<> is Standard SQL-92; != is its equivalent. Both evaluate for values, which NULL is not -- NULL is a placeholder to say there is the absence of a value.

Which is why you can only use IS NULL/IS NOT NULL as predicates for such situations.

This behavior is not specific to SQL Server. All standards-compliant SQL dialects work the same way.

Note: To compare if your value is not null, you use IS NOT NULL, while to compare with not null value, you use <> 'YOUR_VALUE'. I can't say if my value equals or not equals to NULL, but I can say if my value is NULL or NOT NULL. I can compare if my value is something other than NULL.

Answer from OMG Ponies on Stack Overflow
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W3Schools
w3schools.com โ€บ sql โ€บ sql_null_values.asp
SQL NULL Values - IS NULL and IS NOT NULL
SELECT column_names FROM table_name WHERE column_name IS NOT NULL; Below is a selection from the Customers table used in the examples: The IS NULL operator is used to test for empty values (NULL values). The following SQL lists all customers with a NULL value in the "Address" field:
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DB Vis
dbvis.com โ€บ thetable โ€บ sql-not-equal-operator-definitive-guide-with-examples
SQL Not Equal Operator: Definitive Guide with Examples
October 14, 2024 - In other words, the non-standard syntax for the SQL not equal comparison operator is: ... Note that if any of the two expressions is NULL, the result of the not equal comparison is NULL.
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MSSQLTips
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SQL NOT EQUAL Examples
December 31, 2024 - These operators can be used interchangeably in SQL Server. The ANSI standard operand is <> (greater than โ€“ less than) and may be preferred by some organizations as it is more likely to work on other platforms and thus increases the likelihood of cross-platform code reusability. The โ€œNOT Value =โ€ is quite unpopular and none of the code examples in this tip will use it. WHERE SalespersonPersonID != 2 WHERE NOT SalespersonPersonID = 2 ยท Working with NULL values can yield unexpected results.
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Quora
quora.com โ€บ How-do-you-write-not-equal-to-null-in-an-SQL-query
How to write not equal to null in an SQL query - Quora
Answer: A comparison with NULL using the normal comparison operators will always return false, i.e. [code ]NULL = NULL[/code] is false in SQL. To account for this we use the special [code ]IS[/code] and [code ]IS NOT[/code] operators to check ...
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Andycarter
andycarter.dev โ€บ blog โ€บ mysqls-not-equal-operator-doesnt-match-null-values
MySQL's not equal operator doesn't match null values โ€“ Andy Carter
The 'About' and 'Support' pages have null values for the template_id which means MySQL doesn't know if they could be 1 or not. To get the correct result, we need to include a condition for the null values: SELECT * FROM pages WHERE template_id != 1 OR template_id IS NULL; This will give us all pages except for the 'Home' page. There's another way of writing this, which is even simpler. We can use the null-safe equals operator (<=>):
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DataCamp
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SQL NOT EQUAL Operator: A Beginner's Guide | DataCamp
December 10, 2024 - Yes, <> and != serve the same purpose in SQL, representing inequality. However, <> is preferred as it aligns with ISO standards, making queries more universally interpretable. No, the NOT EQUAL operator does not handle NULL values directly.
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Microsoft Learn
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!= (Not Equal To) (Transact-SQL) - SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL ... is not equal to another expression (a comparison operator). If either or both operands are NULL, NULL is returned....
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Oracle
forums.oracle.com โ€บ ords โ€บ apexds โ€บ post โ€บ sql-if-value-is-null-not-equal-does-not-work-4157
sql if value is null not equal does not work - Oracle Forums
August 18, 2020 - I have the below query, but the AND pd.FROMLOC 'DMS' does not work if the column has {null} is there a workaround? SELECT pd.wavekey, pd.orderkey, o.externorderkey, pd.pickdetailkey...
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Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com โ€บ en-us โ€บ answers โ€บ questions โ€บ 69728 โ€บ sql-if-value-is-null-not-equal-does-not-work
sql if value is null not equal does not work - Microsoft Q&A
I have the below query, but the AND pd.FROMLOC <> 'DMS' does not work if the column has {null} is there a workaround? SELECT pd.wavekey, pd.orderkey, o.externorderkey, pd.pickdetailkey, pd.status, pd.fromloc, pd.loc, pd.sku, pd.qty,โ€ฆ
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Microsoft
social.msdn.microsoft.com โ€บ Forums โ€บ en-US โ€บ d811dc74-daba-4942-91eb-2f1fadaa9f3d โ€บ sql-not-equal-clause-ignores-null-value
SQL Not Equal clause ignores NULL value | Microsoft Learn
... select * from ( select 'A' ... returns only 'B' and not returning NULL values. ... This is by design. NULL is not equal (or unequal) to anything....
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Coginiti
coginiti.co โ€บ home โ€บ analysis โ€บ compare values when one is null
How to Compare Two Values in SQL When One Is Null - Coginiti
February 1, 2024 - When one value is null in SQL, you cannot directly compare it to any other value using comparison operators such as โ€œ=โ€. Instead, you need to use the IS NULL or IS NOT NULL operator to check whether a value is null.
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Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com โ€บ en-us โ€บ sql โ€บ t-sql โ€บ queries โ€บ is-null-transact-sql
IS NULL (Transact-SQL) - SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
... If the value of expression is NULL, IS NULL returns TRUE; otherwise, it returns FALSE. If the value of expression is NULL, IS NOT NULL returns FALSE; otherwise, it returns TRUE.
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Upscale Analytics
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SQL Server IS NULL Operator - Upscale Analytics
September 9, 2020 - In SQL Server, to handle comparison with NULL values, you need to use the following SQL Server operators: IS NULL โ€“ equals the operation โ€˜= NULLโ€™ (records with NULL values) IS NOT NULL โ€“ equals the operation โ€˜<> NULLโ€™ (records without NULL values)
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Enterprise DNA
blog.enterprisedna.co โ€บ sql-not-equal-operator
SQL Not Equal Operator: A Detailed Guide for Beginners โ€“ Master Data Skills + AI
Both can be used interchangeably, but <> is aligned with the ANSI SQL standard, making it more portable and compatible across different database systems. To use NOT NULL with NOT EQUAL operators in a query, combine the NOT NULL and NOT EQUAL conditions in your WHERE clause with the AND keyword as ...
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W3Schools
w3schools.com โ€บ mysql โ€บ mysql_null_values.asp
MySQL NULL Values - IS NULL and IS NOT NULL
SELECT column_names FROM table_name WHERE column_name IS NOT NULL; Below is a selection from the "Customers" table in the Northwind sample database: The IS NULL operator is used to test for empty values (NULL values). The following SQL lists all customers with a NULL value in the "Address" field:
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Valuedrivenanalytics
valuedrivenanalytics.com โ€บ home โ€บ where not equal in sql
WHERE Not EQUAL in SQL - Value Driven Analytics
January 26, 2024 - The basic syntax of the โ€œWHERE NOT EQUALโ€ clause involves specifying a column or expression followed by the NOT EQUAL operator (!= or <>), and then providing a value or another expression to compare against.
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SQL Server Tutorial
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SQL Server NULL, Three-valued Logic, and IS NULL Opeartor
September 24, 2024 - NULL = 0 NULL <> 0 NULL > 0 NULL = NULLCode language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql) The NULL does not equal anything, not even itself.