SQL Joins
SQL joins are used to combine rows from two or more tables.
SQL JOIN
An SQL JOIN clause is used to combine rows from two or more tables, based on a
common field between them.
The most common type of join is: SQL INNER JOIN (simple join). An SQL INNER
JOIN return all rows from multiple tables where the join condition is met.
Let's look at a selection from the "Orders" table:
OrderID
CustomerID
OrderDate
10308
1996-09-18
10309
37
1996-09-19
10310
77
1996-09-20
Then, have a look at a selection from the "Customers" table:
CustomerID
CustomerName
ContactName
Country
Alfreds Futterkiste
Maria Anders
Germany
Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados
Ana Trujillo
Mexico
Antonio Moreno Taquera
Antonio Moreno
Mexico
Notice that the "CustomerID" column in the "Orders" table refers to the customer in the
"Customers" table. The relationship between the two tables above is the "CustomerID"
column.
Then, if we run the following SQL statement (that contains an INNER JOIN):
Example
SELECT Orders.OrderID, Customers.CustomerName, Orders.OrderDate
FROM Orders
INNER JOIN Customers
ON Orders.CustomerID=Customers.CustomerID;
it will produce something like this:
OrderID
CustomerName
OrderDate
10308
Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados
9/18/1996
10365
Antonio Moreno Taquera
11/27/1996
10383
Around the Horn
12/16/1996
10355
Around the Horn
11/15/1996
10278
Berglunds snabbkp
8/12/1996
Different SQL JOINs
Before we continue with examples, we will list the types the different SQL JOINs you can
use:
INNER JOIN: Returns all rows when there is at least one match in BOTH tables
LEFT JOIN: Return all rows from the left table, and the matched rows from the
right table
RIGHT JOIN: Return all rows from the right table, and the matched rows from
the left table
FULL JOIN: Return all rows when there is a match in ONE of the tables
SQL INNER JOIN Keyword
SQL INNER JOIN Keyword
The INNER JOIN keyword selects all rows from both tables as long as there is a match
between the columns in both tables.
SQL INNER JOIN Syntax
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table1
INNER JOIN table2
ON table1.column_name=table2.column_name;
or:
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table1
JOIN table2
ON table1.column_name=table2.column_name;
PS! INNER JOIN is the same as JOIN.
Demo Database
In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database.
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:
CustomerID CustomerName
ContactName Address
City
PostalCode Country
Alfreds Futterkiste
Maria Anders
Obere Str. 57
Berlin
12209
Germany
Ana Trujillo
Emparedados y helados
Ana Trujillo
Avda. de la
Mxico
Constitucin 2222 D.F.
05021
Mexico
Antonio Moreno
Taquera
Antonio
Moreno
Mataderos 2312
Mxico
D.F.
05023
Mexico
And a selection from the "Orders" table:
OrderID
CustomerID
EmployeeID
OrderDate
ShipperID
10308
1996-09-18
10309
37
1996-09-19
10310
77
1996-09-20
SQL INNER JOIN Example
The following SQL statement will return all customers with orders:
Example
SELECT Customers.CustomerName, Orders.OrderID
FROM Customers
INNER JOIN Orders
ON Customers.CustomerID=Orders.CustomerID
ORDER BY Customers.CustomerName;
Note: The INNER JOIN keyword selects all rows from both tables as long as there is a
match between the columns. If there are rows in the "Customers" table that do not have
matches in "Orders", these customers will NOT be listed.
SQL LEFT JOIN Keyword
SQL LEFT JOIN Keyword
The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all rows from the left table (table1), with the matching
rows in the right table (table2). The result is NULL in the right side when there is no
match.
SQL LEFT JOIN Syntax
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table1
LEFT JOIN table2
ON table1.column_name=table2.column_name;
or:
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table1
LEFT OUTER JOIN table2
ON table1.column_name=table2.column_name;
PS! In some databases LEFT JOIN is called LEFT OUTER JOIN.
Demo Database
In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database.
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:
CustomerID CustomerName
ContactName Address
City
PostalCode Country
Alfreds Futterkiste
Maria Anders
Obere Str. 57
Berlin
12209
Germany
Ana Trujillo
Emparedados y helados
Ana Trujillo
Avda. de la
Mxico
Constitucin 2222 D.F.
