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Referring to this post on Stack Overflow

Why was the key word OUTER made optional (in LEFT OUTER JOIN etc) - if it had been a required word then scripts written on SQL Server would be more standard compliant?

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whytheq
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  • Note that `INNER` is equally optional, but in that case, including it can help make queries more readable. –  May 13 '13 at 11:37
  • This question appears to be off-topic because it is about it refers to another question and you need that other question to understand it. – Szymon Nov 21 '13 at 12:21

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It is optional in ANSI SQL, not just in T-SQL.
And it is optional, because the joins are unambiguous without the use of OUTER.

Daniel Hilgarth
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  • +1 thanks Daniel - I should have done a little research first! - referring to Date and Darwin "the optional OUTER is a mere noiseword and has no effect on the overall meaning of the expression" – whytheq May 13 '13 at 11:09