Presented by:

Writing Joins in MySQL

Sheeri K. Cabral
 Topics Covered
JOINs
●

– OUTER
● LEFT, RIGHT, FULL OUTER
– INNER
● INNER, NATURAL, comma (,)
– CROSS
Subqueries
●

– DEPENDENT SUBQUERY
– DERIVED TABLE
● Changing a subquery to a JOIN
 Example
● 6-week intensive course
● Homework every Friday
– Each assignment is 6% of your grade
– Lowest grade is dropped
– 30% of your grade, total
● Weekly tests every Monday
– Same grading structure as hw
● Midterm – Wed. 1/20 – 15% of your grade
● Final exam – Friday 2/12 – 25% of your grade
 Sample data

● work table
CREATE TABLE work (
work_id tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
wname varchar(255) DEFAULT NULL,
given date DEFAULT NULL,
pct_of_grade tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (work_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1
 Sample data
mysql> SELECT * FROM work;
+---------+---------+------------+--------------+
| work_id | wname | given | pct_of_grade |
+---------+---------+------------+--------------+
| 1 | hw1 | 2010-01-01 | 6 |
| 2 | test1 | 2010-01-04 | 6 |
| 3 | hw2 | 2010-01-08 | 6 |
| 4 | test2 | 2010-01-11 | 6 |
| 5 | hw3 | 2010-01-15 | 6 |
| 6 | test3 | 2010-01-18 | 6 |
| 7 | midterm | 2010-01-20 | 15 |
| 8 | hw4 | 2010-01-22 | 6 |
| 9 | test4 | 2010-01-25 | 6 |
| 10 | hw5 | 2010-01-29 | 6 |
| 11 | test5 | 2010-02-01 | 6 |
| 12 | hw6 | 2010-02-05 | 6 |
| 13 | test6 | 2010-02-08 | 6 |
| 14 | final | 2010-02-12 | 25 |
+---------+---------+------------+--------------+
 Sample data
● student table
CREATE TABLE student (
student_id tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT
name varchar(255) DEFAULT NULL,
email varchar(255) DEFAULT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (student_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
● Entries
+------------+-----------------+------------------+
| student_id | name | email |
+------------+-----------------+------------------+
| 1 | Sheeri Cabral | [email protected] |
| 2 | Giuseppe Maxia | [email protected] |
| 3 | Colin Charles | [email protected] |
| 4 | Ronald Bradford | [email protected] |
+------------+-----------------+------------------+
 Sample data
● student_work table
Create Table: CREATE TABLE student_work (
student_id tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
work_id tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
grade_num tinyint(3) unsigned DEFAULT NULL,
grade_letter char(2) DEFAULT NULL,
for_grade enum('y','n') DEFAULT 'y',
KEY student_id (student_id),
KEY work_id (work_id),
CONSTRAINT student_work_ibfk_1 FOREIGN KEY (student_id)
REFERENCES student (student_id),
CONSTRAINT student_work_ibfk_2 FOREIGN KEY (work_id)
REFERENCES work (work_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
 Sample data
● student_work entries
INSERT INTO student_work (student_id,work_id,grade_num)
VALUES
–- Sheeri had 88 for each hw/test except hw6 (72),
–- midterm 88, final 90, and she did not take test3.
(1,1,88),(1,2,88),(1,3,88),(1,4,88),(1,5,88),(1,7,88),
(1,9,88),(1,10,88),(1,11,88),(1,12,72),(1,13,88),
(1,14,90),
–- Giuseppe completed all assignments/tests:
(2,1,100),(2,2,100),(2,3,90),(2,4,88),(2,5,88),(2,6,85),
(2,7,95),(2,8,100),(2,9,100),(2,10,82),(2,11,85),
(2,12,89),(2,13,90),(2,14,96);
 Sample data
● student_work entries
INSERT INTO student_work (student_id,work_id,grade_num)
VALUES
–- Colin is busy planning 2010 User Conference, and
–- did not complete any hw assignments, and as a result
–- did not do well on the tests
(3,2,75),(3,4,77),(3,6,89),(3,7,85),(3,9,72),(3,11,89),
(3,13,70),(3,14,80)
–- Ronald knew his stuff but got busy as the course
–- went on....
(4,1,100),(4,2,100),(4,3,95),(4,4,95),(4,5,90),(4,6,90),
(4,7,95),(4,8,85),(4,9,85),(4,10,80),(4,11,80),(4,12,75),
(4,13,75),(4,14,83);
 Sample data
● Global grade_num_letter table
CREATE TABLE grade_num_letter (
grade_num tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
grade_letter char(2) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
PRIMARY KEY (grade_num)
) ENGINE=MyISAM DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;

mysql> select min(grade_num),max(grade_num),count(*) from

grade_num_letter;
+----------------+----------------+----------+
| min(grade_num) | max(grade_num) | count(*) |
+----------------+----------------+----------+
| 0 | 100 | 101 |
+----------------+----------------+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
 Venn Diagram

