Recursive function in postgres
22,279
A classic approach, known from other programming languages, in which a function calls itself:
create or replace function recursive_function (ct int, pr int)
returns table (counter int, product int)
language plpgsql
as $$
begin
return query select ct, pr;
if ct < 10 then
return query select * from recursive_function(ct+ 1, pr * (ct+ 1));
end if;
end $$;
select * from recursive_function (1, 1);
You can compare this with an iterative solution in a loop:
create or replace function loop_function ()
returns table (counter int, product int)
language plpgsql
as $$
declare
ct int;
pr int = 1;
begin
for ct in 1..10 loop
pr = ct* pr;
return query select ct, pr;
end loop;
end $$;
select * from loop_function ();
Of course, you can also put the recursive query inside an SQL function:
create or replace function recursive_query()
returns table (counter int, product int)
language sql
as $$
with recursive source as (
select 1 as counter, 1 as product
union all
select counter+ 1, product* (counter+ 1)
from source
where counter < 10
)
select counter, product
from source
$$;
select * from recursive_query();
Author by
PL-SQL Developer1000
Updated on June 05, 2020Comments
-
PL-SQL Developer1000 almost 4 years
How to map below query to postgres function.
WITH RECURSIVE source (counter, product) AS ( SELECT 1, 1 UNION ALL SELECT counter + 1, product * (counter + 1) FROM source WHERE counter < 10 ) SELECT counter, product FROM source;
I am new to postgres. I want to achieve same functionality using PL/pgsql function.
-
jps almost 9 yearsIs using the recursive style likely to cause stack overflows if traversing a deeply nested structure?
-
klin almost 9 years@rastapanda - Postgres has a configuration parameter
max_stack_depth
, that specifies the maximum depth of the server's execution stack. It's default value (2MB) severely limits recursive functions. A simple test recursive function with two integer arguments reaches the limit on about 1000th level. Read more in the documentation.