title: Does the order of tables in a join matter, when LEFT (outer) joins are used?
body: <p>I would like to confirm that the SQL query</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT ....
    FROM apples,
         oranges
         LEFT JOIN kiwis ON kiwis.orange_id = oranges.id,
         bananas
   WHERE ....
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>is exactly equivalent to other permutations in the FROM subclause, like</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT ....
    FROM oranges
         LEFT JOIN kiwis ON kiwis.orange_id = oranges.id,
         bananas,
         apples
   WHERE ....
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>or</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT ....
    FROM bananas,
         apples,
         oranges
         LEFT JOIN kiwis ON kiwis.orange_id = oranges.id
   WHERE ....
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>as long as the explicit LEFT JOIN between oranges and kiwis remains intact. From what I've read in various documents, the returned set should be exactly the same.</p>
  
  <p>I'm really only concerned with the results of the query, not its performance in an actual database. (I'm using PostgreSQL 8.3, which AFAIK doesn't support optimizer hints about the join order, and will try to create an optimal query plan automatically).</p>