> Why? Not a challenge, but a question. Using *= or (+) > always seemed, at least to me, quicker, easier, and easier to > read afterward. > > Now, I admit that I mostly got into the habit because, until > fairly recently, I was stuck on an Oracle platform that was > too old to use INNER JOIN/LEFT JOIN, but how much does it > really matter?
One advantage of explicit JOIN syntax is that it eliminates the possibility of an accidental Cartesian product or cross join. If you have a query with three or four tables joined within the WHERE clause, you might forget one of your joins and the query will run successfully, but will fetch a Cartesian product (which you typically don't want, and which will typically annoy your DBA). If you use explicit JOIN syntax, you will get an error message if you forget a join, which is a much better result. Personally, I prefer explicit JOIN syntax because I find it a bit easier to read, although admittedly I used to find the old syntax easy to read as well. Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software http://www.figleaf.com/ Fig Leaf Software provides the highest caliber vendor-authorized instruction at our training centers in Washington DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, Northern Virginia, or on-site at your location. Visit http://training.figleaf.com/ for more information! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Logware (www.logware.us): a new and convenient web-based time tracking application. Start tracking and documenting hours spent on a project or with a client with Logware today. Try it for free with a 15 day trial account. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=67 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:201510 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
