= #SomeMinParam AND SomeValue <= SomeMaxParam THEN 1
WHEN #SomeOption '=' AND SomeValue = #SomeMinParam THEN 1
ELSE 0
END
(though as Aaron pointed out - the <> you pass in doesn't really reflect the comparison operators in the statement - change this to something meaningful :))
in your case:
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_sel_Articles]
#articleId INT = NULL,
#title NVARCHAR(250) = NULL,
#MinaccessLevelId INT = NULL,
#MaxaccessLevelId INT = NULL,
#accessType varchar(5) = '<>'
AS
BEGIN
SELECT *
FROM table_Articles Art
WHERE
(Art.ArticleId = #articleId OR #articleId IS NULL)
AND (Art.Title LIKE '%' + #title + '%' OR #title IS NULL)
AND 1 = CASE
WHEN #accessType = '<>' AND (Art.AccessLevelId = #MinaccessLevelId OR #accessLevelId IS NULL) THEN 1
WHEN #accessType = '=' AND (Art.AccessLevelId >= #MinaccessLevelId OR Art.AccessLevelId <= #MaxaccessLevelId) THEN 1
ELSE 0
END
END
Maybe use a bit #CompareAccessLevelToMin instead of a varchar() for the #accessType param. Still has the trouble of not telling you what setting it to 'false' means though.
I'm working on an application for work that is going to query our employee database. The end users want the ability to search based on the standard name/department criteria, but they also want the flexibility to query for all people with the first name of "James" that works in the Health Department. The one thing I want to avoid is to simply have the stored procedure take a list of parameters and generate a SQL statement to execute, since that would open doors to SQL injection at an internal level.
Can this be done?
While the COALESCE trick is neat, my preferred method is:
CREATE PROCEDURE ps_Customers_SELECT_NameCityCountry
#Cus_Name varchar(30) = NULL
,#Cus_City varchar(30) = NULL
,#Cus_Country varchar(30) = NULL
,#Dept_ID int = NULL
,#Dept_ID_partial varchar(10) = NULL
AS
SELECT Cus_Name
,Cus_City
,Cus_Country
,Dept_ID
FROM Customers
WHERE (#Cus_Name IS NULL OR Cus_Name LIKE '%' + #Cus_Name + '%')
AND (#Cus_City IS NULL OR Cus_City LIKE '%' + #Cus_City + '%')
AND (#Cus_Country IS NULL OR Cus_Country LIKE '%' + #Cus_Country + '%')
AND (#Dept_ID IS NULL OR Dept_ID = #DeptID)
AND (#Dept_ID_partial IS NULL OR CONVERT(varchar, Dept_ID) LIKE '%' + #Dept_ID_partial + '%')
These kind of SPs can easily be code generated (and re-generated for table-changes).
You have a few options for handling numbers - depending if you want exact semantics or search semantics.
The most efficient way to implement this type of search is with a stored procedure. The statement shown here creates a procedure that accepts the required parameters. When a parameter value is not supplied it is set to NULL.
CREATE PROCEDURE ps_Customers_SELECT_NameCityCountry
#Cus_Name varchar(30) = NULL,
#Cus_City varchar(30) = NULL,
#Cus_Country varchar(30) =NULL
AS
SELECT Cus_Name,
Cus_City,
Cus_Country
FROM Customers
WHERE Cus_Name = COALESCE(#Cus_Name,Cus_Name) AND
Cus_City = COALESCE(#Cus_City,Cus_City) AND
Cus_Country = COALESCE(#Cus_Country,Cus_Country)
Taken from this page: http://www.sqlteam.com/article/implementing-a-dynamic-where-clause
I've done it before. It works well.
Erland Sommarskog's article Dynamic Search Conditions in T-SQL is a good reference on how to do this. Erland presents a number of strategies on how to do this without using dynamic SQL (just plain IF blocks, OR, COALESCE, etc) and even lists out the performance characteristics of each technique.
In case you have to bite the bullet and go through the Dynamic SQL path, you should also read Erland's Curse and Blessings of Dynamic SQL where he gives out some tips on how to properly write dynamic SQLs
It can be done, but usually these kitchen-sink procedures result in some poor query plans.
Having said all that, here is the tactic most commonly used for "optional" parameters. The normal approach is to treat NULL as "ommitted".
SELECT
E.EmployeeID,
E.LastName,
E.FirstName
WHERE
E.FirstName = COALESCE(#FirstName, E.FirstName) AND
E.LastName = COALESCE(#LastName, E.LastName) AND
E.DepartmentID = COALESCE(#DepartmentID, E.DepartmentID)
EDIT:
A far better approach would be parameterized queries.
Here is a blog post from one of the world's foremost authorities in this domain, Frans Bouma from LLBLGen Pro fame:
Stored Procedures vs. Dynamic Queries
Using the COALESCE method has a problem in that if your column has a NULL value, passing in a NULL search condition (meaning ignore the search condition) will not return the row in many databases.
For example, try the following code on SQL Server 2000:
CREATE TABLE dbo.Test_Coalesce (
my_id INT NOT NULL IDENTITY,
my_string VARCHAR(20) NULL )
GO
INSERT INTO dbo.Test_Coalesce (my_string) VALUES (NULL)
INSERT INTO dbo.Test_Coalesce (my_string) VALUES ('t')
INSERT INTO dbo.Test_Coalesce (my_string) VALUES ('x')
INSERT INTO dbo.Test_Coalesce (my_string) VALUES (NULL)
GO
DECLARE #my_string VARCHAR(20)
SET #my_string = NULL
SELECT * FROM dbo.Test_Coalesce WHERE my_string = COALESCE(#my_string, my_string)
GO
You will only get back two rows because in the rows where the column my_string is NULL you are effective getting:
my_string = COALESCE(#my_string, my_string) =>
my_string = COALESCE(NULL, my_string) =>
my_string = my_string =>
NULL = NULL
But of course, NULL does not equal NULL.
