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2 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>F.22. ltree — hierarchical tree-like data type</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets Vsnapshot" /><link rel="prev" href="lo.html" title="F.21. lo — manage large objects" /><link rel="next" href="pageinspect.html" title="F.23. pageinspect — low-level inspection of database pages" /></head><body id="docContent" class="container-fluid col-10"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center">F.22. ltree — hierarchical tree-like data type</th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="lo.html" title="F.21. lo — manage large objects">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="contrib.html" title="Appendix F. Additional Supplied Modules and Extensions">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">Appendix F. Additional Supplied Modules and Extensions</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 18.0 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pageinspect.html" title="F.23. pageinspect — low-level inspection of database pages">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="sect1" id="LTREE"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">F.22. ltree — hierarchical tree-like data type <a href="#LTREE" class="id_link">#</a></h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ltree.html#LTREE-DEFINITIONS">F.22.1. Definitions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ltree.html#LTREE-OPS-FUNCS">F.22.2. Operators and Functions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ltree.html#LTREE-INDEXES">F.22.3. Indexes</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ltree.html#LTREE-EXAMPLE">F.22.4. Example</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ltree.html#LTREE-TRANSFORMS">F.22.5. Transforms</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ltree.html#LTREE-AUTHORS">F.22.6. Authors</a></span></dt></dl></div><a id="id-1.11.7.32.2" class="indexterm"></a><p>
3 This module implements a data type <code class="type">ltree</code> for representing
4 labels of data stored in a hierarchical tree-like structure.
5 Extensive facilities for searching through label trees are provided.
7 This module is considered <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">trusted</span>”</span>, that is, it can be
8 installed by non-superusers who have <code class="literal">CREATE</code> privilege
9 on the current database.
10 </p><div class="sect2" id="LTREE-DEFINITIONS"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.22.1. Definitions <a href="#LTREE-DEFINITIONS" class="id_link">#</a></h3></div></div></div><p>
11 A <em class="firstterm">label</em> is a sequence of alphanumeric characters,
12 underscores, and hyphens. Valid alphanumeric character ranges are
13 dependent on the database locale. For example, in C locale, the characters
14 <code class="literal">A-Za-z0-9_-</code> are allowed.
15 Labels must be no more than 1000 characters long.
17 Examples: <code class="literal">42</code>, <code class="literal">Personal_Services</code>
19 A <em class="firstterm">label path</em> is a sequence of zero or more
20 labels separated by dots, for example <code class="literal">L1.L2.L3</code>, representing
21 a path from the root of a hierarchical tree to a particular node. The
22 length of a label path cannot exceed 65535 labels.
24 Example: <code class="literal">Top.Countries.Europe.Russia</code>
26 The <code class="filename">ltree</code> module provides several data types:
27 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
28 <code class="type">ltree</code> stores a label path.
29 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
30 <code class="type">lquery</code> represents a regular-expression-like pattern
31 for matching <code class="type">ltree</code> values. A simple word matches that
32 label within a path. A star symbol (<code class="literal">*</code>) matches zero
33 or more labels. These can be joined with dots to form a pattern that
34 must match the whole label path. For example:
35 </p><pre class="synopsis">
36 foo <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match the exact label path <code class="literal">foo</code></span></em>
37 *.foo.* <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match any label path containing the label <code class="literal">foo</code></span></em>
38 *.foo <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match any label path whose last label is <code class="literal">foo</code></span></em>
41 Both star symbols and simple words can be quantified to restrict how many
42 labels they can match:
43 </p><pre class="synopsis">
44 *{<em class="replaceable"><code>n</code></em>} <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match exactly <em class="replaceable"><code>n</code></em> labels</span></em>
45 *{<em class="replaceable"><code>n</code></em>,} <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match at least <em class="replaceable"><code>n</code></em> labels</span></em>
46 *{<em class="replaceable"><code>n</code></em>,<em class="replaceable"><code>m</code></em>} <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match at least <em class="replaceable"><code>n</code></em> but not more than <em class="replaceable"><code>m</code></em> labels</span></em>
47 *{,<em class="replaceable"><code>m</code></em>} <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match at most <em class="replaceable"><code>m</code></em> labels — same as </span></em>*{0,<em class="replaceable"><code>m</code></em>}
48 foo{<em class="replaceable"><code>n</code></em>,<em class="replaceable"><code>m</code></em>} <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match at least <em class="replaceable"><code>n</code></em> but not more than <em class="replaceable"><code>m</code></em> occurrences of <code class="literal">foo</code></span></em>
49 foo{,} <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match any number of occurrences of <code class="literal">foo</code>, including zero</span></em>
51 In the absence of any explicit quantifier, the default for a star symbol
52 is to match any number of labels (that is, <code class="literal">{,}</code>) while
53 the default for a non-star item is to match exactly once (that
54 is, <code class="literal">{1}</code>).
