[SOLVED] How to compare values which may both be null in T-SQL

How to compare values which may both be null in T-SQL

I want to make sure I'm not inserting a duplicate row into my table (e.g. only primary key different). All my fields allow NULLS as I've decided null to mean "all values". Because of nulls, the following statement in my stored procedure can't work:

IF EXISTS(SELECT * FROM MY_TABLE WHERE 
    MY_FIELD1 = @IN_MY_FIELD1  AND
    MY_FIELD2 = @IN_MY_FIELD2  AND
    MY_FIELD3 = @IN_MY_FIELD3  AND 
    MY_FIELD4 = @IN_MY_FIELD4  AND
    MY_FIELD5 = @IN_MY_FIELD5  AND
    MY_FIELD6 = @IN_MY_FIELD6)
    BEGIN
        goto on_duplicate
    END

since NULL = NULL is not true.

How can I check for the duplicates without having an IF IS NULL statement for every column?

Solution

Use INTERSECT operator.

It's NULL-sensitive and efficient if you have a composite index on all your fields:

IF      EXISTS
        (
        SELECT  MY_FIELD1, MY_FIELD2, MY_FIELD3, MY_FIELD4, MY_FIELD5, MY_FIELD6
        FROM    MY_TABLE
        INTERSECT
        SELECT  @IN_MY_FIELD1, @IN_MY_FIELD2, @IN_MY_FIELD3, @IN_MY_FIELD4, @IN_MY_FIELD5, @IN_MY_FIELD6
        )
BEGIN
        goto on_duplicate
END

Note that if you create a UNIQUE index on your fields, your life will be much simpler.