I try to stick with:
SELECT
my_id,
my_string
FROM
dbo.Test_Coalesce
WHERE
(#my_string IS NULL OR my_string = #my_string)
Of course, you can adjust that to use wild cards or whatever else you want to do.
Copying this from my blog post:
USE [AdventureWorks]
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE USP_GET_Contacts_DynSearch
(
-- Optional Filters for Dynamic Search
#ContactID INT = NULL,
#FirstName NVARCHAR(50) = NULL,
#LastName NVARCHAR(50) = NULL,
#EmailAddress NVARCHAR(50) = NULL,
#EmailPromotion INT = NULL,
#Phone NVARCHAR(25) = NULL
)
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON
DECLARE
#lContactID INT,
#lFirstName NVARCHAR(50),
#lLastName NVARCHAR(50),
#lEmailAddress NVARCHAR(50),
#lEmailPromotion INT,
#lPhone NVARCHAR(25)
SET #lContactID = #ContactID
SET #lFirstName = LTRIM(RTRIM(#FirstName))
SET #lLastName = LTRIM(RTRIM(#LastName))
SET #lEmailAddress = LTRIM(RTRIM(#EmailAddress))
SET #lEmailPromotion = #EmailPromotion
SET #lPhone = LTRIM(RTRIM(#Phone))
SELECT
ContactID,
Title,
FirstName,
MiddleName,
LastName,
Suffix,
EmailAddress,
EmailPromotion,
Phone
FROM [Person].[Contact]
WHERE
(#lContactID IS NULL OR ContactID = #lContactID)
AND (#lFirstName IS NULL OR FirstName LIKE '%' + #lFirstName + '%')
AND (#lLastName IS NULL OR LastName LIKE '%' + #lLastName + '%')
AND (#lEmailAddress IS NULL OR EmailAddress LIKE '%' + #lEmailAddress + '%')
AND (#lEmailPromotion IS NULL OR EmailPromotion = #lEmailPromotion)
AND (#lPhone IS NULL OR Phone = #lPhone)
ORDER BY ContactID
END
GO
We can use Generic #Search Parameter and pass any value to it for searching.
GO
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
-- =============================================
-- Author: --
-- Create date:
-- Description: --
-- =============================================
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[usp_StudentList]
#PageNumber INT = 1, -- Paging parameter
#PageSize INT = 10,-- Paging parameter
#Search VARCHAR(MAX) = NULL, --Generic Search Parameter
#OrderBy VARCHAR(MAX) = 'FirstName', --Default Column Name 'FirstName' for records ordering
#SortDir VARCHAR(MAX) = 'asc' --Default ordering 'asc' for records ordering
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
--Query required for paging, this query used to show total records
SELECT COUNT(StudentId) AS RecordsTotal FROM Student
SELECT Student.*,
--Query required for paging, this query used to show total records filtered
COUNT(StudentId) OVER (PARTITION BY 1) AS RecordsFiltered
FROM Student
WHERE
--Generic Search
-- Below is the column list to add in Generic Serach
(#Search IS NULL OR Student.FirstName LIKE '%'+ #Search +'%')
OR (#Search IS NULL OR Student.LastName LIKE '%'+ #Search +'%')
--Order BY
-- Below is the column list to allow sorting
ORDER BY
CASE WHEN #SortDir = 'asc' AND #OrderBy = 'FirstName' THEN Student.FirstName END,
CASE WHEN #SortDir = 'desc' AND #OrderBy = 'FirstName' THEN Student.FirstName END DESC,
CASE WHEN #SortDir = 'asc' AND #OrderBy = 'LastName' THEN Student.LastName END,
CASE WHEN #SortDir = 'desc' AND #OrderBy = 'LastName' THEN Student.LastName END DESC,
OFFSET #PageSize * (#PageNumber - 1) ROWS FETCH NEXT #PageSize ROWS ONLY;
END
My first thought was to write a query something like this...
SELECT EmpId, NameLast, NameMiddle, NameFirst, DepartmentName
FROM dbo.Employee
INNER JOIN dbo.Department ON dbo.Employee.DeptId = dbo.Department.Id
WHERE IdCrq IS NOT NULL
AND
(
#bitSearchFirstName = 0
OR
Employee.NameFirst = #vchFirstName
)
AND
(
#bitSearchMiddleName = 0
OR
Employee.NameMiddle = #vchMiddleName
)
AND
(
#bitSearchFirstName = 0
OR
Employee.NameLast = #vchLastName
)
AND
(
#bitSearchDepartment = 0
OR
Department.Id = #intDeptID
)
...which would then have the caller provide a bit flag if they want to search a particular field and then supply the value if they are to search for it, but I don't know if this is creating a sloppy WHERE clause or if I can get away with a CASE statement in the WHERE clause.
As you can see this particular code is in T-SQL, but I'll gladly look at some PL-SQL / MySQL code as well and adapt accordingly.
I would stick with the NULL/COALESCE method over AdHoc Queries, and then test to make sure you don't have performance problems.
If it turns out that you have slow running queries because it's doing a table scan when you're searching on columns that are indexed, you could always supplement the generic search stored procedure with additional specific ones that allow searching on these indexed fields. For instance, you could have a special SP that does searches by CustomerID, or Last/First Name.
Write a procedure to insert all employee data whose name start with A in table??