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col1 t1.col2= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3
 MySQL JOINs
● A JOIN clause is optional
– ON (tbl1.col1 ? tbl2.col2 AND ...)
● Can also specify tbl1.col1 ? expr, (tbl1.col1<10)
– USING (col1,col2,...)
● Same as tbl1.col1=tbl2.col1 AND tbl1.col2=tbl2.col2
INNER, CROSS, comma (,) all do the same thing
●

– As of MySQL 5.0, COMMA join is lower

precedence than other JOINS
– SELECT...FROM tbl1, tbl2 ON (tbl1.col=tbl2.col)
INNER JOIN tbl3 ON (tbl2.col=tbl3.col) WHERE
tbl1.col=tbl2.col;
 CROSS JOIN
● Cartesian product
All combinations
–

SELECT name, wname

FROM student CROSS JOIN work;

Usually not desired

 INNER JOIN

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col1 t1.col2= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3
 INNER JOIN
● Show only rows that matches on both sides
SELECT s.grade_num, g.grade_letter
FROM student_work AS s
INNER JOIN grade_num_letter AS g
ON (s.grade_num=g.grade_num);
 CROSS, INNER are semantic
● CROSS JOIN acting as an INNER JOIN:
SELECT s.grade_num, g.grade_letter
FROM student_work AS s
CROSS JOIN grade_num_letter AS g
ON (s.grade_num=g.grade_num);

● INNER JOIN acting as a CROSS JOIN:

SELECT name, wname FROM student INNER JOIN
work;
 In fact you do not need either!
● JOIN acting as an INNER JOIN:
SELECT s.grade_num, g.grade_letter
FROM student_work AS s
JOIN grade_num_letter AS g
ON (s.grade_num=g.grade_num);

● JOIN acting as a CROSS JOIN:

SELECT name, wname FROM student JOIN work;
 JOIN clause
● ON (…) or USING(...)

● Can specify in the WHERE clause

● Same results
 My Best Practices
● Don't use a comma to join
– Unexpected behavior with other JOINs in a query
● Never use JOIN; always use INNER JOIN or
CROSS JOIN
– Whoever debugs will know your intention
● Use a JOIN clause instead of a WHERE clause
– More clear what is a filter and what is a join
 Getting the letter grades

student_work grade_num_letter
AS s AS g
student_id grade_num_letter
work_id s.grade_num=
grade_num_letter g.grade_num
for_grade
 OUTER JOIN
● Show all rows that match on one side
● “get all grades for test3”
SELECT name, wname, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT OUTER JOIN student_work
USING (student_id,work_id)
WHERE wname='test3';
 OUTER JOIN
● LEFT OUTER JOIN

● RIGHT OUTER JOIN

● “OUTER” is redundant
 LEFT JOIN, inclusive

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col1 t1.col2= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3
LEFT JOIN, exclusive

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col1 t1.col2= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3

....WHERE t2.col1 IS NULL

 FULL OUTER JOIN

● Does not exist in MySQL

● Can be simulated
 FULL OUTER JOIN, inclusive

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col2 t1.col1= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3

SELECT … FROM tbl1 LEFT JOIN tbl2 ...

