Re:

Waldemar Bergstreiser <littlesuspense(at)web(dot)de> writes:
> Just try to rewrite query below with left outter joins. I had not found any compact syntax.

> select * from a, outer( b, outer c), outer (d, outer f )
> where a.b_id = b.id and b.c_id = c.id and a.d_id = d.id and d.f_id = f.id;

This has got pretty much the same problem as Oracle's syntax: there's no
principled way to decide what it *means*. Which join is each of the
WHERE conditions supposed to be attached to, and why? What do you do if
you want a behavior slightly different from whatever the engine decides
it means?

The standard's syntax is a bit more verbose, but at least it's perfectly
clear which conditions are outer-join conditions and which are filters.

regards, tom lane