It does seem strange. In SQL, if there are no NULL results for the right relation, a LEFT OUTER JOIN produces the same rows as the INNER JOIN. You'd think that the two should produce the same Objects in EJB QL. Is there anyone in the upper echelons of those defining the specs who can explain the reasoning for this to us? Thanks, Joe View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=3966817#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...