UNION [ALL] … FROM tbl1 RIGHT JOIN tbl2 …
 FULL OUTER JOIN
●If it is already in the first result, do not put it in the
second result:
SELECT … FROM tbl1 LEFT JOIN tbl2 ...
UNION ALL … FROM tbl1 RIGHT JOIN tbl2 …
WHERE tbl1.col IS NULL
nd
●
In the 2 query in the union, only rows that have no
match in tbl1 are taken.
 FULL OUTER JOIN, exclusive

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col2 t1.col1= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3
SELECT …
FROM tbl1 LEFT JOIN tbl2 ...
WHERE tbl2.col1 IS NULL
UNION ALL … SELECT … FROM tbl1 RIGHT JOIN tbl2 …
WHERE tbl1.col IS NULL
 NATURAL modifier
● Does not use a JOIN clause
– JOIN clause is all matching field names
● Works for:
– NATURAL JOIN
– NATURAL LEFT JOIN
– NATURAL RIGHT JOIN
 NATURAL JOIN example
● Instead of:
SELECT name,grade_num
FROM student INNER JOIN student_work USING
(student_id)
WHERE name='Sheeri Cabral';

● Write:
SELECT name,grade_num
FROM student NATURAL JOIN student_work
WHERE name='Sheeri Cabral';
 NATURAL JOIN gone awry
●Having the same field names when the fields are
not equal:
SELECT sw.grade_num, gnl.grade_letter FROM
student_work AS sw INNER JOIN
grade_num_letter AS gnl USING (grade_num);

● Is NOT equivalent to:

SELECT sw.grade_num, gnl.grade_letter FROM
student_work AS sw NATURAL JOIN
grade_num_letter AS gnl;

This is why the field is called work.wname!

 Subqueries
● A subquery is a query within a query
● More “natural” way of thinking for procedural
thinkers
● SQL is declarative, and optimized that way
 Procedural Thinking
● How to get the names and grades for test1
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
● “Get names and grades”
SELECT name, grade_num
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
● “start with the join table”
FROM student_work
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student_work
● “get the name”
INNER JOIN student USING (student_id)
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student_work
INNER JOIN student USING (student_id)
● “But only get test1”
WHERE work_id IN (SELECT work_id FROM work
WHERE wname='test1')
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student_work
INNER JOIN student USING (student_id)
WHERE work_id IN (SELECT work_id FROM work
WHERE wname='test1');
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student_work
INNER JOIN student USING (student_id)
WHERE work_id IN (SELECT work_id FROM work
WHERE wname='test1');
 Declarative Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
● I have 3 sets of data
● student has the name
● student_work has the grades
● work has the name of the assignment
SELECT name, grade_num FROM .... WHERE
wname='test1'
 Declarative Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
● student and student_work relate by student_id
SELECT name, grade_num FROM
student INNER JOIN student_work USING
(student_id)
....
WHERE wname='test1';
 Declarative Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
● work and student_work relate by work_id
SELECT name, grade_num FROM
student INNER JOIN student_work USING
(student_id)
INNER JOIN work USING (work_id)
WHERE wname='test1';
SELECT name, wname, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT OUTER JOIN student_work
USING (student_id,work_id)
WHERE wname='test3';
 But.....
● That falls apart for test3, because Sheeri did not
take test3.

● So now what?
 Get all grades for test3
● Start with:
SELECT name, grade_num FROM....
WHERE wname='test3';
 Get all grades for test3
●We want a listing for each row in “work” against
each row in “student”
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
....
WHERE wname='test3';
 Get all grades for test3
●We want a listing for each row in “work” against
each row in “student”

● What we want, not how to get it. That's declarative!

 Get all grades for test3
● Grades might not exist for all the rows
● ...so we'll need an outer join
● Fill in the values from student_work for the grades
that do exist, joining on student_id and work_id:
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname='test3';
 Drop the lowest test score

How?
 Drop the lowest test score

For our purposes, NULL = 0.

So we'll need to keep the CROSS JOIN as in the
previous query:
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id)
 Drop the lowest test score

Get all tests:

SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname like 'test_';

We expect 24 rows returned....

 Drop the lowest test score

Get minimum grade from all tests per person:

SELECT name, min(grade_num)
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname like 'test_'
GROUP BY student_id;

We expect 4 rows
 Drop the lowest test score

Convert to an UPDATE statement.....

