select count(case when 'blah' = 'bleh' then 1 else 0 end) from information_schema.tables
Due to his insistence on the need for ELSE 0 part, I recommended to him that he can substitute his birthday instead on that ELSE part, it "works" the same anyway as the ELSE 0 approach:
select count(case when 'blah' = 'bleh' then 1 else 'April 20, 1939' end) from information_schema.tables
Of course, both queries above are a crime against humanity, and I cannot let this wrong deed goes
Idiomatic MySQL (duality between boolean and integer) :
select sum('blah' = 'bleh') from information_schema.tables
Idiomatic Postgresql:
select sum(('blah' = 'bleh')::int) from information_schema.tables
SQL Server:
select sum(case when 'blah' = 'bleh' then 1 end) from information_schema.tables
We can also use these, but the above works well, free of noise and devoid of Cargo Cult Programming, it's better to use that code. SUM ignores 0 and NULLs, why include them?
select sum(case when 'blah' = 'bleh' then 1 else 0 end) from information_schema.tables; select sum(case when 'blah' = 'bleh' then 1 else null end) from information_schema.tables;
But for the love of our craft, don't do this (the ELSE 0 on COUNT), this is very wrong :
select count(case when 'blah' = 'bleh' then 1 else 0 end) from information_schema.tables
If you insist so, re-read from the top