The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all rows from the left table (table1), with the matching rows in the right table (table2). The result is NULL in the right side when there is no match.
or:
PS! In some databases LEFT JOIN is called LEFT OUTER JOIN.
In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database.
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:
CustomerID | CustomerName | ContactName | Address | City | PostalCode | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Alfreds Futterkiste | Maria Anders | Obere Str. 57 | Berlin | 12209 | Germany |
2 | Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados | Ana Trujillo | Avda. de la Constitución 2222 | México D.F. | 05021 | Mexico |
3 | Antonio Moreno Taquería | Antonio Moreno | Mataderos 2312 | México D.F. | 05023 | Mexico |
And a selection from the "Orders" table:
OrderID | CustomerID | EmployeeID | OrderDate | ShipperID |
---|---|---|---|---|
10308 | 2 | 7 | 1996-09-18 | 3 |
10309 | 37 | 3 | 1996-09-19 | 1 |
10310 | 77 | 8 | 1996-09-20 | 2 |
The following SQL statement will return all customers, and any orders they might have:
Note: The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the left table (Customers), even if there are no matches in the right table (Orders).