Re: peeve

Jack Parker writes: |> Is this really a three level compare? If I have two apples and |> Bill has diddly - is my number of apples not NOT EQUAL to Bills'? In that case, your number of apples is NOT EQUAL to Bill's, because you evidently know that he has "diddly". The appropriate analogy would be: if you have two apples and Bill has a bag that can contain apples, is your number of apples equal to Bills? The correct answer would be "I don't know" because you can't give any other answer (and be sure it is correct) without first looking in the bag. |> Perhaps someone with a better theoretical knowledge than mine could |> explain exactly why a NULL is not NOT EQUAL to "x"? Because it might be when you actually look at the value. A null is not a value, it is the absence of a value. If you got a job application form from someone wanting to work for your company, and they did not enter a value for "date of birth", do you assume they were never born? If you were asked by Human Resources if that person was born before 1960, could you give them an answer? Dave Disclaimer: These opinions are not those of Informix Software, Inc. ************************************************************************** "I look back with some satisfaction on what an idiot I was when I was 25, but when I do that, I'm assuming I'm no longer an idiot." - Andy Rooney