56 There are several modifiers that can be put at the end of a non-star
57 <code class="type">lquery</code> item to make it match more than just the exact match:
58 </p><pre class="synopsis">
59 @ <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match case-insensitively, for example <code class="literal">a@</code> matches <code class="literal">A</code></span></em>
60 * <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match any label with this prefix, for example <code class="literal">foo*</code> matches <code class="literal">foobar</code></span></em>
61 % <em class="lineannotation"><span class="lineannotation">Match initial underscore-separated words</span></em>
63 The behavior of <code class="literal">%</code> is a bit complicated. It tries to match
64 words rather than the entire label. For example
65 <code class="literal">foo_bar%</code> matches <code class="literal">foo_bar_baz</code> but not
66 <code class="literal">foo_barbaz</code>. If combined with <code class="literal">*</code>, prefix
67 matching applies to each word separately, for example
68 <code class="literal">foo_bar%*</code> matches <code class="literal">foo1_bar2_baz</code> but
69 not <code class="literal">foo1_br2_baz</code>.
71 Also, you can write several possibly-modified non-star items separated with
72 <code class="literal">|</code> (OR) to match any of those items, and you can put
73 <code class="literal">!</code> (NOT) at the start of a non-star group to match any
74 label that doesn't match any of the alternatives. A quantifier, if any,
75 goes at the end of the group; it means some number of matches for the
76 group as a whole (that is, some number of labels matching or not matching
77 any of the alternatives).
79 Here's an annotated example of <code class="type">lquery</code>:
80 </p><pre class="programlisting">
81 Top.*{0,2}.sport*@.!football|tennis{1,}.Russ*|Spain
84 This query will match any label path that:
85 </p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="a"><li class="listitem"><p>
86 begins with the label <code class="literal">Top</code>
87 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
88 and next has zero to two labels before
89 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
90 a label beginning with the case-insensitive prefix <code class="literal">sport</code>
91 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
92 then has one or more labels, none of which
93 match <code class="literal">football</code> nor <code class="literal">tennis</code>
94 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
95 and then ends with a label beginning with <code class="literal">Russ</code> or
96 exactly matching <code class="literal">Spain</code>.
97 </p></li></ol></div></li><li class="listitem"><p><code class="type">ltxtquery</code> represents a full-text-search-like
98 pattern for matching <code class="type">ltree</code> values. An
99 <code class="type">ltxtquery</code> value contains words, possibly with the
100 modifiers <code class="literal">@</code>, <code class="literal">*</code>, <code class="literal">%</code> at the end;
101 the modifiers have the same meanings as in <code class="type">lquery</code>.
102 Words can be combined with <code class="literal">&</code> (AND),
103 <code class="literal">|</code> (OR), <code class="literal">!</code> (NOT), and parentheses.
104 The key difference from
105 <code class="type">lquery</code> is that <code class="type">ltxtquery</code> matches words without
106 regard to their position in the label path.
108 Here's an example <code class="type">ltxtquery</code>:
109 </p><pre class="programlisting">
110 Europe & Russia*@ & !Transportation
112 This will match paths that contain the label <code class="literal">Europe</code> and
113 any label beginning with <code class="literal">Russia</code> (case-insensitive),
114 but not paths containing the label <code class="literal">Transportation</code>.
