Say we have the following tables t1 and t2:
t1:
id | column_1
-------------
1 | 1
2 | 2
t2:
id | column_2
-------------
2 | 2
3 | 3
select a.id, t1.column_1, t2.column_2
from (
select id from t1
union
select id from t2
) a
left outer join t1 on a.id = t1.id
left outer join t2 on a.id = t2.id
Try this one:
SELECT t1.id, t1.column_1, t2.column_2
FROM t1
FULL OUTER JOIN t2 ON (t1.id = t2.id)
Edit: Doesn't work, MySQL does not know FULL OUTER JOIN. Have a look here: http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/05/26/how-to-write-full-outer-join-in-mysql/
Haven't tried this myself, but this might work:
SELECT t1.id, t1.column_1, t2.column_2, t2a.column_2
FROM t1
LEFT JOIN t2 ON t1.id = t2.id
RIGHT JOIN t2 AS t2a ON t1.id = t2a.id