SQL IN Operator:

The IN operator is used when you want to compare a column with more than one value. It is similar to an OR condition.

For example: If you want to find the names of students who are studying either Maths or Science, the query would be like,

SELECT first_name, last_name, subject
FROM student_details
WHERE subject IN ('Maths', 'Science'); 

The output would be similar to:

first_name	last_name	subject
-------------	-------------	----------
Anajali	Bhagwat	Maths
Shekar	Gowda	Maths
Rahul	Sharma	Science
Stephen	Fleming	Science

You can include more subjects in the list like ('maths','science','history')

NOTE:The data used to compare is case sensitive.

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The IN function helps reduce the need to use multiple OR conditions.
The syntax for the IN function is:
SELECT columns
FROM tables
WHERE column1 in (value1, value2, .... value_n);
This SQL statement will return the records where column1 is value1, value2..., or value_n. The IN function can be used in any valid SQL statement - select, insert, update, or delete.

Example #1

The following is an SQL statement that uses the IN function:
SELECT *
FROM suppliers
WHERE supplier_name in ( 'IBM', 'Hewlett Packard', 'Microsoft');
This would return all rows where the supplier_name is either IBM, Hewlett Packard, or Microsoft. Because the * is used in the select, all fields from the suppliers table would appear in the result set.
It is equivalent to the following statement:
SELECT *
FROM suppliers
WHERE supplier_name = 'IBM'
OR supplier_name = 'Hewlett Packard'
OR supplier_name = 'Microsoft';
As you can see, using the IN function makes the statement easier to read and more efficient.

Example #2

You can also use the IN function with numeric values.
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE order_id in (10000, 10001, 10003, 10005);
This SQL statement would return all orders where the order_id is either 10000, 10001, 10003, or 10005.
It is equivalent to the following statement:
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE order_id = 10000
OR order_id = 10001
OR order_id = 10003
OR order_id = 10005;

Example #3 using "NOT IN"

The IN function can also be combined with the NOT operator.
For example,
SELECT *
FROM suppliers
WHERE supplier_name not in ( 'IBM', 'Hewlett Packard', 'Microsoft');
This would return all rows where the supplier_name is neither IBM, Hewlett Packard, or Microsoft. Sometimes, it is more efficient to list the values that you do not want, as opposed to the values that you do want.