115 The location of these words within the path is not important.
116 Also, when <code class="literal">%</code> is used, the word can be matched to any
117 underscore-separated word within a label, regardless of position.
118 </p></li></ul></div><p>
119 Note: <code class="type">ltxtquery</code> allows whitespace between symbols, but
120 <code class="type">ltree</code> and <code class="type">lquery</code> do not.
121 </p></div><div class="sect2" id="LTREE-OPS-FUNCS"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.22.2. Operators and Functions <a href="#LTREE-OPS-FUNCS" class="id_link">#</a></h3></div></div></div><p>
122 Type <code class="type">ltree</code> has the usual comparison operators
123 <code class="literal">=</code>, <code class="literal"><></code>,
124 <code class="literal"><</code>, <code class="literal">></code>, <code class="literal"><=</code>, <code class="literal">>=</code>.
125 Comparison sorts in the order of a tree traversal, with the children
126 of a node sorted by label text. In addition, the specialized
127 operators shown in <a class="xref" href="ltree.html#LTREE-OP-TABLE" title="Table F.12. ltree Operators">Table F.12</a> are available.
128 </p><div class="table" id="LTREE-OP-TABLE"><p class="title"><strong>Table F.12. <code class="type">ltree</code> Operators</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="ltree Operators" border="1"><colgroup><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
133 </p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
134 <code class="type">ltree</code> <code class="literal">@></code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
135 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
138 Is left argument an ancestor of right (or equal)?
139 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
140 <code class="type">ltree</code> <code class="literal"><@</code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
141 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
144 Is left argument a descendant of right (or equal)?
145 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
146 <code class="type">ltree</code> <code class="literal">~</code> <code class="type">lquery</code>
147 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
149 <p class="func_signature">
150 <code class="type">lquery</code> <code class="literal">~</code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
151 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
154 Does <code class="type">ltree</code> match <code class="type">lquery</code>?
155 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
156 <code class="type">ltree</code> <code class="literal">?</code> <code class="type">lquery[]</code>
157 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
159 <p class="func_signature">
160 <code class="type">lquery[]</code> <code class="literal">?</code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
161 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
164 Does <code class="type">ltree</code> match any <code class="type">lquery</code> in array?
165 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
166 <code class="type">ltree</code> <code class="literal">@</code> <code class="type">ltxtquery</code>
167 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
169 <p class="func_signature">
170 <code class="type">ltxtquery</code> <code class="literal">@</code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
171 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
174 Does <code class="type">ltree</code> match <code class="type">ltxtquery</code>?
175 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
176 <code class="type">ltree</code> <code class="literal">||</code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
177 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
180 Concatenates <code class="type">ltree</code> paths.
181 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
182 <code class="type">ltree</code> <code class="literal">||</code> <code class="type">text</code>
183 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
185 <p class="func_signature">
186 <code class="type">text</code> <code class="literal">||</code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
187 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
190 Converts text to <code class="type">ltree</code> and concatenates.
191 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
192 <code class="type">ltree[]</code> <code class="literal">@></code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
193 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
195 <p class="func_signature">
196 <code class="type">ltree</code> <code class="literal"><@</code> <code class="type">ltree[]</code>
197 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
200 Does array contain an ancestor of <code class="type">ltree</code>?
201 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
202 <code class="type">ltree[]</code> <code class="literal"><@</code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
203 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
205 <p class="func_signature">
206 <code class="type">ltree</code> <code class="literal">@></code> <code class="type">ltree[]</code>
207 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
210 Does array contain a descendant of <code class="type">ltree</code>?
211 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
212 <code class="type">ltree[]</code> <code class="literal">~</code> <code class="type">lquery</code>
213 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
215 <p class="func_signature">
216 <code class="type">lquery</code> <code class="literal">~</code> <code class="type">ltree[]</code>
217 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
220 Does array contain any path matching <code class="type">lquery</code>?
221 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
222 <code class="type">ltree[]</code> <code class="literal">?</code> <code class="type">lquery[]</code>
223 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
225 <p class="func_signature">
226 <code class="type">lquery[]</code> <code class="literal">?</code> <code class="type">ltree[]</code>
227 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
230 Does <code class="type">ltree</code> array contain any path matching
231 any <code class="type">lquery</code>?