SELECT name, min(grade_num)
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname like 'test_'
GROUP BY student_id;

This is hard!
 Drop the lowest test score
Now add in the rest...
UPDATE student_work as upd
INNER JOIN student_work as sel USING
(student_id, work_id)
RIGHT JOIN student USING (student_id, work_id)
CROSS JOIN work
SET upd.for_grade='n' WHERE wname like 'test_'
AND upd.grade_num=min(sel.grade_num)
GROUP BY sel.student_id;
 That doesn't work....
Sometimes you need a subquery.....
UPDATE student_work
SET for_grade='n' WHERE
CONCAT(student_id,work_id) IN (SELECT
CONCAT(student_id,work_id) FROM
student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname like 'test_'
GROUP BY student_id);
 That doesn't work either....
● Sometimes you need to do it in >1 query!
● Sometimes it's not necessary, but more optimal
● Problem is the min(grade_num)....GROUP BY
● So use a temporary table:
● CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE grade_to_drop
SELECT min(coalesce(grade_num,0)) FROM
student CROSS JOIN work LEFT JOIN student_work
USING (student_id,work_id) WHERE wname like
'test_' group by student_id;
 Temporary table

CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE grade_to_drop (

student_id tinyint unsigned not null,
work_id tinyint unsigned default null,
grade_num tinyint unsigned default null
);
 Temporary table
INSERT INTO grade_to_drop (student_id,
grade_num)
SELECT student_id,min(coalesce(grade_num,0))
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING
(student_id,work_id)
WHERE wname like 'test_'GROUP BY student_id;
 Temporary table
UPDATE grade_to_drop AS gtd INNER JOIN
student_work AS sw USING
(student_id,grade_num)
SET gtd.work_id = sw.work_id ;

UPDATE student_work AS sw INNER JOIN

grade_to_drop AS gtd USING
(student_id,work_id)
SET sw.for_grade='n' ;
 Temporary table

Repeat for dropping the lowest homework

DROP TABLE IF EXISTS grade_to_drop;

 More best practices
●EXPLAIN all your queries, and get the best “type”
possible
● Avoid JOIN hints (index hints, STRAIGHT_JOIN)
● Try to optimize subqueries into JOINs if possible
 That's it!

Questions?
●

Comments?
●
 01/29/10

Presented by:
Writing Joins in MySQL
Sheeri K. Cabral

01/29/10 1
 Topics Covered
JOINs
●

– OUTER
● LEFT, RIGHT, FULL OUTER
– INNER
● INNER, NATURAL, comma (,)
– CROSS
Subqueries
●

– DEPENDENT SUBQUERY
– DERIVED TABLE
● Changing a subquery to a JOIN
2
 Example
● 6-week intensive course
● Homework every Friday
– Each assignment is 6% of your grade
– Lowest grade is dropped
– 30% of your grade, total
● Weekly tests every Monday
– Same grading structure as hw
● Midterm – Wed. 1/20 – 15% of your grade
● Final exam – Friday 2/12 – 25% of your grade
3

Hw due the first day of class, how cruel!

 Sample data

● work table
CREATE TABLE work (
work_id tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
wname varchar(255) DEFAULT NULL,
given date DEFAULT NULL,
pct_of_grade tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (work_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1

4
 Sample data
mysql> SELECT * FROM work;
+---------+---------+------------+--------------+
| work_id | wname | given | pct_of_grade |
+---------+---------+------------+--------------+
| 1 | hw1 | 2010-01-01 | 6 |
| 2 | test1 | 2010-01-04 | 6 |
| 3 | hw2 | 2010-01-08 | 6 |
| 4 | test2 | 2010-01-11 | 6 |
| 5 | hw3 | 2010-01-15 | 6 |
| 6 | test3 | 2010-01-18 | 6 |
| 7 | midterm | 2010-01-20 | 15 |
| 8 | hw4 | 2010-01-22 | 6 |
| 9 | test4 | 2010-01-25 | 6 |
| 10 | hw5 | 2010-01-29 | 6 |
| 11 | test5 | 2010-02-01 | 6 |
| 12 | hw6 | 2010-02-05 | 6 |
| 13 | test6 | 2010-02-08 | 6 |
| 14 | final | 2010-02-12 | 25 |
+---------+---------+------------+--------------+
5
 Sample data
● student table
CREATE TABLE student (
student_id tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT
name varchar(255) DEFAULT NULL,
email varchar(255) DEFAULT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (student_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
● Entries
+------------+-----------------+------------------+
| student_id | name | email |
+------------+-----------------+------------------+
| 1 | Sheeri Cabral | [email protected] |
| 2 | Giuseppe Maxia | [email protected] |
| 3 | Colin Charles | [email protected] |
| 4 | Ronald Bradford | [email protected] |
+------------+-----------------+------------------+
6
 Sample data
● student_work table
Create Table: CREATE TABLE student_work (
student_id tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
work_id tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
grade_num tinyint(3) unsigned DEFAULT NULL,
grade_letter char(2) DEFAULT NULL,
for_grade enum('y','n') DEFAULT 'y',
KEY student_id (student_id),
KEY work_id (work_id),
CONSTRAINT student_work_ibfk_1 FOREIGN KEY (student_id)
REFERENCES student (student_id),
CONSTRAINT student_work_ibfk_2 FOREIGN KEY (work_id)
REFERENCES work (work_id)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;

