query nested data ( interview question)

[vu lee]

Given a table with two columns:
Thread_id, thread_subId
Where each thread_subid could be a thread_id of another row. How do i create a sql to select a thread_is and all of its thread_subid nesting at different levels?

For instance:
1
1.1
1.1.1
1.1.2
1.2
......
1.3
.......

[Wendy Gibbons]

it depends on which database you are using
if you are using MySQL lots of selects, with the where clause changing every time.
If you are using oracle you can use START WITH and CONNECT BY

if you are using another database you want to use the word recursive in your google search.

[Paul Clapham]

Wendy Gibbons wrote:if you are using another database you want to use the word recursive in your google search.

Or the phrase "bill of materials" which seems to be used frequently in the examples you see for this feature.

[vu lee]

using mysql db. This was one of the interview question (just edit the subject). what would be a better response? I tried self join but it didnt work.

[Martin Vajsar]

vu lee wrote:I tried self join but it didnt work.

Unless there is a support in MySQL for hierarchical queries similar to the one in Oracle (and I doubt there is), it generally cannot be done. It theoretically might be done in pure SQL if the maximum depth (number of levels) is known beforehand (before constructing the query). The reason is you need one self-join (parent-child) for every level and if you don't know how many levels there can be, you obviously cannot build that query. However, I don't know whether such query would be practical (ie. efficient) in MySQL - or in any other database.

[Wendy Gibbons]

my sql didn't support this last time i tried, it had to be done programatically