232 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
233 <code class="type">ltree[]</code> <code class="literal">@</code> <code class="type">ltxtquery</code>
234 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
236 <p class="func_signature">
237 <code class="type">ltxtquery</code> <code class="literal">@</code> <code class="type">ltree[]</code>
238 → <code class="returnvalue">boolean</code>
241 Does array contain any path matching <code class="type">ltxtquery</code>?
242 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
243 <code class="type">ltree[]</code> <code class="literal">?@></code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
244 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
247 Returns first array entry that is an ancestor of <code class="type">ltree</code>,
248 or <code class="literal">NULL</code> if none.
249 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
250 <code class="type">ltree[]</code> <code class="literal">?<@</code> <code class="type">ltree</code>
251 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
254 Returns first array entry that is a descendant of <code class="type">ltree</code>,
255 or <code class="literal">NULL</code> if none.
256 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
257 <code class="type">ltree[]</code> <code class="literal">?~</code> <code class="type">lquery</code>
258 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
261 Returns first array entry that matches <code class="type">lquery</code>,
262 or <code class="literal">NULL</code> if none.
263 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
264 <code class="type">ltree[]</code> <code class="literal">?@</code> <code class="type">ltxtquery</code>
265 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
268 Returns first array entry that matches <code class="type">ltxtquery</code>,
269 or <code class="literal">NULL</code> if none.
270 </p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
271 The operators <code class="literal"><@</code>, <code class="literal">@></code>,
272 <code class="literal">@</code> and <code class="literal">~</code> have analogues
273 <code class="literal">^<@</code>, <code class="literal">^@></code>, <code class="literal">^@</code>,
274 <code class="literal">^~</code>, which are the same except they do not use
275 indexes. These are useful only for testing purposes.
277 The available functions are shown in <a class="xref" href="ltree.html#LTREE-FUNC-TABLE" title="Table F.13. ltree Functions">Table F.13</a>.
278 </p><div class="table" id="LTREE-FUNC-TABLE"><p class="title"><strong>Table F.13. <code class="type">ltree</code> Functions</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="ltree Functions" border="1"><colgroup><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
286 </p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
287 <a id="id-1.11.7.32.6.6.2.2.1.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
288 <code class="function">subltree</code> ( <code class="type">ltree</code>, <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code>, <em class="parameter"><code>end</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> )
289 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
292 Returns subpath of <code class="type">ltree</code> from
293 position <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em> to
294 position <em class="parameter"><code>end</code></em>-1 (counting from 0).
297 <code class="literal">subltree('Top.Child1.Child2', 1, 2)</code>
298 → <code class="returnvalue">Child1</code>
299 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
300 <a id="id-1.11.7.32.6.6.2.2.2.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
301 <code class="function">subpath</code> ( <code class="type">ltree</code>, <em class="parameter"><code>offset</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code>, <em class="parameter"><code>len</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> )
302 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
305 Returns subpath of <code class="type">ltree</code> starting at
306 position <em class="parameter"><code>offset</code></em>, with
307 length <em class="parameter"><code>len</code></em>. If <em class="parameter"><code>offset</code></em>
308 is negative, subpath starts that far from the end of the path.
309 If <em class="parameter"><code>len</code></em> is negative, leaves that many labels off
313 <code class="literal">subpath('Top.Child1.Child2', 0, 2)</code>
314 → <code class="returnvalue">Top.Child1</code>
315 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
316 <code class="function">subpath</code> ( <code class="type">ltree</code>, <em class="parameter"><code>offset</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> )
317 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
320 Returns subpath of <code class="type">ltree</code> starting at
321 position <em class="parameter"><code>offset</code></em>, extending to end of path.