7
 Sample data
● student_work entries
INSERT INTO student_work (student_id,work_id,grade_num)
VALUES
–- Sheeri had 88 for each hw/test except hw6 (72),
–- midterm 88, final 90, and she did not take test3.
(1,1,88),(1,2,88),(1,3,88),(1,4,88),(1,5,88),(1,7,88),
(1,9,88),(1,10,88),(1,11,88),(1,12,72),(1,13,88),
(1,14,90),
–- Giuseppe completed all assignments/tests:
(2,1,100),(2,2,100),(2,3,90),(2,4,88),(2,5,88),(2,6,85),
(2,7,95),(2,8,100),(2,9,100),(2,10,82),(2,11,85),
(2,12,89),(2,13,90),(2,14,96);

8
 Sample data
● student_work entries
INSERT INTO student_work (student_id,work_id,grade_num)
VALUES
–- Colin is busy planning 2010 User Conference, and
–- did not complete any hw assignments, and as a result
–- did not do well on the tests
(3,2,75),(3,4,77),(3,6,89),(3,7,85),(3,9,72),(3,11,89),
(3,13,70),(3,14,80)
–- Ronald knew his stuff but got busy as the course
–- went on....
(4,1,100),(4,2,100),(4,3,95),(4,4,95),(4,5,90),(4,6,90),
(4,7,95),(4,8,85),(4,9,85),(4,10,80),(4,11,80),(4,12,75),
(4,13,75),(4,14,83);

9
 Sample data
● Global grade_num_letter table
CREATE TABLE grade_num_letter (
grade_num tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
grade_letter char(2) NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
PRIMARY KEY (grade_num)
) ENGINE=MyISAM DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;

mysql> select min(grade_num),max(grade_num),count(*) from

grade_num_letter;
+----------------+----------------+----------+
| min(grade_num) | max(grade_num) | count(*) |
+----------------+----------------+----------+
| 0 | 100 | 101 |
+----------------+----------------+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

10
 Venn Diagram

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col1 t1.col2= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3

11

The overlap is only what is equal, even though there

may be 2 fields with the same name.
 MySQL JOINs
● A JOIN clause is optional
– ON (tbl1.col1 ? tbl2.col2 AND ...)
● Can also specify tbl1.col1 ? expr, (tbl1.col1<10)
– USING (col1,col2,...)
● Same as tbl1.col1=tbl2.col1 AND tbl1.col2=tbl2.col2
INNER, CROSS, comma (,) all do the same thing
●

– As of MySQL 5.0, COMMA join is lower

precedence than other JOINS
– SELECT...FROM tbl1, tbl2 ON (tbl1.col=tbl2.col)
INNER JOIN tbl3 ON (tbl2.col=tbl3.col) WHERE
tbl1.col=tbl2.col;
12
 CROSS JOIN
● Cartesian product
All combinations
–

SELECT name, wname

FROM student CROSS JOIN work;

Usually not desired

13
 INNER JOIN

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col1 t1.col2= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3

14

● Show only rows that matches on both sides

● Note that the SELECT may show the columns, but
the venn diagram is showing the matching.
 INNER JOIN
● Show only rows that matches on both sides
SELECT s.grade_num, g.grade_letter
FROM student_work AS s
INNER JOIN grade_num_letter AS g
ON (s.grade_num=g.grade_num);

15
 CROSS, INNER are semantic
● CROSS JOIN acting as an INNER JOIN:
SELECT s.grade_num, g.grade_letter
FROM student_work AS s
CROSS JOIN grade_num_letter AS g
ON (s.grade_num=g.grade_num);

● INNER JOIN acting as a CROSS JOIN:

SELECT name, wname FROM student INNER JOIN
work;

16
 In fact you do not need either!
● JOIN acting as an INNER JOIN:
SELECT s.grade_num, g.grade_letter
FROM student_work AS s
JOIN grade_num_letter AS g
ON (s.grade_num=g.grade_num);

