SQL FULL JOIN

The FULL JOIN (or FULL OUTER JOIN) in SQL returns all rows from both tables, combining matched rows and filling unmatched rows with NULL values. It is basically the combination of LEFT JOIN and RIGHT JOIN.

Syntax:

SELECT columns
FROM table1
FULL JOIN table2
ON table1.column = table2.column;

Parameters:

• SELECT columns: Specifies the columns to retrieve.
• FROM table1: The first table to be joined.
• FULL JOIN table2: Specifies the second table to join with the first table using a FULL JOIN.
• ON table1.column= table2.column: Defines the condition to match rows between the two tables.

This query retrieves all records from both table1 and table2, returning NULL where there are no matches.

Examples of SQL FULL JOIN

Let's look at some examples of the FULL JOIN in SQL and understand it's working. First, let's create a demo database and two tables on which we will perform the JOIN.

Example 1: FULL JOIN on Multiple Tables

In this example, we perform a FULL JOIN across the Books, Authors and Publishers tables to combine all related records into a single result set.

Query:

SELECT 
 b.BOOK_ID, 
 b.BOOK_NAME, 
 a.AUTHOR_NAME, 
 p.PUBLISHER_NAME 
FROM Books b
FULL JOIN Authors a 
 ON b.AUTHOR_ID = a.AUTHOR_ID
FULL JOIN Publishers p 
 ON b.PUBLISHER_ID = p.PUBLISHER_ID;

Output:

• Books uses BOOK_ID.
• Authors uses AUTHOR_ID, which matches BOOK_ID.
• Publishers uses PUBLISHER_ID, also matching BOOK_ID.
• FULL JOIN ensures that all rows are included even if a match is missing.

Example 2: FULL JOIN with WHERE Clause

Now, we want to filter the results from the above join based on a specific condition. We will select only books that have "Sharma" in the book name.

Query:

SELECT
 b.BOOK_ID,
 b.BOOK_NAME, 
 a.AUTHOR_NAME, 
 p.PUBLISHER_NAME
FROM Books b
FULL JOIN Authors a ON b.BOOK_ID = a.AUTHOR_ID
FULL JOIN Publishers p ON b.BOOK_ID = p.PUBLISHER_ID
WHERE b.BOOK_NAME LIKE '%Sharma%';

Output:

• In this example, the WHERE clause filters out all books that do not contain the word "Sharma" in their name.
• After applying the filter, only the record for "RD SHARMA" remains.