322 If <em class="parameter"><code>offset</code></em> is negative, subpath starts that far
323 from the end of the path.
326 <code class="literal">subpath('Top.Child1.Child2', 1)</code>
327 → <code class="returnvalue">Child1.Child2</code>
328 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
329 <a id="id-1.11.7.32.6.6.2.2.4.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
330 <code class="function">nlevel</code> ( <code class="type">ltree</code> )
331 → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
334 Returns number of labels in path.
337 <code class="literal">nlevel('Top.Child1.Child2')</code>
338 → <code class="returnvalue">3</code>
339 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
340 <a id="id-1.11.7.32.6.6.2.2.5.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
341 <code class="function">index</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>a</code></em> <code class="type">ltree</code>, <em class="parameter"><code>b</code></em> <code class="type">ltree</code> )
342 → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
345 Returns position of first occurrence of <em class="parameter"><code>b</code></em> in
346 <em class="parameter"><code>a</code></em>, or -1 if not found.
349 <code class="literal">index('0.1.2.3.5.4.5.6.8.5.6.8', '5.6')</code>
350 → <code class="returnvalue">6</code>
351 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
352 <code class="function">index</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>a</code></em> <code class="type">ltree</code>, <em class="parameter"><code>b</code></em> <code class="type">ltree</code>, <em class="parameter"><code>offset</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> )
353 → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
356 Returns position of first occurrence of <em class="parameter"><code>b</code></em>
357 in <em class="parameter"><code>a</code></em>, or -1 if not found. The search starts at
358 position <em class="parameter"><code>offset</code></em>;
359 negative <em class="parameter"><code>offset</code></em> means
360 start <em class="parameter"><code>-offset</code></em> labels from the end of the path.
363 <code class="literal">index('0.1.2.3.5.4.5.6.8.5.6.8', '5.6', -4)</code>
364 → <code class="returnvalue">9</code>
365 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
366 <a id="id-1.11.7.32.6.6.2.2.7.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
367 <code class="function">text2ltree</code> ( <code class="type">text</code> )
368 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
371 Casts <code class="type">text</code> to <code class="type">ltree</code>.
372 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
373 <a id="id-1.11.7.32.6.6.2.2.8.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
374 <code class="function">ltree2text</code> ( <code class="type">ltree</code> )
375 → <code class="returnvalue">text</code>
378 Casts <code class="type">ltree</code> to <code class="type">text</code>.
379 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
380 <a id="id-1.11.7.32.6.6.2.2.9.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
381 <code class="function">lca</code> ( <code class="type">ltree</code> [<span class="optional">, <code class="type">ltree</code> [<span class="optional">, ... </span>]</span>] )
382 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
385 Computes longest common ancestor of paths
386 (up to 8 arguments are supported).
389 <code class="literal">lca('1.2.3', '1.2.3.4.5.6')</code>
390 → <code class="returnvalue">1.2</code>
391 </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
392 <code class="function">lca</code> ( <code class="type">ltree[]</code> )
393 → <code class="returnvalue">ltree</code>
396 Computes longest common ancestor of paths in array.
399 <code class="literal">lca(array['1.2.3'::ltree,'1.2.3.4'])</code>
400 → <code class="returnvalue">1.2</code>
401 </p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2" id="LTREE-INDEXES"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.22.3. Indexes <a href="#LTREE-INDEXES" class="id_link">#</a></h3></div></div></div><p>
402 <code class="filename">ltree</code> supports several types of indexes that can speed
403 up the indicated operators:
404 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
405 B-tree index over <code class="type">ltree</code>:
406 <code class="literal"><</code>, <code class="literal"><=</code>, <code class="literal">=</code>,
407 <code class="literal">>=</code>, <code class="literal">></code>
408 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
409 Hash index over <code class="type">ltree</code>:
410 <code class="literal">=</code>
411 </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
412 GiST index over <code class="type">ltree</code> (<code class="literal">gist_ltree_ops</code>
414 <code class="literal"><</code>, <code class="literal"><=</code>, <code class="literal">=</code>,
415 <code class="literal">>=</code>, <code class="literal">></code>,
416 <code class="literal">@></code>, <code class="literal"><@</code>,
417 <code class="literal">@</code>, <code class="literal">~</code>, <code class="literal">?</code>
419 <code class="literal">gist_ltree_ops</code> GiST opclass approximates a set of
420 path labels as a bitmap signature. Its optional integer parameter
421 <code class="literal">siglen</code> determines the
422 signature length in bytes. The default signature length is 8 bytes.
