NULL in joins: NULL = NULL is UNKNOWN, so INNER JOIN excludes null keys. LEFT JOIN: left rows with null key get null for right side. With 0, NULL, 1: INNER on 0 and 1 only; NULL never matches. LEFT: all left rows; right null for no match. Be explicit with COALESCE in join keys if nulls should match. **Why it matters**: Design choices compound at scale—wrong approach can cause 100× overhead. **Scalability trade-offs**: Profile before optimizing; validate on sample then full....
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