● JOIN acting as a CROSS JOIN:

SELECT name, wname FROM student JOIN work;

17
 JOIN clause
● ON (…) or USING(...)

● Can specify in the WHERE clause

● Same results

18
 My Best Practices
● Don't use a comma to join
– Unexpected behavior with other JOINs in a query
● Never use JOIN; always use INNER JOIN or
CROSS JOIN
– Whoever debugs will know your intention
● Use a JOIN clause instead of a WHERE clause
– More clear what is a filter and what is a join

19
 Getting the letter grades

student_work grade_num_letter
AS s AS g
student_id grade_num_letter
work_id s.grade_num=
grade_num_letter g.grade_num
for_grade

20
 OUTER JOIN
● Show all rows that match on one side
● “get all grades for test3”
SELECT name, wname, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT OUTER JOIN student_work
USING (student_id,work_id)
WHERE wname='test3';

21
 OUTER JOIN
● LEFT OUTER JOIN

● RIGHT OUTER JOIN

● “OUTER” is redundant

22
 LEFT JOIN, inclusive

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col1 t1.col2= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3

23
 LEFT JOIN, exclusive

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col1 t1.col2= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3

....WHERE t2.col1 IS NULL

24

● RIGHT JOIN is just a mirror image

 FULL OUTER JOIN

● Does not exist in MySQL

● Can be simulated

25
 FULL OUTER JOIN, inclusive

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col2 t1.col1= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3

SELECT … FROM tbl1 LEFT JOIN tbl2 ...

UNION [ALL] … FROM tbl1 RIGHT JOIN tbl2 …
26

● UNION will eliminate duplicate rows

● UNION ALL just adds togeher the 2 sets
 FULL OUTER JOIN
●If it is already in the first result, do not put it in the
second result:
SELECT … FROM tbl1 LEFT JOIN tbl2 ...
UNION ALL … FROM tbl1 RIGHT JOIN tbl2 …
WHERE tbl1.col IS NULL
●
In the 2nd query in the union, only rows that have no
match in tbl1 are taken.

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 FULL OUTER JOIN, exclusive

table 1 overlap table 2

t1.col2 t1.col1= t2.col2
t1.col3 t2.col1 t2.col3
SELECT …
FROM tbl1 LEFT JOIN tbl2 ...
WHERE tbl2.col1 IS NULL
UNION ALL … SELECT … FROM tbl1 RIGHT JOIN tbl2 …
WHERE tbl1.col IS NULL
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 NATURAL modifier
● Does not use a JOIN clause
– JOIN clause is all matching field names
● Works for:
– NATURAL JOIN
– NATURAL LEFT JOIN
– NATURAL RIGHT JOIN

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 NATURAL JOIN example
● Instead of:
SELECT name,grade_num
FROM student INNER JOIN student_work USING
(student_id)
WHERE name='Sheeri Cabral';

● Write:
SELECT name,grade_num
FROM student NATURAL JOIN student_work
WHERE name='Sheeri Cabral';

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 NATURAL JOIN gone awry
●Having the same field names when the fields are
not equal:
SELECT sw.grade_num, gnl.grade_letter FROM
student_work AS sw INNER JOIN
grade_num_letter AS gnl USING (grade_num);

● Is NOT equivalent to:

SELECT sw.grade_num, gnl.grade_letter FROM
student_work AS sw NATURAL JOIN
grade_num_letter AS gnl;

This is why the field is called work.wname!

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 Subqueries
● A subquery is a query within a query
● More “natural” way of thinking for procedural
thinkers
● SQL is declarative, and optimized that way

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 Procedural Thinking
● How to get the names and grades for test1

33
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
● “Get names and grades”
SELECT name, grade_num

34
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
● “start with the join table”
FROM student_work

35
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student_work
● “get the name”
INNER JOIN student USING (student_id)

36
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student_work
INNER JOIN student USING (student_id)
● “But only get test1”
WHERE work_id IN (SELECT work_id FROM work
WHERE wname='test1')

37
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student_work
INNER JOIN student USING (student_id)
WHERE work_id IN (SELECT work_id FROM work
WHERE wname='test1');

38
 Procedural Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student_work
INNER JOIN student USING (student_id)
WHERE work_id IN (SELECT work_id FROM work
WHERE wname='test1');

