What are the different join types in LINQ and explain their differences?

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Answered by suresh

What are the different join types in LINQ and explain their differences?

When working with LINQ, there are several different types of joins that can be used to combine data from two or more sources. The main join types in LINQ include:

  • Inner Join: This type of join returns only the rows that have matching values in both tables.
  • Left Join (or Left Outer Join): This join returns all the rows from the left table, along with the matching rows from the right table. If there are no matches in the right table, NULL values are returned for those columns.
  • Right Join (or Right Outer Join): Similar to the left join, this type of join returns all the rows from the right table, along with the matching rows from the left table. NULL values are used for unmatched columns from the left table.
  • Full Join (or Full Outer Join): This join type returns all rows when there is a match in either the left or right table. If there is no match, NULL values are returned for missing columns.
  • Cross Join: This join type returns the Cartesian product of the two tables, meaning every possible combination of rows from the two tables.

The differences between these join types lie in how they handle matching and non-matching rows from the tables being joined. Understanding and choosing the right join type is crucial to getting the desired result when querying data in LINQ.

Answer for Question: What are the different join types in LINQ and explain their differences?