>>> "Marc Rohloff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 01.11.2000 09.02 Uhr >>> > > select a.col1, b.col2 from a,b > where a.col1 = b.col2 > or b.col2 is null > This query has nothing to do with an outer join. See the following example: table a c1 --- x y and table b c2 --- x Then an outer join gives: select a,c1, b.c2 from a left outer join b on a.c1 = b.c2 c1 | c2 x | x y | (null) but your query gives: select a.c1, b.c2 from a, b where a.c1 = b.c2 or b.c2 is null c1 | c2 x | x because there are no rows in table b with c2 is null ------------- Gerhard