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Describe a scenario where you would use a CROSS JOIN vs. an INNER JOIN.

SQLmedium0.4 min readPremium
Frequency
Low
Asked at 1 company
Category
487
questions in SQL
Difficulty Split
130E|271M|86H
in this category
Total Bank
1,863
across 7 categories
Asked at these companies
Goldman Sachs
Key Concepts Tested
join
Expert AnswerPremium
88 wordsInterview-ready
**Architectural Logic**: INNER JOIN = matching rows; CROSS JOIN = Cartesian product. **INNER JOIN**: Orders with valid customers; facts with dimensions; typical relational logic. **CROSS JOIN**: Generating combinations—all product×store for matrix, date×region for sparse facts. Example: `SELECT p.product, s.store FROM products p CROSS JOIN stores s`. **Why CROSS JOIN is Risky**: N×M row explosion; 1K products × 1K stores = 1M rows....
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