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MySQL UNION Explained: A Tutorial with Practical

Examples for All Skill Levels
By May 17, 2023  323  0

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Databases are not just about data volumes and storage, equally important is how the data is organized and stored. Today,
the relational model, which utilizes interconnected tables, is the most widely adopted and highly e�ective approach to data
storage in databases.

The next challenge is to retrieve the data from that storage and ensure it is exactly what we need here and now. The SQL
language we use to interact with databases o�ers plenty of e�ective operators to achieve this. One of them is UNION.

This article delves into the UNION clause and its applications in MySQL, the leading relational database management
system, providing insights on its de�nition, bene�ts, and e�ective usage.

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• MySQL UNION operator: de�nition and purpose

◦ The syntax of MySQL UNION operator

◦ Rules and restrictions of MySQL UNION

• MySQL UNION vs. JOIN

• MySQL UNION vs. UNION ALL

• Practical examples and use cases

◦ Example 1: Basic UNION

◦ Example 2: UNION ALL

◦ Example 3: UNION with a condition

◦ Example 4: UNION with DISTINCT

◦ Example 5: Simple UNION for keyword search

◦ Example 6: UNION for multiple keyword searches

• MySQL UNION performance and optimization

• Visualize and execute MySQL UNIONs with GUI tools

• Alternatives to UNION in MySQL

• Conclusion

MySQL UNION operator : definition and purpose

Relational database management systems suggest storing data in tables that relate to each other. Usually, we keep our data
in di�erent tables and need to retrieve it and combine it into a single output. The MySQL UNION operator allows us to
perform this operation easier than by using numerous SELECT statements with the WHERE conditions and then combining
their results manually.

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What does the UNION operator do? It combines the results of several SELECT commands, removes duplicate results, and
creates a single result set.

That �nal result set contains all rows returned by the SELECT statements involved in that UNION query but without duplicate
values. The column names in the combined result set will be the same as in the �rst SELECT statement. In the above
example, the “A-1” record is present in both tables, so the UNION operator removes the duplicated record.

T h e sy n t a x o f M y S Q L U N I O N

The basic syntax of the UNION clause used in the SELECT query is as follows:

SELECT column1, column2, column3,... column_N

FROM table1
UNION
SELECT column1, column2, column3,.. column_N

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FROM table2;

column1, column2… column_N – columns that we want to retrieve. There can be any number of columns speci�ed in the
query.

table1, table2, etc. – tables we query to fetch the records from them. You need at least one table in the FROM clause. Note
that the UNION operator can retrieve data from the same table if needed.

Rules and restrictions of MySQL UNION

When using UNION with MySQL databases, you need to follow several rules:

• The number of columns in each SELECT query within the combined UNION query must be the same. We get an error if
the SELECT statements used in the UNION query have a di�erent number of columns.

• The respective columns in every SELECT statement must be of the same data type.

• The resulting dataset will feature the same number of columns as the �rst SELECT statement, and the column names of
the �rst SELECT statement will be applied as the column names of the dataset.

• None of the SELECT statements can contain columns with NULL values.

• Using UNION in subqueries is not allowed.

The UNION clause serves best when you combine the data from several similar tables, such as active and archived data, lists
of students from di�erent groups, lists of purchases, etc.

M y S Q L U N I O N vs . J O I N
The JOIN clause is, perhaps, the most popular clause used to combine data from several tables into one result set. However,

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if we compare JOIN with UNION in MySQL, we see signi�cant di�erences in the methods of data combining.

Is used to extract data from several tables. Is used to combine the results of several SELECT statements.

Presents joined records as new columns. Presents combined results as new rows.

Combines tables horizontally. Combines tables vertically.

Allows duplicate values. Removes duplicate values by default.

Requires at least one common column for the Requires a similar number of columns and matching data types in all
joined tables. SELECT queries.

We can visualize the work of the JOIN clause vs. the UNION clause graphically as below:

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M y S Q L U N I O N vs . U N I O N A L L
Using the UNION operator deletes identical values in the result set. In some cases, however, it is not acceptable. We need all
rows, including duplicate records. To get all the data, we’ll need to use the modi�ed operator – UNION ALL.

UNION ALL works similarly to UNION – it combines the results of several SELECT queries into a single result set. However,
UNION ALL contains duplicate records too.

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The basic syntax of UNION ALL with several SELECT statements is as follows:

SELECT column1, column2, column3,... column_N

FROM table1
UNION ALL
SELECT column1, column2, column3,.. column_N
FROM table2;

The parameters, rules of usage, and restrictions are the same for UNION ALL as for the simple UNION operator. We have
de�ned them earlier in this article.