39
 Declarative Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
● I have 3 sets of data
● student has the name
● student_work has the grades
● work has the name of the assignment
SELECT name, grade_num FROM .... WHERE
wname='test1'

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 Declarative Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
● student and student_work relate by student_id
SELECT name, grade_num FROM
student INNER JOIN student_work USING
(student_id)
....
WHERE wname='test1';

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 Declarative Thinking: Get the names
and grades for test1
● work and student_work relate by work_id
SELECT name, grade_num FROM
student INNER JOIN student_work USING
(student_id)
INNER JOIN work USING (work_id)
WHERE wname='test1';
SELECT name, wname, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT OUTER JOIN student_work
USING (student_id,work_id) 42
WHERE wname='test3';
 But.....
● That falls apart for test3, because Sheeri did not
take test3.

● So now what?

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 Get all grades for test3
● Start with:
SELECT name, grade_num FROM....
WHERE wname='test3';

44
 Get all grades for test3
●We want a listing for each row in “work” against
each row in “student”
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
....
WHERE wname='test3';

45
 Get all grades for test3
●We want a listing for each row in “work” against
each row in “student”

● What we want, not how to get it. That's declarative!

46
 Get all grades for test3
● Grades might not exist for all the rows
● ...so we'll need an outer join
● Fill in the values from student_work for the grades
that do exist, joining on student_id and work_id:
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname='test3';
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 Drop the lowest test score

How?

48
 Drop the lowest test score

For our purposes, NULL = 0.

So we'll need to keep the CROSS JOIN as in the
previous query:
SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id)

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 Drop the lowest test score

Get all tests:

SELECT name, grade_num
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname like 'test_';

We expect 24 rows returned....

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 Drop the lowest test score

Get minimum grade from all tests per person:

SELECT name, min(grade_num)
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname like 'test_'
GROUP BY student_id;

We expect 4 rows
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 Drop the lowest test score

Convert to an UPDATE statement.....

SELECT name, min(grade_num)
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname like 'test_'
GROUP BY student_id;

This is hard!
52
 Drop the lowest test score
Now add in the rest...
UPDATE student_work as upd
INNER JOIN student_work as sel USING
(student_id, work_id)
RIGHT JOIN student USING (student_id, work_id)
CROSS JOIN work
SET upd.for_grade='n' WHERE wname like 'test_'
AND upd.grade_num=min(sel.grade_num)
GROUP BY sel.student_id;
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 That doesn't work....
Sometimes you need a subquery.....
UPDATE student_work
SET for_grade='n' WHERE
CONCAT(student_id,work_id) IN (SELECT
CONCAT(student_id,work_id) FROM
student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING (student_id,
work_id) WHERE wname like 'test_'
GROUP BY student_id);

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 That doesn't work either....
● Sometimes you need to do it in >1 query!
● Sometimes it's not necessary, but more optimal
● Problem is the min(grade_num)....GROUP BY
● So use a temporary table:
● CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE grade_to_drop
SELECT min(coalesce(grade_num,0)) FROM
student CROSS JOIN work LEFT JOIN student_work
USING (student_id,work_id) WHERE wname like
'test_' group by student_id;

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 Temporary table

CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE grade_to_drop (

student_id tinyint unsigned not null,
work_id tinyint unsigned default null,
grade_num tinyint unsigned default null
);

56
 Temporary table
INSERT INTO grade_to_drop (student_id,
grade_num)
SELECT student_id,min(coalesce(grade_num,0))
FROM student CROSS JOIN work
LEFT JOIN student_work USING
(student_id,work_id)
WHERE wname like 'test_'GROUP BY student_id;

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 Temporary table
UPDATE grade_to_drop AS gtd INNER JOIN
student_work AS sw USING
(student_id,grade_num)
SET gtd.work_id = sw.work_id ;

UPDATE student_work AS sw INNER JOIN

grade_to_drop AS gtd USING
(student_id,work_id)
SET sw.for_grade='n' ;

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 Temporary table

Repeat for dropping the lowest homework

DROP TABLE IF EXISTS grade_to_drop;

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 More best practices
●EXPLAIN all your queries, and get the best “type”
possible
● Avoid JOIN hints (index hints, STRAIGHT_JOIN)
● Try to optimize subqueries into JOINs if possible

60
 That's it!

Questions?
●

Comments?
●

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