Related Posts
What would you choose & why?

Additional Posts in SQL Server
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
What would you choose & why?

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Download the Fishbowl app to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Copy and paste embed code on your site

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

Cross join is between two tables or two sub queries, whereas the cross apply is most commonly used to join a table to the results of a TVF.
Having said that, a cross join is every possible combination from both tables or sub queries, so isn’t really comparable to the cross apply. You would really be comparing an inner join to a cross apply.
In terms of the mechanics, the inner join and cross apply are similar by returning matching rows from both outputs.
An apply can supply a single row data or many to already existing data. A join can supply multiple rows and and create new ones depending on if it’s an inner, left, or right. Applies are useful for giving a single row of results sorted by date or ID desc