Set Operators

Set operators combine the results of two component queries into a single result. Queries containing set operators are called compound queries. Table 4-5 lists the SQL set operators. They are fully described with examples in The Set Operators.

Table 5 Set Operators

Operator Returns
UNION All distinct rows selected by either query
UNION ALL All rows selected by either query, including duplicates
INTERSECT All distinct rows selected by both queries
INTERSECT ALL All rows selected by both queries including duplicates
MINUS All distinct rows selected by the first query but not the second
MINUS ALL All rows selected by the first query but not the second including duplicates
EXCEPT All distinct rows selected by the first query but not the second
EXCEPT ALL All rows selected by the first query but not the second including duplicates