note chacham <b>The (redundant) predicate in a SQL EXISTS() predicate should be "SELECT ?":</b> <UL> <LI>* -- Nothing says "i don't care" like a good asterisk</LI> <LI>1 -- "Everyone knows" asterisk causes a useless data dictionary lookup</LI> <LI>'1' -- Characterizes a number one idea</LI> <LI>NULL -- Why SELECT anything at all?</LI> <LI>'NULL' -- Null strings are best</LI> <LI>'/dev/null' -- In case you nix the other ideas</LI> <LI>'NUL' -- Used in all Windows of opportunity</LI> <LI>Avoid the issue by using IN() stead</LI> <LI>Convolute the issue by doing a join</LI> </UL> 945799 945799