Another aspect worth noticing is the performance of the UNION and UNION ALL operators. UNION ALL is faster because it
does not spend resources and time checking results to remove duplicates.

Practical examples and use cases

Let us review use cases for MySQL UNION and UNION ALL clauses in practice. To illustrate these practical examples, we’ll
use the well-known MySQL sakila test database and dbForge Studio for MySQL – a multi-featured MySQL GUI tool that
allows us to write e�ective SQL queries easily and perform all other database-related tasks on these database management
systems.

E xa m p l e 1 : B a s i c U N I O N

In the �rst example, we want to retrieve all unique addresses from the results of two SELECT commands.

SELECT
address,
CONCAT_WS(' ',first_name,last_name) Customer_Name
FROM address

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INNER JOIN customer

ON customer.address_id = address.address_id
UNION
SELECT
address,
CONCAT_WS(' ',first_name,last_name) Customer_Name
FROM address_out
INNER JOIN customer
ON customer.address_id = address_out.address_id;

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E xa m p l e 2 : U N I O N A L L

The below example is a query that combines the results of two SELECT commands. The �rst one retrieve �lm titles and their
release years (in this case, it is 2006). The second SELECT statement fetches the names of categories (the release year is set
as 0 because this value is not applied to the category name).

With UNION ALL, we combine the results of these two SELECTs into one set. We also sort it by the release year and title
using the ORDER BY clause for better readability.

SELECT title, release_year

FROM film
WHERE release_year = 2006
UNION ALL
SELECT name, 0 AS release_year
FROM category
ORDER BY release_year DESC, title ASC;

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E x a m p l e 3 : U N I O N w i t h a co n d i t i o n

This scenario suggests using UNION with the WHERE clause to �lter results. The �rst SELECT command requests names, last
names, and email addresses of buyers who used store 1. Another SELECT query fetches the same data for all buyers who
used store 2. With UNION, we can make a single result set containing the data about the clients of both stores.

Note: As we are using UNION, and not UNION ALL, the results set will have only unique values. That’s why, even if some
person is the client of both stores, their name will appear once only in the results.

SELECT CONCAT_WS(' ',first_name,last_name) Customer_Name, email

FROM customer
WHERE store_id = 1

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UNION
SELECT CONCAT_WS(' ',first_name,last_name) Customer_Name, email
FROM customer
WHERE store_id = 2;

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E x a m p l e 4 : U N I O N w i t h D I ST I N C T

In this case, we use UNION with DISTINCT to combine the results of two SELECT queries: the �rst query brings the list of
cities in Texas, and the second query brings the list of cities in California. By applying DISTINCT to each SELECT, we are
removing duplicate city names from the �nal result set.

SELECT DISTINCT city

FROM address,city
WHERE address.city_id=city.city_id AND district = 'Texas'
UNION
SELECT DISTINCT city
FROM address,city
WHERE address.city_id=city.city_id AND district = 'California';

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Example 5: Simple UNION for keyword search

Here we apply UNION to combine several SELECT results where each query retrieves �lm titles and descriptions containing
the keyword “action” in them. Pay attention that using UNION means removing all duplicate values. Thus, �lms matching the
search criteria will be displayed once in the �nal result set.

SELECT title, description

FROM film
WHERE title LIKE '%action%'
UNION
SELECT title, description
FROM film
WHERE description LIKE '%action%';

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Example 6: UNION for multiple keyword searches

In this example, we have two SELECT queries, and each one should bring the list of �lms matching the search keyword
“action” or “adventure.” Each SELECT fetches titles and descriptions of those �lms having the words “action” or “adventure” in
them.

SELECT title, description

FROM film
WHERE title LIKE '%action%' OR title LIKE '%adventure%'
UNION
SELECT title, description

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FROM film
WHERE description LIKE '%action%' OR description LIKE '%adventure%';

M y S Q L U N I O N p e r f o r m a n ce a n d o p t i m i z a t i o n

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Performance speed and e�ciency are key metrics for every query we compose. We have plenty of practical methods to
accelerate queries on MySQL and reduce their cost. Speaking of UNION and UNION ALL queries, we can appeal to the
following methods.

Indexing is the universal method of database optimization. Though indexes in MySQL are physical objects stored separately,
their e�ectiveness in speeding queries up compensates for the disk space. Add indexes to columns, especially those used
with the WHERE, ORDER BY, and GROUP BY clauses. This will accelerate performance signi�cantly.

