joins and performances : general question

hello,
it is a very general question :

i have to write sql queries using lot of Joins (mainly left outer and inner joins)

is there rule(s) to apply to write these sql orders, having knowledge of the average number of rows in my tables ? for example : which order to use for joins in a particular query ? is it better to begin or to end with the join that retrieves the more rows in the database ? it is better to use INNER joins than LEFT OUTER JOINS ?

thanks for any comments or ideas !
Regards,
Christian Received on Mon Nov 22 1999 - 06:45:37 CST