Resolving OR Operator Limitations in SQL Server CASE Statements

Data and Databases
1

I encountered an issue where using the OR operator within a CASE expression in SQL Server results in an error, and I need guidance on how to manage multiple conditions without relying on OR directly. I want to evaluate whether a specific column holds one of several potential values and then return a corresponding result. For example, instead of writing a CASE with multiple OR conditions, I attempted a strategy like:

CASE 
    WHEN record_id IN (101, 202, 303) THEN 'PrimaryMode'
    ELSE 'AlternativeMode'
END AS mode_selection

Any advice on alternative methods or best practices for achieving this in SQL Server would be greatly appreciated.

2

The IN operator offers a clean and efficient alternative to multiple OR conditions in a CASE statement. It enhances readability and minimizes the potential for errors by grouping the values being compared into a single list. In my experience, using IN significantly simplifies the code, especially when handling numerous potential matches. Ensuring that the CASE expression is properly formatted and that you use IN appropriately can lead to more maintainable queries. This approach is widely accepted as best practice in SQL Server for such scenarios.