How does one get to know which table is on the left and which is on the right??

Answer 1

left table is the one mentioned before the join, right one after the join:

table1 join table2
left join right

Answer 2

search on google images, it provides great visual of the different joins

Answer 3

Doesn't matter. You can switch the order. You just have turn left joins into right joins.

Most people limit themselves to left / inner joins only, so order is clear. For an inner join use the more "relevant" table first.

Answer 4

table 1 left join table 2, take all the data from table 1 and matched rows on table 2. the order you write query mattets

Answer 5

:-)