SQL IN

The SQL IN clause is used when you are filtering data and you want to look for more than one value.

Let-s take a look at the following query:

select *

from customer

where customer_company = ‘Dell’

or customer_company=‘HP’

or customer_company=‘Walmart’;

This query says that we want all of the columns, from the company table, where the customer_company is either Dell, or HP, or Walmart.

Here are the results:

![SNAGHTML1382cef8](../../assets/blog/2012/06/SNAGHTML1382cef8_thumb.png)

This query works great, but it means you have to type a lot more than you need to.

That is where the "**IN**- clause comes into play. Instead of typing -customer_company- 3 times like we did in the previous SQL Query, we can write the query as follows:

select *

from customer

where customer_company IN ('Dell','HP','Walmart');

The results of this query are the exact same as the results above.

Notice how much less typing I had to do. And, notice the syntax.

It goes column name (in this case customer_company), then you use the -IN- word, then you list all of the values in side of parenthesis and separated by commas.

That-s it. I often use the IN clause instead of a bunch of OR-s, because it is neater and easier for me to read.

As you start putting more complex queries together, it will be a lot easier to keep track of an IN clause instead of a bunch of OR statements.

Remember to put any question, comments, or other topics you would like for me to explain into the comment section below.