MySQL IN and BETWEEN

How it works

IN tests membership in a candidate list or subquery. BETWEEN includes both endpoints. They can express a rule more clearly than a long chain of comparisons, but the data types still matter. This example selects two categories and an inclusive stock interval. For timestamp intervals, an inclusive ending instant is often the wrong model; a later date lesson uses a half-open range instead.

Run in a disposable MySQL lab

Use Oracle MySQL 8.4 with InnoDB, not Bhylu’s SQLite playground. The examples were reviewed on MySQL 8.4.8. XAMPP may provide MariaDB, which has different feature and collation behaviour. Check your actual server before running the script. These lessons do not require a change to Bhylu’s PHP, Apache or normal database service.

1. On a separate lab instance, create the empty bhylu_mysql_lab schema. Stop if it already exists; do not overwrite an existing database.
2. Select that schema and import the complete repair-parts seed once. It sets the documented session mode, utf8mb4 collation, UTC and English date-name locale.
3. Run this lesson in a fresh copy of the seed, not after another lesson’s writes. Use the command-line client or a compatible editor. DELIMITER lines are client instructions for stored-program examples.

Download this complete lesson script. Its setup is the linked seed; review the dataset before changing it. Administrative and destructive examples are restricted to the specifically named disposable objects. Every script repeats the session settings because each new connection has its own session. No MySQL browser runner is currently available.

Example

SET NAMES utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci;
SET SESSION sql_mode = 'STRICT_TRANS_TABLES,ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY,ERROR_FOR_DIVISION_BY_ZERO,NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION';
SET SESSION time_zone = '+00:00';
SET SESSION lc_time_names = 'en_US';
SELECT id, name
FROM parts
WHERE category IN ('fabric','wood')
  AND quantity BETWEEN 1 AND 12
ORDER BY id;

Expected result

1 | Canvas patch
4 | Wood knob

The stock value twelve is included and zero is excluded. MySQL can coerce incompatible input types, so compare values using the column’s intended representation. When a set comes from a query, check whether it can contain NULL before applying NOT IN. Empty input lists in application code also need an explicit policy rather than constructing invalid IN () syntax.