Question

recursive SQL

Asked by: NHBFighter

Hi

I have two tables:
Question              Response
----------              -----------
curr_id                 curr_id
prev_id                score

The question table holds a list of questions each with its own unique ID. The questions can change over time and when a change happens a new question is loaded into the question table with a new curr_id, The curr_id of the old question that the new one changed from is not removed from the table and to signify that the new question stemed from the old the old question Curr_id is placed into the new questions prev_id field.  The response table holds numeric responses to the questions.

Some possible values in these tables may be:

curr_id   prev_id         Qstn_id   Score
   1         -                           1         1
   2         1                      2         1
   3         -                           3         1
   4         -                           4         1
   5         3                           5         1
   6         -                           6         1
   7         5                           7         1


I want to find some SQL that will give a sum of all the scores for each question (excluding the old ones) that inclues the values of all previous versions of the question. So for example using the values above question 7 should receive a sumed up score of 3 (1 from id=7 1 from id=5 and 1 from id=3). I need to do this with straight SQL that can be used on multiple DBs. I've been struggling with this for a few days now with out any success. Does any one know how to do this or wether its possible.

Thanks
David

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2004-10-09 at 16:08:29ID21162335
Topic

Databases Miscellaneous

Participating Experts
2
Points
400
Comments
12

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Query recurring date fields.
    Hi, I've been struggling with this one... I've got a table with pre-defined dates in it who can reocur or not. It looks a bit like this. date recurs dd/mm/yyyy boolean 05/01/1999 yes 09/06/2000 no 10/12/1998 yes Now the query i'm looking for, get's two da...
  2. struggling with scores
    I am trying to write a program where there are 4 people entering their scores which are between 0 and 26 after each person has entered their score a running total is kept when one of the people reach 100 the game is over. I can so far get it to get the 4 peoples first numbers...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: ZvikaPosted on 2004-10-10 at 02:14:34ID: 12269566

Do you have any maximum number of possible "revisions" for a question?
If not, Standard SQL (ANSI) can not give you what you need. Maybe T-QSL or something else (depends on your database type) can do such actions.
if you do have a maximum number, maybe I can write something for you.

Zvika

 

by: RaisinJPosted on 2004-10-10 at 08:34:47ID: 12271534

What type of DB are your using, SQLServer 7/2000?

 

by: NHBFighterPosted on 2004-10-10 at 14:44:39ID: 12272788

HI
There is no max number for question revesions, and i need it in standard SQL because I will be using that sql to pull the data from a star schema and into an Esspase cube. I can do this by using a standard programing language like Java to create a flat file containing the data but I wanted to try and do it using SQL. I'm not sure it can be done either, but I thought there might be something I'm missing.
The DB I'm using is acctually oracle 9i.

Thanks
Dave

 

by: RaisinJPosted on 2004-10-10 at 14:49:19ID: 12272808

Is it an option for you to write a stored procedure in Oracle (PL/SQL)?

 

by: NHBFighterPosted on 2004-10-10 at 15:30:25ID: 12272941

I'm not sure, it might be. I'll have to look into it but it may take a few days.
Thanks

 

by: ZvikaPosted on 2004-10-11 at 02:31:37ID: 12274804

Dave
>> I'm not sure it can be done either, but I thought there might be something I'm missing
As i wrote before, if you don't have an upper limit for revisions, I am sure it cannot be done in standard SQL.
So, the answer for your question is "Can't be done".
As for workarounds - your idea of using programming language sounds quite reasonable for the case.
RaisinJ's idea is also possible - than again it won't be Standard SQL, but will use Oracle specific functions.
Another option is to modify your DB so it will include a straight connection from a revision to the question ID. An idea for such a design that will not suffer from duplication of data is to have one table of QuestionIDs that will have a fixed number for each ID, and another table that will have the reviosion, something like:
QuestionID
Revision
Score
so instead of having a fixed number for each revision the PK of a revision will be the questionID + revision number. I think it's more flexible data-structure, but am not sure if changing your database schema is acceptable for you.

Good luck
Zvika

 

by: NHBFighterPosted on 2004-12-01 at 09:28:48ID: 12718361

I guess the correct answer is that it can't be done using standard SQL. We actually changed the busniess rule to state that if a question is revised an update is made to the original record instead of a new row being inserted. I never lilke the way the original DB was set up anyway :)

Thanks
Dave

 

by: ZvikaPosted on 2004-12-01 at 21:51:00ID: 12723369

I don't see why the question should be closed...
NHBFighter said: "I guess the correct answer is that it can't be done using standard SQL."
this is exactly the answer I gave him in the first comment on this page
(>> Do you have any maximum number of possible "revisions" for a question? If not, Standard SQL (ANSI) can not give you what you need.)
and again on the last comment on this page
(>> As i wrote before, if you don't have an upper limit for revisions, I am sure it cannot be done in standard SQL. So, the answer for your question is "Can't be done".)

I think I gave him a full answer, no?

 

by: NHBFighterPosted on 2004-12-01 at 21:52:50ID: 12723379

Works for me

 

by: ZvikaPosted on 2004-12-01 at 22:02:10ID: 12723412

Thanks Fighter

Better late than never ;)

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...