Thomas G. Lockhart wrote:
>
> > The book "The Practical SQL Handbook", which is often recommended on
> > these lists, uses the syntax `*=' and `=*' for left and right outer
> > joins (page 211). I think we ought to support this syntax as well,
> > since it will save new users from confusion.
>
> This one conflicts with Postgres' operator extensibility features, since
> it would look just like a legal operator.
so does =
Could it be possible to extend the operator extensibility features
to achieve the behaviour of outer/cross joins ?
> The two books I have at hand (besides my old Ingres docs) are A Guide to
> the SQL Standard by Date and Darwen and Understanding the New SQL by
> Melton and Simon. Both focus on SQL standard syntax, and neither mention
> the various outer join syntaxes accepted by Oracle, Informix, or Sybase.
Has anybody tried out DB2 ?
I have downloaded it (for linux) but have not yet tried it.
> An explanation for the lack of standards compliance by the big three
> probably involves the fact that they predate the standard by a
> significant number of years.
Not to mention that both =* and =(+) are more concise and easier to
follow, at least for one with my headshape.
The standard is probably the 'worst common denominator' or something
like that :(
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Hannu