pl/sql Oracle syntax

Question

I have a query in pl/sql that i need to migrate to ms sql.

select count(*) from table1 t1 where (conditions1) and (conditions2) and variable = t1.column1(+)

Could anyone tell me what the (+) after the column means ? (is it sort of a sum ?)

Answer 1

It's an alternate form of specifying an outer join. There are more details here:

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B14117_01/server.101/b10759/queries006.htm