In SQL the UNION clause combines the results of two SQL queries into a single table of all matching rows. The two queries must result in the same number of columns and compatible data types in order to unite. Any duplicate records are automatically removed unless UNION ALL is used.

UNION can be useful in data warehouse applications where tables aren't perfectly normalized. A simple example would be a database having tables sales2005 and sales2006 that have identical structures but are separated because of performance considerations. A UNION query could combine results from both tables.

Note that UNION does not guarantee the order of rows. Rows from the second operand may appear before, after, or mixed with rows from the first operand. In situations where a specific order is desired, ORDER BY must be used.

Note that UNION ALL may be much faster than plain UNION.

Given these two tables:

Executing this statement:

<source lang="sql"> SELECT * FROM sales2005 UNION SELECT * FROM sales2006; </source>

Union may refer to:

It may also refer to:

SQL ( /ˈɛs kjuː ˈɛl/ "S-Q-L"; sometimes referred to as Structured Query Language) is a special-purpose programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems (RDBMS).

Originally based upon relational algebra and tuple relational calculus, its scope includes data insert, query, update and delete, schema creation and modification, and data access control.

SQL was one of the first commercial languages for Edgar F. Codd's relational model, as described in his influential 1970 paper, "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks". Despite not adhering to the relational model as described by Codd, it became the most widely used database language. Although SQL is often described as, and to a great extent is, a declarative language, it also includes procedural elements. SQL became a standard of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1986, and of the International Organization for Standards (ISO) in 1987. Since then, the standard has been enhanced several times with added features. However, issues of SQL code portability between major RDBMS products still exist due to lack of full compliance with, or different interpretations of, the standard. Among the reasons mentioned are the large size and incomplete specification of the standard, as well as vendor lock-in.