In an attempt to try a different approach, here’s a three-minute video explanation of how the different physical join operators in SQL Server work and why you would choose one over the other.
I’ve written a few blog posts on join operators befores, so if this video wet your appetite, here’s some recommended reading:
I’d love to hear what you think of the short video format! Please leave feedback in the comments below or on Twitter.
Do you ever compare the values of a lot of columns in two tables? Sure you do. Like, for instance, in a cross update, when you need to figure out which rows you should actually update. But it gets worse if the columns are nullable. The fact that any value could potentially be NULL vastly complicates the comparison and might wreak havoc not only on your code but also on your query performance.
But there’s hope.
There are basically three main types of joins in SQL Server, each one of which has its own characteristics, advantages and drawbacks. You’ll find these three operators in query plans. Knowing how different types joins work will help you optimize your queries, indexing and how to store your data.