423 The length must be a positive multiple of <code class="type">int</code> alignment
424 (4 bytes on most machines)) up to 2024. Longer
425 signatures lead to a more precise search (scanning a smaller fraction of the index and
426 fewer heap pages), at the cost of a larger index.
428 Example of creating such an index with the default signature length of 8 bytes:
429 </p><pre class="programlisting">
430 CREATE INDEX path_gist_idx ON test USING GIST (path);
432 Example of creating such an index with a signature length of 100 bytes:
433 </p><pre class="programlisting">
434 CREATE INDEX path_gist_idx ON test USING GIST (path gist_ltree_ops(siglen=100));
435 </pre></li><li class="listitem"><p>
436 GiST index over <code class="type">ltree[]</code> (<code class="literal">gist__ltree_ops</code>
438 <code class="literal">ltree[] <@ ltree</code>, <code class="literal">ltree @> ltree[]</code>,
439 <code class="literal">@</code>, <code class="literal">~</code>, <code class="literal">?</code>
441 <code class="literal">gist__ltree_ops</code> GiST opclass works similarly to
442 <code class="literal">gist_ltree_ops</code> and also takes signature length as
443 a parameter. The default value of <code class="literal">siglen</code> in
444 <code class="literal">gist__ltree_ops</code> is 28 bytes.
446 Example of creating such an index with the default signature length of 28 bytes:
447 </p><pre class="programlisting">
448 CREATE INDEX path_gist_idx ON test USING GIST (array_path);
450 Example of creating such an index with a signature length of 100 bytes:
451 </p><pre class="programlisting">
452 CREATE INDEX path_gist_idx ON test USING GIST (array_path gist__ltree_ops(siglen=100));
454 Note: This index type is lossy.
455 </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect2" id="LTREE-EXAMPLE"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.22.4. Example <a href="#LTREE-EXAMPLE" class="id_link">#</a></h3></div></div></div><p>
456 This example uses the following data (also available in file
457 <code class="filename">contrib/ltree/ltreetest.sql</code> in the source distribution):
458 </p><pre class="programlisting">
459 CREATE TABLE test (path ltree);
460 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top');
461 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Science');
462 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Science.Astronomy');
463 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Science.Astronomy.Astrophysics');
464 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Science.Astronomy.Cosmology');
465 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Hobbies');
466 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Hobbies.Amateurs_Astronomy');
467 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Collections');
468 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Collections.Pictures');
469 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Collections.Pictures.Astronomy');
470 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Collections.Pictures.Astronomy.Stars');
471 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Collections.Pictures.Astronomy.Galaxies');
472 INSERT INTO test VALUES ('Top.Collections.Pictures.Astronomy.Astronauts');
473 CREATE INDEX path_gist_idx ON test USING GIST (path);
474 CREATE INDEX path_idx ON test USING BTREE (path);
475 CREATE INDEX path_hash_idx ON test USING HASH (path);
477 Now, we have a table <code class="structname">test</code> populated with data describing
478 the hierarchy shown below:
479 </p><pre class="literallayout">
482 Science Hobbies Collections
484 Astronomy Amateurs_Astronomy Pictures
486 Astrophysics Cosmology Astronomy
488 Galaxies Stars Astronauts
490 We can do inheritance:
491 </p><pre class="screen">
