MySQL XOR Operator

MySQL XOR Operator is one of the Logical Operators. In mathematics, x XOR y is equal to (x AND (NOT y)) OR ((NOT x) AND y). Generally, we use this MySQL XOR operator in the WHERE Clause to apply multiple filters on the rows or records returned by the SELECT Statement. This XOR operator returns the result as:

  • 1, if all operands are no nulls, and if an odd number of operands are non-zero, otherwise 0.
  • NULL, If either of the operands is NULL.

To explain the Logical XOR Operator in the WHERE Clause, we are going to use the below shown data.

Customer Table

MySQL XOR Operator Command prompt

In this MySQL example, we pass Ones, Zeros, and Null values with a different combinations. This example helps you to understand the Truth table behind this XOR Operator.

SELECT 1 XOR 1;

SELECT 1 XOR 0;

SELECT 0 XOR 0;

SELECT 1 XOR NULL;

SELECT 1 XOR 1 XOR 1 XOR 0;

SELECT 0 XOR NULL;
XOR Example 1

Logical XOR Operator Example

The XOR Operator test multiple conditions in WHERE Clause. If either one of the conditions in the WHERE Clause is TRUE, then the SELECT Statement displays the records.

USE company;
SELECT CustID,
		First_Name, Last_Name,
        Education, Profession,
        Yearly_Income, Sales
FROM customers
WHERE Education = 'High School'
	XOR Yearly_Income > 90000;
MySQL XOR Operator Example 2