Sep 18, 2026: Directed joins: Set the scan order with FIRST or LAST (General availability)¶

With this release, the read-order clause for directed joins is generally available. You can set which side of a directed join is scanned first without rewriting the order of the tables in the FROM clause. After the ON or USING clause, add FIRST( alias ) to scan that table first, or LAST( alias ) to scan that table last.

This is most useful when you want to set the scan order of one join in a chain of joins. The join must include the DIRECTED keyword.

For more information, see the read-order clause.