# COALESCE expression
<a name="coalesce-function"></a>

A COALESCE expression returns the value of the first expression in the list that is not null. If all expressions are null, the result is null. When a non-null value is found, the remaining expressions in the list are not evaluated.

This type of expression is useful when you want to return a backup value for something when the preferred value is missing or null. For example, a query might return one of three phone numbers (cell, home, or work, in that order), whichever is found first in the table (not null).

## Syntax
<a name="coalesce-function-syntax"></a>

```
COALESCE (expression, expression, ... )
```

## Examples
<a name="coalesce-function-examples"></a>

Apply COALESCE expression to two columns.

```
select coalesce(start_date, end_date)
from datetable
order by 1;
```

The default column name for an NVL expression is COALESCE. The following query returns the same results.

```
select coalesce(start_date, end_date) from datetable order by 1;
```