WHERE with OR operator in SQL - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Filtering Data Using WHERE with OR Operator

📖 Scenario: You are managing a small bookstore database. You want to find books that are either by a specific author or belong to a certain genre.

🎯 Goal: Build an SQL query that selects books where the author is either 'J.K. Rowling' or the genre is 'Fantasy'.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a table called books with columns id, title, author, and genre

Insert exactly 5 rows with specified values

Write a SELECT query using WHERE with OR to filter books by author or genre

Use exact column and table names as specified

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Filtering data with multiple conditions is common in databases for reports, searches, and data analysis.

💼 Career

Knowing how to use WHERE with OR helps in writing flexible queries for business intelligence, software development, and data management roles.

1

Create the books table and insert data

Write SQL statements to create a table called books with columns id (integer), title (text), author (text), and genre (text). Then insert these 5 rows exactly: (1, 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer''s Stone', 'J.K. Rowling', 'Fantasy'), (2, 'The Hobbit', 'J.R.R. Tolkien', 'Fantasy'), (3, '1984', 'George Orwell', 'Dystopian'), (4, 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'Harper Lee', 'Classic'), (5, 'The Casual Vacancy', 'J.K. Rowling', 'Drama').

SQL

-- Create the books table and insert 5 rows
-- Your code here

Need a hint?

Use CREATE TABLE to define the table and INSERT INTO with multiple rows to add data.

2

Set up the SELECT query base

Write the beginning of a SELECT query that selects all columns from the books table. Use SELECT * and FROM books.

SQL

CREATE TABLE books (
  id INTEGER,
  title TEXT,
  author TEXT,
  genre TEXT
);

INSERT INTO books (id, title, author, genre) VALUES
(1, 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer''s Stone', 'J.K. Rowling', 'Fantasy'),
(2, 'The Hobbit', 'J.R.R. Tolkien', 'Fantasy'),
(3, '1984', 'George Orwell', 'Dystopian'),
(4, 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'Harper Lee', 'Classic'),
(5, 'The Casual Vacancy', 'J.K. Rowling', 'Drama');

-- Start the SELECT query
SELECT * FROM books
-- Your code here

Need a hint?

Use SELECT * to get all columns and FROM books to specify the table.

3

Add the WHERE clause with OR operator

Add a WHERE clause to the SELECT query that filters rows where the author is 'J.K. Rowling' or the genre is 'Fantasy'. Use the OR operator exactly as shown.

SQL

CREATE TABLE books (
  id INTEGER,
  title TEXT,
  author TEXT,
  genre TEXT
);

INSERT INTO books (id, title, author, genre) VALUES
(1, 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer''s Stone', 'J.K. Rowling', 'Fantasy'),
(2, 'The Hobbit', 'J.R.R. Tolkien', 'Fantasy'),
(3, '1984', 'George Orwell', 'Dystopian'),
(4, 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'Harper Lee', 'Classic'),
(5, 'The Casual Vacancy', 'J.K. Rowling', 'Drama');

SELECT * FROM books
WHERE author = 'J.K. Rowling' OR genre = 'Fantasy'
-- Your code here

Need a hint?

Use WHERE followed by the condition with OR to filter rows.

4

Complete the query with a semicolon

Add a semicolon ; at the end of the SELECT query to complete the SQL statement.

SQL

CREATE TABLE books (
  id INTEGER,
  title TEXT,
  author TEXT,
  genre TEXT
);

INSERT INTO books (id, title, author, genre) VALUES
(1, 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer''s Stone', 'J.K. Rowling', 'Fantasy'),
(2, 'The Hobbit', 'J.R.R. Tolkien', 'Fantasy'),
(3, '1984', 'George Orwell', 'Dystopian'),
(4, 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'Harper Lee', 'Classic'),
(5, 'The Casual Vacancy', 'J.K. Rowling', 'Drama');

SELECT * FROM books
WHERE author = 'J.K. Rowling' OR genre = 'Fantasy';
-- Your code here

Need a hint?

SQL statements end with a semicolon ;. Make sure to add it at the end.