A RIGHT JOIN in MySQL is a type of join operation that combines rows from two tables based on a specified condition, and it returns all the rows from the right table (the second table mentioned in the query) and the matched rows from the left table (the first table mentioned in the query). If there is no match found in the left table, NULL values are returned for columns from the left table.

Syntax

The syntax for a RIGHT JOIN in MySQL is as follows:

SELECT *
FROM table1
RIGHT JOIN table2 
ON table1.column_name = table2.column_name;

Here, table1 is the left table, and table2 is the right table. The condition specified after the ON keyword establishes the relationship between the tables based on the specified columns.

Let’s break down the components:

SELECT *: This part of the query retrieves all columns from both tables.

FROM table1: Specifies the left table from which you want to retrieve data.

RIGHT JOIN table2: Specifies the type of join, indicating that you want to include all rows from the right table, even if there are no matching rows in the left table.

ON table1.column_name = table2.column_name: Specifies the condition for the join. It defines the columns that should match for the rows to be combined.

Example

Here’s a simple example to illustrate the concept. Consider two tables, “employees” and “departments,” with the following structures:

CREATE TABLE employees (
    employee_id INT,
    employee_name VARCHAR(50),
    department_id INT
);

CREATE TABLE departments (
    department_id INT,
    department_name VARCHAR(50)
);

Now, let’s say you want to retrieve all employees and their associated departments, including departments with no employees:

SELECT *
FROM employees e
RIGHT JOIN departments d 
ON e.department_id = d.department_id;

In this example, the result will include all rows from the “departments” table, whether or not there is a matching department_id in the “employees” table. If there is a match, the employee information will be included; otherwise, NULL values will be returned for the columns from the “employees” table.

It’s important to note that while RIGHT JOIN can be useful in certain situations, it’s less commonly used than INNER JOIN or LEFT JOIN. In many cases, the same result can be achieved using LEFT JOIN with the tables swapped. The choice between LEFT JOIN and RIGHT JOIN often depends on the specific requirements of your query and how you find it more intuitive to express.