SQL Joins (Inner, Left, Right and Full Join)

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SQL Join operation combines data or rows from two or more tables based on a common field
between them.
In this article, we will learn about Joins in SQL, covering JOIN types, syntax, and examples.
SQL JOIN
SQL JOIN clause is used to query and access data from multiple tables by establishing
logical relationships between them. It can access data from multiple tables simultaneously
using common key values shared across different tables.
We can use SQL JOIN with multiple tables. It can also be paired with other clauses, the most
popular use will be using JOIN with WHERE clause to filter data retrieval.
SQL JOIN Example
Consider the two tables below as follows:
Student:

StudentCourse :
Both these tables are connected by one common key (column) i.e ROLL_NO.
We can perform a JOIN operation using the given SQL query:
SELECT s.roll_no, s.name, s.address, s.phone, s.age, sc.course_id
FROM Student s
JOIN StudentCourse sc ON s.roll_no = sc.roll_no;
Output:

ROLL_NO NAME ADDRESS PHONE AGE COURSE_ID

1 HARSH DELHI XXXXXXXXXX 18 1

2 PRATIK BIHAR XXXXXXXXXX 19 2

3 RIYANKA SILGURI XXXXXXXXXX 20 2

4 DEEP RAMNAGAR XXXXXXXXXX 18 3

SAPTARH
5 KOLKATA XXXXXXXXXX 19 1
I

Types of JOIN in SQL

There are many types of Joins in SQL. Depending on the use case, you can use different type
of SQL JOIN clause. Here are the frequently used SQL JOIN types:
 INNER JOIN
 LEFT JOIN
 RIGHT JOIN
 FULL JOIN
 NATURAL JOIN
SQL INNER JOIN
The INNER JOIN keyword selects all rows from both the tables as long as the condition is
satisfied. This keyword will create the result-set by combining all rows from both the tables
where the condition satisfies i.e value of the common field will be the same.
Syntax:
The syntax for SQL INNER JOIN is:
SELECT table1.column1,table1.column2,table2.column1,....
FROM table1
INNER JOIN table2
ON table1.matching_column = table2.matching_column;
Here,
 table1: First table.
 table2: Second table
 matching_column: Column common to both the tables.
Note: We can also write JOIN instead of INNER JOIN. JOIN is same as INNER JOIN.

INNER JOIN Example

Let’s look at the example of INNER JOIN clause, and understand it’s working.
This query will show the names and age of students enrolled in different courses.
SELECT StudentCourse.COURSE_ID, Student.NAME, Student.AGE FROM Student
INNER JOIN StudentCourse
ON Student.ROLL_NO = StudentCourse.ROLL_NO;
Output:
SQL LEFT JOIN
LEFT JOIN returns all the rows of the table on the left side of the join and matches rows for
the table on the right side of the join. For the rows for which there is no matching row on the
right side, the result-set will contain null. LEFT JOIN is also known as LEFT OUTER JOIN.
Syntax
The syntax of LEFT JOIN in SQL is:
SELECT table1.column1,table1.column2,table2.column1,....
FROM table1
LEFT JOIN table2
ON table1.matching_column = table2.matching_column;
Here,
 table1: First table.
 table2: Second table
 matching_column: Column common to both the tables.
Note: We can also use LEFT OUTER JOIN instead of LEFT JOIN, both are the same.

LEFT JOIN Example

Let’s look at the example of LEFT JOIN clause, and understand it’s working
SELECT Student.NAME,StudentCourse.COURSE_ID
FROM Student
LEFT JOIN StudentCourse
ON StudentCourse.ROLL_NO = Student.ROLL_NO;
Output:

