Subqueries that return exactly one column and either zero or one row can be used in any SQL statement wherever a column name could be used, including in the middle of an expression.

For example, expressions can be compared to subqueries in comparison conditions as long as the subquery does not return more than one row. If the subquery (which must have exactly one column) returns one row, then the value of that row is compared to the expression. If a subquery returns no rows, the value of the subquery is NULL.

Subqueries that return exactly one column and any number of rows can be used in IN, ANY, ALL, and SOME search conditions. Subqueries that return any number of columns and rows can be used in EXISTS search conditions. These search conditions are discussed in the following sections.

 See also

 Standards and compatibility