title: How to check if field is null or empty in MySQL?
body: <p>I am trying to figure out how to check if a field is <code>NULL</code> or <em>empty</em>. I have this:</p>
  <pre><code>SELECT IFNULL(field1, 'empty') as field1 from tablename
  </code></pre>
  <p>I need to add an additional check <code>field1 != &quot;&quot;</code> something like:</p>
  <pre><code>SELECT IFNULL(field1, 'empty') OR field1 != &quot;&quot;  as field1 from tablename
  </code></pre>
  <p>Any idea how to accomplish this?</p>