Does table order in joins with WHERE clause matter?

[jconner]

We have a situation where several tables are being joined together...with a few constraints on the query...and I was wondering whether or not the order in which the tables are joined mattered as far as the where clause is concerned. In other words, if I'm joining TABLE_A - TABLE B - TABLE C - and I have a WHERE clause with a condition for TABLE C, should TABLE C be listed first in the JOIN? If so, can you explain why? I'm a bit hazy on the nuts and bolts of joins in regards to performance.

Thanks!
Jconner

 

[JamesLean]

The order of tables in the JOIN clause or the order of different WHERE conditions does not matter at all. The query optimizer will examine the whole query and select the most efficient methods for executing it.

--James