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What is the purpose of the COALESCE function?

Junior PostgreSQL
Quick Answer COALESCE returns the first non-NULL value from a list of arguments. COALESCE(col, "default") returns col if not NULL, else "default". Useful for: providing fallback values in queries, replacing NULLs for display. COALESCE(a, b, c) returns first non-NULL of a, b, c. Related: NULLIF(a, b) returns NULL if a equals b. Both are null-handling utilities used in SELECT columns and WHERE conditions.

Answer

COALESCE returns the first non-NULL value from a list, useful for handling missing data.
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