math problem

Hello All,

I need to find a workaround for my addition problem.

I have a list of values in 3 columns derived from a left join
where the last column is the sum of the 2 on the left.

i.e.

select cola, colb, sum(cola + colb) from ....

cola colb total
2 3 5
2 2 4

now my problem comes into play when one of the
columns is empty. I always get a NULL or empty total.
this makes sence since NULL + 5 does not produce anything.

cola colb total

3
1
4

etc.

Any work around for this, do I have to use a
Pg language? I guess I could write a script in perl
to take of this for me but I would like to tap
the brains here to see it can al be done in the
SQL.
Thanks

--
Vincent Stoessel
Linux Systems Developer
vincent xaymaca.com