SQL how to select from multiple tables

In SQL, the process of selecting data from multiple tables is accomplished using the SELECT statement with the JOIN clause. The JOIN clause allows you to combine rows from two or more tables based on a related column between them. There are several types of joins, including INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, and FULL OUTER JOIN.

Here’s a basic example of how to select data from multiple tables using the INNER JOIN:

SELECT
    e.employee_id,
    e.employee_name,
    d.department_name
FROM
    employees e
INNER JOIN
    departments d ON e.department_id = d.department_id;

In this example:

employees and departments are the names of the tables.
employee_id, employee_name, and department_name are columns from the respective tables.
e.department_id = d.department_id is the condition that establishes the relationship between the two tables.

This query retrieves data from the employees table and the departments table, combining them based on the common column department_id. It selects the employee ID, employee name, and department name.

If you want to include all records from the left table (in this case, employees) and matching records from the right table (departments), you would use a LEFT JOIN:

SELECT
    e.employee_id,
    e.employee_name,
    depadtments.department_name
FROM
    employees e
LEFT JOIN
    departments d ON e.department_id = d.department_id;

Conversely, if you want to include all records from the right table and matching records from the left table, you would use a RIGHT JOIN. If you want to include all records from both tables, whether they have matches or not, you can use a FULL OUTER JOIN.

This is a basic introduction to selecting data from multiple tables in SQL. Depending on your specific requirements and the database system you are using, there might be additional considerations or variations in syntax. It’s crucial to have a clear understanding of your data model to effectively use SQL joins.

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