Boolean type behavior in PostgreSQL - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to select all rows where the boolean column is true.

PostgreSQL

SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = [1];

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A1

B'true'

CTRUE

D't'

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'true' as a string instead of the boolean literal TRUE.

Using 1 which is not a boolean literal in PostgreSQL.

In PostgreSQL, the boolean literal TRUE is used without quotes to represent true values.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to insert a false boolean value into the column.

PostgreSQL

INSERT INTO settings (enabled) VALUES ([1]);

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AFALSE

B'f'

C0

D'false'

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'false' as a string instead of the boolean literal FALSE.

Using 0 which is not a boolean literal in PostgreSQL.

Use the boolean literal FALSE without quotes to insert a false value in PostgreSQL.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the WHERE clause to correctly filter rows where the boolean column is not true.

PostgreSQL

SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE completed [1] TRUE;

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A!=

B<>

C=!

D==

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '!=' which is not standard SQL in PostgreSQL.

Using '==' which is invalid in SQL.

In SQL, the standard operator for 'not equal' is <>.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a query that selects rows where the boolean column is true or null.

PostgreSQL

SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = [1] OR status IS [2];

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

ATRUE

BFALSE

CNULL

DNOT NULL

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'FALSE' instead of TRUE.

Using IS NOT NULL instead of IS NULL.

To check for true or null values, use TRUE and IS NULL respectively.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a query that counts rows where the boolean column is false and not null.

PostgreSQL

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM logs WHERE flag = [1] AND flag IS NOT [2] AND flag IS NOT [3];

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

ATRUE

BFALSE

CNULL

DNOT NULL

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using TRUE instead of FALSE.

Using IS NULL instead of IS NOT NULL.

We count rows where flag is FALSE and not NULL, using IS NOT NULL conditions.

Practice

1. In PostgreSQL, which of the following is a valid boolean value stored in a boolean column?

easy

A. TRUE

B. 2

C. 'foo'

D. 'NULL'

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand boolean data type values

   PostgreSQL boolean columns accept TRUE, FALSE, or NULL (unknown).

2. Step 2: Identify valid boolean literals

   TRUE and FALSE are valid boolean literals; 2, 'foo', and 'NULL' are not valid boolean literals in PostgreSQL.

3. Final Answer:

   TRUE -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Boolean values = TRUE or FALSE [OK]

Hint: Boolean columns accept TRUE, FALSE, or NULL only [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 1 or 0 as boolean values directly
• Using strings like 'yes' or 'no' as boolean
• Confusing NULL with a boolean TRUE or FALSE

2. Which of the following is the correct way to declare a boolean column named is_active in a PostgreSQL table?

easy

A. CREATE TABLE users (is_active BOOLEAN(1));

B. CREATE TABLE users (is_active BOOLEAN);

C. CREATE TABLE users (is_active BOOL(1));

D. CREATE TABLE users (is_active BOOLIAN);

Solution

1. Step 1: Check correct boolean type syntax

   PostgreSQL uses BOOLEAN or BOOL as valid types; BOOLEAN(1) is invalid.

2. Step 2: Identify syntax errors

   A uses invalid BOOLEAN(1) syntax; B has a typo 'BOOLIAN'; C uses invalid BOOL(1) syntax.

3. Final Answer:

   CREATE TABLE users (is_active BOOLEAN); -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   BOOLEAN keyword is correct type [OK]

Hint: Use BOOLEAN or BOOL, no size or typo allowed [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Typo in BOOLEAN keyword
• Adding size like BOOLEAN(1)
• Using unsupported types like BOOLIAN

3. Given the table settings with a boolean column enabled, what will this query return?

SELECT enabled FROM settings WHERE enabled = FALSE;

medium

A. All rows where enabled is TRUE

B. All rows where enabled is NULL

C. All rows where enabled is FALSE

D. Syntax error

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the WHERE clause condition

   The query filters rows where the boolean column enabled equals FALSE.

2. Step 2: Determine which rows match

   Only rows with enabled = FALSE will be returned; TRUE or NULL rows are excluded.

3. Final Answer:

   All rows where enabled is FALSE -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   WHERE enabled = FALSE returns FALSE rows [OK]

Hint: WHERE boolean_column = FALSE returns only FALSE rows [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming NULL rows are included
• Confusing TRUE and FALSE values
• Thinking it returns all rows

4. You wrote this query but it returns no rows:

SELECT * FROM users WHERE is_admin = TRUE;

The is_admin column is boolean but some rows have NULL. What is the likely issue?

medium

A. TRUE is not a valid boolean value in PostgreSQL

B. The query syntax is incorrect

C. The column should be text, not boolean

D. NULL values cause the condition to fail, so no rows with NULL appear

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand boolean NULL behavior in WHERE clause

   Comparing boolean column to TRUE excludes NULL rows because NULL means unknown, not TRUE.

2. Step 2: Explain why no rows returned

   Rows with NULL in is_admin do not satisfy is_admin = TRUE, so they are excluded.

3. Final Answer:

   NULL values cause the condition to fail, so no rows with NULL appear -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   NULL in boolean = TRUE returns no rows [OK]

Hint: NULL in boolean columns excludes rows in equality checks [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking NULL equals TRUE
• Assuming TRUE is invalid boolean
• Believing syntax error caused no rows

5. You want to select all rows from tasks where the boolean column completed is either FALSE or NULL. Which query correctly does this?

hard

A. SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE completed = FALSE OR completed IS NULL;

B. SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE completed = FALSE AND completed IS NULL;

C. SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE NOT completed;

D. SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE completed != TRUE;

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand boolean NULL and FALSE filtering

   To get rows where completed is FALSE or NULL, use OR with completed = FALSE and completed IS NULL.

2. Step 2: Analyze each option

   SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE completed = FALSE AND completed IS NULL; uses AND, which cannot be both FALSE and NULL simultaneously. SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE NOT completed; excludes NULL rows. SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE completed != TRUE; excludes TRUE and NULL (since NULL != TRUE is unknown), includes only FALSE.

3. Final Answer:

   SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE completed = FALSE OR completed IS NULL; -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use OR to include FALSE or NULL rows [OK]

Hint: Use OR with IS NULL to include unknown boolean values [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using AND instead of OR
• Ignoring NULL rows in boolean filters
• Using NOT completed excludes NULL rows