SQL JOIN

The JOIN keyword is used in an SQL statement to query data from two or more tables, based on a relationship between certain columns in these tables. Tables in a database are often related to each other with keys. A primary key is a column (or a combination of columns) with a unique value for each row. Each primary key value must be unique within the table. The purpose is to bind data together, across tables, without repeating all of the data in every table. Look at the "Persons" table: P_Id LastName FirstName Address City 1 Hansen Ola Timoteivn 10 Sandnes 2 Svendson Tove Borgvn 23 Sandnes 3 Pettersen Kari Storgt 20 Stavanger Note that the "P_Id" column is the primary key in the "Persons" table. This means that no two rows can have the same P_Id. The P_Id distinguishes two persons even if they have the same name. Next, we have the "Orders" table: O_Id 1 2 3 4 5 OrderNo 77895 44678 22456 24562 34764 P_Id 3 3 1 1 15

Note that the "O_Id" column is the primary key in the "Orders" table and that the "P_Id" column refers to the persons in the "Persons" table without using their names. Notice that the relationship between the two tables above is the "P_Id" column.

Different SQL JOINs

Before we continue with examples, we will list the types of JOIN you can use, and the differences between them.

JOIN: Return rows when there is at least one match in both tables LEFT JOIN: Return all rows from the left table, even if there are no matches in the right table RIGHT JOIN: Return all rows from the right table, even if there are no matches in the left table FULL JOIN: Return rows when there is a match in one of the tables

SQL INNER JOIN Keyword

The INNER JOIN keyword return rows when there is at least one match in both tables.
SQL INNER JOIN Syntax SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name1 INNER JOIN table_name2 ON table_name1.column_name=table_name2.column_name

PS: INNER JOIN is the same as JOIN.

SQL INNER JOIN Example

The "Persons" table:
P_Id LastName FirstName Address 1 2 3 Hansen Ola City

Timoteivn 10 Sandnes Borgvn 23 Storgt 20 Sandnes Stavanger

Svendson Tove Pettersen Kari

The "Orders" table:

O_Id 1 2 3 OrderNo 77895 44678 22456 P_Id 3 3 1

4 5

24562 34764

1 15

Now we want to list all the persons with any orders. We use the following SELECT statement:
SELECT Persons.LastName, Persons.FirstName, Orders.OrderNo FROM Persons INNER JOIN Orders ON Persons.P_Id=Orders.P_Id ORDER BY Persons.LastName

The result-set will look like this:

LastName FirstName OrderNo Hansen Hansen Ola Ola 22456 24562 77895 44678

Pettersen Kari Pettersen Kari

The INNER JOIN keyword return rows when there is at least one match in both tables. If there are rows in "Persons" that do not have matches in "Orders", those rows will NOT be listed.

SQL LEFT JOIN Keyword

The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all rows from the left table (table_name1), even if there are no matches in the right table (table_name2).
SQL LEFT JOIN Syntax SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name1 LEFT JOIN table_name2 ON table_name1.column_name=table_name2.column_name

PS: In some databases LEFT JOIN is called LEFT OUTER JOIN.

SQL LEFT JOIN Example

The "Persons" table:
P_Id LastName FirstName Address 1 2 3 Hansen Ola City

Timoteivn 10 Sandnes Borgvn 23 Storgt 20 Sandnes Stavanger

Svendson Tove Pettersen Kari

The "Orders" table:

O_Id 1 2 3 4 5 OrderNo 77895 44678 22456 24562 34764 P_Id 3 3 1 1 15

Now we want to list all the persons and their orders - if any, from the tables above. We use the following SELECT statement:
SELECT Persons.LastName, Persons.FirstName, Orders.OrderNo FROM Persons LEFT JOIN Orders ON Persons.P_Id=Orders.P_Id ORDER BY Persons.LastName

The result-set will look like this:

LastName FirstName OrderNo

Hansen Hansen

Ola Ola

22456 24562 77895 44678

Pettersen Kari Pettersen Kari Svendson Tove

The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the left table (Persons), even if there are no matches in the right table (Orders).

SQL RIGHT JOIN Keyword

The RIGHT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the right table (table_name2), even if there are no matches in the left table (table_name1).
SQL RIGHT JOIN Syntax SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name1 RIGHT JOIN table_name2 ON table_name1.column_name=table_name2.column_name

PS: In some databases RIGHT JOIN is called RIGHT OUTER JOIN.

