Question

Update statement using inner join

Asked by: servantis

I have two tables ALPHA and BETA. I need to update the BETAID to the ALPHAID. The BETAID is currently set to the ALPHADESC so I am joining on this column.

The following update statement works fine in SQL Server:

UPDATE BETA
SET BETAID= A.ALPHAID
FROM TABLE BETA
INNER JOIN ALPHA A
ON BETAID= A.ALPHADESC

So using the lookup table Alpha:-

ALPHAID        ALPHADESC
1                   First
2                   Second
3                   Third

This changes the Beta table from:-

BETAID
First
Second
Third

To:-

BETAID
1
2
3

So, the query is simply using a lookup table to replace a description with its corresponding ID, one row at a time. I now need to replicate this query in Oracle. Using the following:-

UPDATE BETA
SET BETAID = (SELECT A.ALPHAID FROM ALPHA A, BETA B
WHERE B.BETAID = A.ALPHADESC);

Results in 'single-row subquery returns more than one row', as expected. How would I rewrite this query for oracle?


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
2006-01-29 at 16:18:33ID21714790
Tags

update

,

join

,

oracle

,

inner

,

statement

Topic

Oracle Database

Participating Experts
5
Points
125
Comments
15

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. Inner join in Oracle??
    how do you do an inner join in oracle ? ie select * from table1, table2 where table1.id = table2.id Who do I include all table1 regardles of weather match is found in table2?
  2. inner join in oracle 8
    Hello I am new wroking in Oracle, so I want to know if the inner join clause work in Oracle 8. Thanks a lot Giova
  3. INNER JOIN two subqueries
    SELECT * FROM( SELECT a, b FROM T1 )SUB1 SELECT * FROM( SELECT c, d FROM T3 )SUB2 How can I inner join them? thx
  4. Oracle 9.2.05 bug with INNER JOIN ANSI?
    Hi, I'm working on a medium size project and have recently deployed the code to our client. When work began we agreed on Oracle 9.2.0.1 as the version and all my SQL statements work fine with this version. Now I drop the code to an Oracle 9.2.0.5 flavor of the database and...
  5. Trouble with an inner join...
    Ok i have this sql statement i try to run but get the error: Join expression not supported I'm pretty new to access so any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated! Here's the code: SELECT ComputerName FROM dbo_ComputerMasterList1 INNER JOIN dbo_qryReportsPatchByC...

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: mgh_mgharishPosted on 2006-01-29 at 16:22:42ID: 15820108

Hi servantis, try this:

UPDATE BETA
SET BETAID = (SELECT MAX(A.ALPHAID) FROM ALPHA A, BETA B
WHERE B.BETAID = A.ALPHADESC);


---
Harish

 

by: servantisPosted on 2006-01-29 at 16:33:24ID: 15820151

Harish, MAX(A.ALPHAID) sets, all the BETAID's to the highest value in the lookup table, so if I have a table with 1/3 'First', 1/3 'Second' and 1/3 'Third, it sets all the BETAIDs to '3', which is incorrect. I've also tried group by, having count and distinct and none of these update the rows one at a time like the inner join syntax does.

 

by: mgh_mgharishPosted on 2006-01-29 at 16:39:14ID: 15820179

Why don't you use the same inner join in Oracle ?

 

by: servantisPosted on 2006-01-29 at 16:54:22ID: 15820271

It doesn't seem to work. I'm on Oracle 9.2.0.1.0. Should it work?

Is the 'inner join syntax' supported in oracle. If so does it differ from the SQL Server standard?

 

by: mgh_mgharishPosted on 2006-01-29 at 17:04:17ID: 15820325

I am not an expert at joins :)

But I think you need to remove "TABLE" from your SQL query..

UPDATE BETA SET BETAID= A.ALPHAID
FROM BETA INNER JOIN ALPHA A
ON BETAID= A.ALPHADESC

 

by: servantisPosted on 2006-01-29 at 17:19:39ID: 15820422

No luck I'm afraid. Oracle doesn't seem to like the 'FROM' clause. Any other suggestions?

 

by: mgh_mgharishPosted on 2006-01-29 at 17:25:11ID: 15820452

What error did it give ?

 

by: mgh_mgharishPosted on 2006-01-29 at 17:29:22ID: 15820471

 

by: jrb1Posted on 2006-01-30 at 01:57:52ID: 15822211

In oracle, this works better:

UPDATE BETA
SET BETAID= (select ALPHAID from alpha where betaid = alphadescr)
where exists  (select ALPHAID from alpha where betaid = alphadescr)

 

by: jazzylinePosted on 2006-01-30 at 08:08:59ID: 15824640

If there are no duplicates then this should work:
UPDATE beta b
SET b.betaid = (SELECT a.alphaid
                       FROM  alpha a
                       WHERE a.alphadesc = b.betaid)

If there dupes then this will work:
UPDATE beta b
set b.betaid = (SELECT a.alphaid
                       FROM  (SELECT a.alphaid,a.alphadesc
                                     FROM alpha a
                               GROUP BY a.alphaid,a.alphadesc) a
                            WHERE a.alphadesc = b.betaid)

 

by: awking00Posted on 2006-01-30 at 08:34:50ID: 15824901

update beta
set beta.betaid = (select alpha.alphaid from alpha
                           where beta.betaid = alpha.alphadesc);

 

by: servantisPosted on 2006-01-31 at 14:00:19ID: 15838260

What if I want update a table based on joins to several other tables?  In sql server I can achieve this through several inner joins.

 

by: jazzylinePosted on 2006-01-31 at 19:35:20ID: 15840160

servantis,
Sure, you can achieve the same thing in Oracle as well, in which case you'll just need to modify the above mentioned query to include the join conditions.

 

by: jrb1Posted on 2006-01-31 at 22:13:29ID: 15840868

you will need the "where exists".  if not, rows can be updated to null values even though you already have data in that field.

 

by: RCorfmanPosted on 2006-02-05 at 13:52:40ID: 15878785

yes, you need the exists to ensure only rows with matching values are updated and the max to ensure that you only get one row on the updating subquery, also, the subquery has to be a 'collated' subquery so that it retrieves child records that match the parent.  The "and exists ...." can be left out if ou know there is a matching record in alpha for every record in beta.

UPDATE BETA
SET BETAID = (SELECT max(A.ALPHAID) FROM ALPHA A, BETA B
WHERE B.BETAID = A.ALPHADESC)
and exists (select 'x' from alpha a, beta b where b.betaid=a.alphadesc);

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...