SQL RIGHT OUTER JOIN

SQL RIGHT OUTER JOIN
Another type of join is called a SQL RIGHT OUTER JOIN. This type of join returns all rows from the RIGHT-hand table specified in the ON condition and only those rows from the other table where the joined fields are equal (join condition is met).

Syntax

The syntax for the SQL RIGHT OUTER JOIN is:
SELECT columns
FROM table1
RIGHT [OUTER] JOIN table2
ON table1.column = table2.column;
In some databases, the RIGHT OUTER JOIN keywords are replaced with RIGHT JOIN.

Visual Illustration

In this visual diagram, the SQL RIGHT OUTER JOIN returns the shaded area:



The SQL RIGHT OUTER JOIN would return the all records from table2 and only those records from table1 that intersect with table2.

Example

Here is an example of a SQL RIGHT OUTER JOIN:
SELECT orders.order_id, orders.order_date, suppliers.supplier_name
FROM suppliers
RIGHT OUTER JOIN orders
ON suppliers.supplier_id = orders.supplier_id;
This RIGHT OUTER JOIN example would return all rows from the orders table and only those rows from the suppliers table where the joined fields are equal.
If a supplier_id value in the orders table does not exist in the suppliers table, all fields in the suppliers table will display as <null> in the result set.
Let's look at some data to explain how RIGHT OUTER JOINS work:
We have a table called suppliers with two fields (supplier_id and supplier_name). It contains the following data:
supplier_id
supplier_name
10000
Apple
10001
Google
We have a second table called orders with three fields (order_id, supplier_id, and order_date). It contains the following data:
order_id
supplier_id
order_date
500125
10000
2013/08/12
500126
10001
2013/08/13
500127
10002
2013/08/14
If we run the SQL statement (that contains a RIGHT OUTER JOIN) below:
SELECT orders.order_id, orders.order_date, suppliers.supplier_name
FROM suppliers
RIGHT OUTER JOIN orders
ON suppliers.supplier_id = orders.supplier_id;
Our result set would look like this:
order_id
order_date
supplier_name
500125
2013/08/12
Apple
500126
2013/08/13
Google
500127
2013/08/14
<null>
The row for 500127 (order_id) would be included because a RIGHT OUTER JOIN was used. However, you will notice that the supplier_name field for that record contains a <null> value.

Old Syntax

As a final note, it is worth mentioning that the RIGHT OUTER JOIN example above could be rewritten using the older implicit syntax that utilizes the outer join operator (+) as follows (but we still recommend using the RIGHT OUTER JOIN keyword syntax):
SELECT orders.order_id, orders.order_date, suppliers.supplier_name
FROM suppliers, orders


WHERE suppliers.supplier_id(+) = orders.supplier_id;

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