Which join returns only matching rows from both tables?

Which join returns only matching rows from both tables?

• A. Outer join
• B. Cross join
• C. Left join
• D. Inner join

Answer: (D)

The idea is to return only rows where there is a matching value in both tables based on the join condition. An inner join does exactly that: it combines rows from the two tables only when the join condition is satisfied in both, so you get rows that exist in both datasets—for example, customers who have placed orders. Other join types handle non-matches differently: outer joins keep non-matching rows and fill with NULLs, left joins keep all rows from the left table regardless of a match, and cross joins produce every possible combination of rows from the two tables. Therefore, the inner join is the one that yields only matching rows from both tables.

The idea is to return only rows where there is a matching value in both tables based on the join condition. An inner join does exactly that: it combines rows from the two tables only when the join condition is satisfied in both, so you get rows that exist in both datasets—for example, customers who have placed orders. Other join types handle non-matches differently: outer joins keep non-matching rows and fill with NULLs, left joins keep all rows from the left table regardless of a match, and cross joins produce every possible combination of rows from the two tables. Therefore, the inner join is the one that yields only matching rows from both tables.