About Full-Exclusive Join
Full-Exclusive Join returns the symmetric difference — items that appear in exactly one list, not both. It is the union of Left-Exclusive and Right-Exclusive in a single pass: anything common to A and B is removed, and everything unique to either side is kept. Set-theory shorthand: (A − B) ∪ (B − A), sometimes written A ⊕ B or A XOR B.
This is the right tool when you need to spot all discrepancies between two lists at once. Diff two CSV exports and surface every row that changed sides; compare follower lists from two days and see who joined or left without caring which; reconcile two systems and produce a single list of mismatches for review. The output groups items unique to List A first, then items unique to List B. For the opposite question — items present in both lists — use Inner Join.
Examples
List A:
apple
banana
cherry
date
List B:
cherry
date
elderberry
figapple
banana
elderberry
figItems unique to either list. Items unique to A appear first, then items unique to B.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from Inner Join?
Inner Join returns the items in both lists; Full-Exclusive returns the items in exactly one list. They are exact opposites — the inner-join output and full-exclusive output together cover every item in the union with no overlap.
How is it different from running Left-Exclusive then Right-Exclusive separately?
It is not different — the result is identical. Doing it in one step saves a paste and keeps both halves in the same output, which is easier to review than two separate result panes.
Why is it sometimes called XOR?
Because the membership test mirrors the boolean XOR: an item is in the output if and only if it is in exactly one of the two inputs, the same truth table as `a XOR b`.
Is the output order deterministic?
Yes. Items unique to A appear first, in their order of first occurrence in A; items unique to B follow, in their order of first occurrence in B.