05021
Mexico
Antonio Moreno
Taquera
Antonio
Moreno
Mataderos 2312
Mxico
D.F.
05023
Mexico
And a selection from the "Orders" table:
OrderID
CustomerID
EmployeeID
OrderDate
ShipperID
10308
1996-09-18
10309
37
1996-09-19
10310
77
1996-09-20
SQL LEFT JOIN Example
The following SQL statement will return all customers, and any orders they might have:
Example
SELECT Customers.CustomerName, Orders.OrderID
FROM Customers
LEFT JOIN Orders
ON Customers.CustomerID=Orders.CustomerID
ORDER BY Customers.CustomerName;
Note: The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the left table (Customers), even
if there are no matches in the right table (Orders).
SQL RIGHT JOIN Keyword
SQL RIGHT JOIN Keyword
The RIGHT JOIN keyword returns all rows from the right table (table2), with the
matching rows in the left table (table1). The result is NULL in the left side when there is
no match.
SQL RIGHT JOIN Syntax
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table1
RIGHT JOIN table2
ON table1.column_name=table2.column_name;
or:
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table1
RIGHT OUTER JOIN table2
ON table1.column_name=table2.column_name;
PS! In some databases RIGHT JOIN is called RIGHT OUTER JOIN.
Demo Database
In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database.
Below is a selection from the "Orders" table:
OrderID
CustomerID
EmployeeID
OrderDate
ShipperID
10308
1996-09-18
10309
37
1996-09-19
10310
77
1996-09-20
And a selection from the "Employees" table:
EmployeeID LastName FirstName BirthDate
Photo
Notes
Davolio
Nancy
12/8/1968
EmpID1.pic
Education includes a BA in psychology.....
Fuller
Andrew
2/19/1952
EmpID2.pic
Andrew received his BTS commercial
and....
Leverling
Janet
8/30/1963
EmpID3.pic
Janet has a BS degree in chemistry....
SQL RIGHT JOIN Example
The following SQL statement will return all employees, and any orders they have placed:
Example
SELECT Orders.OrderID, Employees.FirstName
FROM Orders
RIGHT JOIN Employees
ON Orders.EmployeeID=Employees.EmployeeID
ORDER BY Orders.OrderID;
Note: The RIGHT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the right table (Employees),
even if there are no matches in the left table (Orders).
SQL FULL OUTER JOIN Keyword
SQL FULL OUTER JOIN Keyword
The FULL OUTER JOIN keyword returns all rows from the left table (table1) and from the
right table (table2).
The FULL OUTER JOIN keyword combines the result of both LEFT and RIGHT joins.
SQL FULL OUTER JOIN Syntax
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table1
FULL OUTER JOIN table2
ON table1.column_name=table2.column_name;
Demo Database
In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database.
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:
CustomerID CustomerName
ContactName Address
City
PostalCode Country
Alfreds Futterkiste
Maria Anders
Obere Str. 57
Berlin
12209
Germany
Ana Trujillo
Emparedados y
helados
Ana Trujillo
Avda. de la
Mxico
Constitucin 2222 D.F.
05021
Mexico
Antonio Moreno
Taquera
Antonio
Moreno
Mataderos 2312
Mxico
D.F.
05023
Mexico
And a selection from the "Orders" table:
OrderID
CustomerID
EmployeeID OrderDate
ShipperID
10308
1996-09-18
10309
37
1996-09-19
10310
77
1996-09-20
SQL FULL OUTER JOIN Example
The following SQL statement selects all customers, and all orders:
SELECT Customers.CustomerName, Orders.OrderID
FROM Customers
FULL OUTER JOIN Orders
ON Customers.CustomerID=Orders.CustomerID
ORDER BY Customers.CustomerName;
A selection from the result set may look like this:
CustomerName
OrderID
Alfreds Futterkiste
Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados
10308
Antonio Moreno Taquera
10365
10382
10351
Note: The FULL OUTER JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the left table
(Customers), and all the rows from the right table (Orders). If there are rows in
"Customers" that do not have matches in "Orders", or if there are rows in "Orders" that
do not have matches in "Customers", those rows will be listed as well.