The DISTINCT clause is optional in the UNION query syntax. The purpose of that clause is to remove duplicate values in the
result set. However, the UNION operator removes identical records by default, and using DISTINCT does not bring anything
to the query.

If your query includes the LIKE operator with leading wildcards, it forces the query to ignore present indexes. As a result, it
runs longer and consumes more resources performing the full-table scan. When the database is large, it can be a problem.
So, don’t include such elements as LIKE ‘%mysearch%’ in your UNION query.

It is another universal recommendation. Scanning wide tables requires a lot of time and CPU resources. That’s why always
specify which columns you need to process and fetch the data from them.

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The main factor that increases the time and CPU costs is the process of removing duplicate values from the SELECT results.
It requires an additional scan of all results to identify and remove duplicates. If your work scenario does not demand unique
values in the combined result set, use UNION ALL as the faster and more e�ective option.

The basic optimization tips for MySQL queries work for the UNION operator precisely. And, of course, there are some
speci�c recommendations. The best option is to evaluate your MySQL UNION queries before executing them. Modern
database tools with graphical interfaces o�er this functionality.

V i s u a l i z e a n d e x e c u te M y S Q L U N I O N s e f fi c i e n t l y u s i n g G U I to o l s
dbForge Studio for MySQL includes the Query Pro�ler tool that collects the statistics about query performance and helps
database admins identify problems, resolve them, and streamline queries before executing. Among the many features,
Query Pro�ler o�ers the EXPLAIN plan with the following capabilities:

• Easy detection of bottlenecks in queries

• Easy detection of time delays at di�erent query execution stages

• Tracing and diagnosing causes of slow queries

• Pro�ling queries and comparing their results in a visual mode

This execution plan lets the users evaluate the UNION/UNION ALL queries (and any other queries they might need) before
executing them and spending resources. The quality analysis allows the database specialists to rewrite any MySQL queries
to make them faster.

It is recommended to always analyze the query before executing it. Be it a MySQL UNION or another one, apply the EXPLAIN
plan �rst, identify any problematic areas, and �x them before running the script. Document your results to save them for
further reference, and monitor the query performance daily. Query Pro�ler provides all the necessary functionality besides
the EXPLAIN plan to let you tune queries up and achieve high performance.

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Besides, don’t forget about coding assistants to write clean and highly e�cient code much faster. Auto-completion, syntax
checking, code debugging, and formatting along with Query Builder that o�ers the most convenient method of constructing
complex queries in a visual mode are always at your service with dbForge Studio for MySQL.

A l te r n a t i v e s to U N I O N i n M y S Q L
Fetching speci�c data portions from di�erent tables and combining them according to some criteria is a regular routine for
all database users. MySQL o�ers various means – operators – to reach that goal. We have well-known JOINs and also
UNIONs. Besides, it is worth mentioning such operators as INTERSECT and EXCEPT.

MySQL INTERSECT allows you to query multiple tables and return a single result set containing only those records that
appear in all SELECT statements involved.

We can visualize the INTERSECT operator’s work as follows:

The basic syntax of the INTERSECT query is:

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SELECT column1, column2, column3,... column_N

FROM table1
INTERSECT
SELECT column1, column2, column3,.. column_N
FROM table2;

MySQL EXCEPT allows us to query several tables using the SELECT command and acquire records that appear in the �rst
SELECT query result only. It lets us �nd the di�erences between the data in two tables or de�ne unique records in the table.

We can visualize the work of the EXCEPT operator work as follows:

The basic syntax of the EXCEPT operator is:

SELECT column1, column2, column3,... column_N

FROM table1
EXCEPT

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SELECT column1, column2, column3,... column_N

FROM table2;

Both INTERSECT and EXCEPT remove duplicate values from the combined result set by default. The column names and the
number of columns in the output are the same as in the �rst SELECT statement.

Co n c l u s i o n
MySQL UNION is a helpful tool that allows us to fetch and merge data from di�erent queries and present it appropriately for
further work. That’s why it is essential to understand how the UNION operator works, its bene�ts and limitations, and how
to apply it correctly, especially for large databases.

GUI tools are handy for all database users who need more e�cient methods of dealing with the UNION (and other)
operators on MySQL. Such a popular GUI solution as dbForge Studio for MySQL we used to illustrate our article o�ers plenty
of features to simplify the users’ lives.

In particular, the Query Builder tool helps you construct even the most complex queries easily, optimization features
suggest improvements to speed queries up and make them more e�ective, and the overall visual representation illustrates
the results of the UNION operations in the most user-friendly way.

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