Re: Pet Peeves?

Octavio Alvarez <alvarezp(at)alvarezp(dot)ods(dot)org> writes:

> Now, last time I checked, Postgresql lacked an SQL extension to create
> crosstab queries. Even though contrib have some helper functions, they
> are not official and work only if the number of columns is actually
> predefined. For instance if you want to create a query to produce
> different paths to go through a graph, being represented by 1 arc per
> record, you will never be able to predict the final number of columns
> (path steps) needed for the crosstab without doing the whole query one
> extra time to get the max(step).

Is it the hierarchical query ability you're looking for or pivot?
The former we are actually getting in 8.4.

AFAIK even in systems with pivot you still have to declare a fixed list of
columns in advance anyways. Do you see a system where it works differently?

--
Gregory Stark
EnterpriseDB http://www.enterprisedb.com
Ask me about EnterpriseDB's Slony Replication support!