What type of join should you use to combine SalesOrders and SalesOrderDetails tables while ensuring all details are included?

To ensure that all details from the SalesOrders and SalesOrderDetails tables are included in the combined dataset, a left outer join would be the appropriate choice. A left outer join allows you to retrieve all records from the first table (SalesOrders) and the matching records from the second table (SalesOrderDetails). If there is no match, the result will still include all records from SalesOrders, but with nulls for the columns from SalesOrderDetails.

This methodology is particularly helpful in scenarios where you want to maintain a complete view of your orders and see associated details, even if some orders may not have corresponding details in the SalesOrderDetails table. It ensures that every order is accounted for, which is often critical for comprehensive reporting and analysis in a business context.

In contrast, merging using a full outer join would return all records from both tables, including unmatched rows from both sides, which might create unnecessary rows in your dataset. An inner join would only include records that have matches in both tables, potentially omitting a significant number of sales orders that do not have corresponding details. Appending the tables would stack them on top of one another, which would not be appropriate for maintaining the relationship between orders and their details.