In the SQL example 'SELECT column1 FROM table JOIN table2 ON table.column1 = table2.column1', what operation is being performed?

• A. It selects columns from a single table without joining.
• B. It creates a temporary table with all possible combinations.
• C. It joins two tables on a related column to select columns.
• D. It sorts results by the join column.

Answer: (C)

Two tables are being combined through a join using a shared column as the matching criterion. The ON clause specifies how rows line up between the two tables (table.column1 equals table2.column1), and the SELECT returns column1 from the merged result. This is an inner join by default, meaning only rows that have matching values in both tables are included. This isn’t selecting from a single table, it isn’t creating every possible pair of rows (that would be a cartesian product without a proper join condition), and it isn’t sorting the results (that would use an ORDER BY clause).