MySQL query using COALESCE() with multiple JOINs returns unexpected NULLs
I'm following best practices but I'm learning this framework and I'm learning this framework and I'm integrating two systems and I'm working on a project and hit a roadblock. I'm working on a MySQL 8.0 query that involves multiple JOINs, and I'm running into an scenario where the `COALESCE()` function is not returning the expected results. I have three tables: `users`, `orders`, and `payments`. The goal is to retrieve a list of users with their last order date and payment status. However, when there are no orders or payments for a user, I expect `NULL` values to be replaced by 'No Orders' or 'No Payments', but I'm getting NULLs instead. Here's the SQL I wrote: ```sql SELECT u.id, u.name, COALESCE(MAX(o.order_date), 'No Orders') AS last_order_date, COALESCE(MAX(p.status), 'No Payments') AS payment_status FROM users u LEFT JOIN orders o ON u.id = o.user_id LEFT JOIN payments p ON o.id = p.order_id GROUP BY u.id; ``` When I run this query, users without orders or payments are still showing NULL in the columns for `last_order_date` and `payment_status`. I've tried wrapping the `COALESCE()` function around the entire `SELECT` clause and even experimented with changing the `LEFT JOIN` to an `INNER JOIN`, but I still get NULLs. I also verified that there are indeed users without any orders or payments in the database. Is there a specific behavior of `COALESCE()` that I might be missing, or is there a better approach to achieve what I want? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'm working in a Windows 10 environment. Has anyone else encountered this? What am I doing wrong? For reference, this is a production desktop app. Is there a better approach?