Another MySQL limitation. This time it is the lack of support for Full Outer Joins. I was really hoping to avoid using a UNION as in my opinion it makes the SQL much harder to follow. So I have to make up the difference with an extended comment block so the code remains maintainable. The workaround isn't too complicated but I strongly believe that the tools I use should be making my life easier, not making me spend a lot of extra time creating workarounds. The time savings issue alone will probably soon make me switch permanently off MySQL as this is not the first time I have had problems with MySQL not supporting the full ANSI standard. (actually the frequency appears to be increasing logarithmically as my projects increase in complexity).
I keep banging my head against the limitations of MySQL. I know I should probably switch to PostgreSQL as every time I find a hard limit in MySQL (so far) it would be solved by moving over. Guess it is time to start studying. The recent aquisition of MySQL by Oracle is another factor that is making PostgreSQL look enticing.