Converting nested selects to MySQL

[Anon]

I have an ASP source that makes nested SELECT calls to a Microsoft SQL database. I have to convert these nested SELECTS so they can work in MySQL but I don't have much experience in SQL queries.

Here is one of the queries that must be converted, but I don't quite understand it...

SELECT CATS.CAT_ID, CAT_NAME, CAT_IMAGE (SELECT COUNT (*) FROM ADS WHERE ADS.CAT_ID = CATS.CAT_ID AND AD_APPROVED = 1) AS TOTAL FROM CATS ORDER BY CAT_NAME ASC

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

[Anon]

select c.cat_id,cat_name,cat_image,
count(a.cat_id) as total from cats c
left outer join ads a
on c.cat_id = a.cat_id
and ad_approved = 1
group by cats.cat_id,cat_name,cat_image

[Anon]

Thanks a lot, had to modify it a bit. But now it works great! I think I have a better understanding of the JOIN statement but one more question...

What is the difference between a LEFT JOIN and a LEFT OUTER JOIN?

Thanks again!

[Anon]

No difference at all. OUTER is just syntactical sugar.

[Anon]

Thanks!