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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-26T13:48:09+00:00

I have a large query that joins around 20 tables (mostly outer joins). It

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I have a large query that joins around 20 tables (mostly outer joins). It is using the older join syntax with commas and where conditions with (+) for outer joins.
We noticed that it is consuming a lot of server memory. We are trying several things among which one idea is to convert this query to use the newer ANSI syntax, since the ANSI syntax allows better control on the order of JOINs and also specifies the JOIN predicates explicitly as they are applied.

Does converting the query from an older syntax to the newer ANSI syntax help in reducing the amount of data processed, for such large queries spanning a good number of tables?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    In my experience, it does not – it generates identical execution plans. That said, the newer JOIN syntax does allow you to things that you can’t do with the old syntax. I would recommend converting it for that reason, and for clarity. The ANSI syntax is just so much easier to read (at least for me). Once converted you can then compare execution plans.

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