SQL RIGHT JOIN Example

The "Persons" table:
P_Id LastName FirstName Address 1 2 3 Hansen Ola City

Timoteivn 10 Sandnes Borgvn 23 Storgt 20 Sandnes Stavanger

Svendson Tove Pettersen Kari

The "Orders" table:

O_Id 1 2 3 4 5

OrderNo 77895 44678 22456 24562 34764

P_Id 3 3 1 1 15

Now we want to list all the orders with containing persons - if any, from the tables above. We use the following SELECT statement:
SELECT Persons.LastName, Persons.FirstName, Orders.OrderNo FROM Persons RIGHT JOIN Orders ON Persons.P_Id=Orders.P_Id ORDER BY Persons.LastName

The result-set will look like this:

LastName FirstName OrderNo Hansen Hansen Ola Ola 22456 24562 77895 44678 34764

Pettersen Kari Pettersen Kari

The RIGHT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the right table (Orders), even if there are no matches in the left table (Persons).

SQL FULL JOIN Keyword

The FULL JOIN keyword return rows when there is a match in one of the tables.

SQL FULL JOIN Syntax SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name1 FULL JOIN table_name2 ON table_name1.column_name=table_name2.column_name

SQL FULL JOIN Example

The "Persons" table:
P_Id LastName FirstName Address 1 2 3 Hansen Ola City

Timoteivn 10 Sandnes Borgvn 23 Storgt 20 Sandnes Stavanger

Svendson Tove Pettersen Kari

The "Orders" table:

O_Id 1 2 3 4 5 OrderNo 77895 44678 22456 24562 34764 P_Id 3 3 1 1 15

Now we want to list all the persons and their orders, and all the orders with their persons. We use the following SELECT statement:
SELECT Persons.LastName, Persons.FirstName, Orders.OrderNo FROM Persons FULL JOIN Orders

ON Persons.P_Id=Orders.P_Id ORDER BY Persons.LastName

The result-set will look like this:

LastName FirstName OrderNo Hansen Hansen Ola Ola 22456 24562 77895 44678

Pettersen Kari Pettersen Kari Svendson Tove

34764

The FULL JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the left table (Persons), and all the rows from the right table (Orders). If there are rows in "Persons" that do not have matches in "Orders", or if there are rows in "Orders" that do not have matches in "Persons", those rows will be listed as well.

The SQL UNION Operator

The UNION operator is used to combine the result-set of two or more SELECT statements. Notice that each SELECT statement within the UNION must have the same number of columns. The columns must also have similar data types. Also, the columns in each SELECT statement must be in the same order.
SQL UNION Syntax SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name1 UNION SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name2

Note: The UNION operator selects only distinct values by default. To allow duplicate values, use UNION ALL.

SQL UNION ALL Syntax SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name1 UNION ALL SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name2

PS: The column names in the result-set of a UNION are always equal to the column names in the first SELECT statement in the UNION.

SQL UNION Example

Look at the following tables: "Employees_Norway":
E_ID 01 02 03 04 E_Name Hansen, Ola Svendson, Tove Svendson, Stephen Pettersen, Kari

"Employees_USA":
E_ID 01 02 03 04 E_Name Turner, Sally Kent, Clark Svendson, Stephen Scott, Stephen

Now we want to list all the different employees in Norway and USA. We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT E_Name FROM Employees_Norway UNION SELECT E_Name FROM Employees_USA

The result-set will look like this:

E_Name Hansen, Ola Svendson, Tove Svendson, Stephen Pettersen, Kari Turner, Sally Kent, Clark Scott, Stephen

Note: This command cannot be used to list all employees in Norway and USA. In the example above we have two employees with equal names, and only one of them will be listed. The UNION command selects only distinct values.

SQL UNION ALL Example

Now we want to list all employees in Norway and USA:
SELECT E_Name FROM Employees_Norway UNION ALL SELECT E_Name FROM Employees_USA

Result
E_Name Hansen, Ola

Svendson, Tove Svendson, Stephen Pettersen, Kari Turner, Sally Kent, Clark Svendson, Stephen Scott, Stephen