SQL RIGHT JOIN

RIGHT JOIN returns all the rows of the table on the right side of the join and matching rows
for the table on the left side of the join.It is very similar to LEFT JOIN For the rows for
which there is no matching row on the left side, the result-set will contain null. RIGHT JOIN
is also known as RIGHT OUTER JOIN.
Syntax:
The syntax of RIGHT JOIN in SQL is:
SELECT table1.column1,table1.column2,table2.column1,....
FROM table1
RIGHT JOIN table2
ON table1.matching_column = table2.matching_column;
Here,
 table1: First table.
 table2: Second table
 matching_column: Column common to both the tables.
Note: We can also use RIGHT OUTER JOIN instead of RIGHT JOIN, both are the same.
RIGHT JOIN Example:
Let’s look at the example of RIGHT JOIN clause, and understand it’s working
SELECT Student.NAME,StudentCourse.COURSE_ID
FROM Student
RIGHT JOIN StudentCourse
ON StudentCourse.ROLL_NO = Student.ROLL_NO;
Output:
SQL FULL JOIN
FULL JOIN creates the result-set by combining results of both LEFT JOIN and RIGHT
JOIN. The result-set will contain all the rows from both tables. For the rows for which there
is no matching, the result-set will contain NULL values.

Syntax
The syntax of SQL FULL JOIN is:
SELECT table1.column1,table1.column2,table2.column1,....
FROM table1
FULL JOIN table2
ON table1.matching_column = table2.matching_column;
Here,
 table1: First table.
 table2: Second table
 matching_column: Column common to both the tables.
FULL JOIN Example
Let’s look at the example of FULL JOIN clause, and understand it’s working
SELECT Student.NAME,StudentCourse.COURSE_ID
FROM Student
FULL JOIN StudentCourse
ON StudentCourse.ROLL_NO = Student.ROLL_NO;
Output:
NAME COURSE_ID

HARSH 1

PRATIK 2

RIYANKA 2

DEEP 3

SAPTARH
1
I

DHANRAJ NULL

ROHIT NULL

NIRAJ NULL

NULL 4

NULL 5

NULL 4

NATURAL JOIN

A NATURAL JOIN is a type of join that automatically joins tables based on all columns with
the same name and compatible data types. It eliminates the need to specify the join condition
explicitly.

Example:
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SELECT * FROM table1
NATURAL JOIN table2;

 This join automatically matches columns with the same names from both tables.
 The result set includes rows where the values in these columns are equal.
 Columns that are used for the join condition appear only once in the result set.

Example Tables

Table1
id name

1 Alice

2 Bob

Table2
id city

1 New York

3 Boston

NATURAL JOIN Result

id name city

1 Alice New York

A SELF JOIN is a join operation where a table is joined with itself. This is useful for querying
hierarchical data or comparing rows within the same table.

Syntax

The basic syntax of a SELF JOIN involves joining a table with itself using an alias

A SELF JOIN is a join operation where a table is joined with itself. This is useful for querying
hierarchical data, comparing rows within the same table, or identifying relationships between
rows in the same table.

Syntax

The basic syntax of a SELF JOIN involves joining a table with itself using an alias:

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SELECT A.column1, B.column2
FROM table_name A
JOIN table_name B
ON A.common_column = B.common_column;

Example
Consider a table employees with the following data:

employee_id name manager_id

1 Alice NULL

2 Bob 1

3 Charlie 1

4 David 2

5 Eve 2

To find each employee along with their manager's name, you can use a SELF JOIN:

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SELECT e1.name AS employee_name, e2.name AS manager_name
FROM employees e1
LEFT JOIN employees e2 ON e1.manager_id = e2.employee_id;

Result

employee_name manager_name

Alice NULL

Bob Alice

Charlie Alice

David Bob

Eve Bob

CROSS JOIN

A CROSS JOIN returns the Cartesian product of the two tables. This means it will return all
possible combinations of rows from the two tables.

Example:
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SELECT * FROM table1
CROSS JOIN table2;

 If table1 has n rows and table2 has m rows, the result set will have n * m rows.
 There is no ON clause with CROSS JOIN because it combines every row from the first table
with every row from the second table.
Example Tables

Table1
id name

1 Alice

2 Bob

Table2
id city

1 New York

3 Boston

CROSS JOIN Result

id name id city

1 Alice 1 New York

1 Alice 3 Boston

2 Bob 1 New York

2 Bob 3 Boston