SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL, Second Edition

The LEFT/RIGHT OUTER JOIN

You’ll generally use the OUTER JOIN form that asks for all the rows from one table or result set and any matching rows from a second table or result set. To do this, you specify either a LEFT OUTER JOIN or a RIGHT OUTER JOIN.

What’s the difference between LEFT and RIGHT? Remember from the previous chapter that to specify an INNER JOIN on two tables, you name the first table, include the JOIN keyword, and then name the second table. When you begin building queries using OUTER JOIN, the SQL Standard considers the first table you name as the one on the “left,” and the second table as the one on the “right.” So, if you want all the rows from the first table and any matching rows from the second table, you’ll use a LEFT ...