492 ltreetest=> SELECT path FROM test WHERE path <@ 'Top.Science';
494 ------------------------------------
496 Top.Science.Astronomy
497 Top.Science.Astronomy.Astrophysics
498 Top.Science.Astronomy.Cosmology
502 Here are some examples of path matching:
503 </p><pre class="screen">
504 ltreetest=> SELECT path FROM test WHERE path ~ '*.Astronomy.*';
506 -----------------------------------------------
507 Top.Science.Astronomy
508 Top.Science.Astronomy.Astrophysics
509 Top.Science.Astronomy.Cosmology
510 Top.Collections.Pictures.Astronomy
511 Top.Collections.Pictures.Astronomy.Stars
512 Top.Collections.Pictures.Astronomy.Galaxies
513 Top.Collections.Pictures.Astronomy.Astronauts
516 ltreetest=> SELECT path FROM test WHERE path ~ '*.!pictures@.Astronomy.*';
518 ------------------------------------
519 Top.Science.Astronomy
520 Top.Science.Astronomy.Astrophysics
521 Top.Science.Astronomy.Cosmology
525 Here are some examples of full text search:
526 </p><pre class="screen">
527 ltreetest=> SELECT path FROM test WHERE path @ 'Astro*% & !pictures@';
529 ------------------------------------
530 Top.Science.Astronomy
531 Top.Science.Astronomy.Astrophysics
532 Top.Science.Astronomy.Cosmology
533 Top.Hobbies.Amateurs_Astronomy
536 ltreetest=> SELECT path FROM test WHERE path @ 'Astro* & !pictures@';
538 ------------------------------------
539 Top.Science.Astronomy
540 Top.Science.Astronomy.Astrophysics
541 Top.Science.Astronomy.Cosmology
545 Path construction using functions:
546 </p><pre class="screen">
547 ltreetest=> SELECT subpath(path,0,2)||'Space'||subpath(path,2) FROM test WHERE path <@ 'Top.Science.Astronomy';
549 ------------------------------------------
550 Top.Science.Space.Astronomy
551 Top.Science.Space.Astronomy.Astrophysics
552 Top.Science.Space.Astronomy.Cosmology
556 We could simplify this by creating an SQL function that inserts a label
557 at a specified position in a path:
558 </p><pre class="screen">
559 CREATE FUNCTION ins_label(ltree, int, text) RETURNS ltree
560 AS 'select subpath($1,0,$2) || $3 || subpath($1,$2);'
561 LANGUAGE SQL IMMUTABLE;
563 ltreetest=> SELECT ins_label(path,2,'Space') FROM test WHERE path <@ 'Top.Science.Astronomy';
565 ------------------------------------------
566 Top.Science.Space.Astronomy
567 Top.Science.Space.Astronomy.Astrophysics
568 Top.Science.Space.Astronomy.Cosmology
571 </p></div><div class="sect2" id="LTREE-TRANSFORMS"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.22.5. Transforms <a href="#LTREE-TRANSFORMS" class="id_link">#</a></h3></div></div></div><p>
572 The <code class="literal">ltree_plpython3u</code> extension implements transforms for
573 the <code class="type">ltree</code> type for PL/Python. If installed and specified when
574 creating a function, <code class="type">ltree</code> values are mapped to Python lists.
575 (The reverse is currently not supported, however.)
576 </p></div><div class="sect2" id="LTREE-AUTHORS"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.22.6. Authors <a href="#LTREE-AUTHORS" class="id_link">#</a></h3></div></div></div><p>
577 All work was done by Teodor Sigaev (<code class="email"><<a class="email" href="mailto:teodor@stack.net">teodor@stack.net</a>></code>) and
578 Oleg Bartunov (<code class="email"><<a class="email" href="mailto:oleg@sai.msu.su">oleg@sai.msu.su</a>></code>). See
579 <a class="ulink" href="http://www.sai.msu.su/~megera/postgres/gist/" target="_top">http://www.sai.msu.su/~megera/postgres/gist/</a> for
580 additional information. Authors would like to thank Eugeny Rodichev for
581 helpful discussions. Comments and bug reports are welcome.
582 </p></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="lo.html" title="F.21. lo — manage large objects">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="contrib.html" title="Appendix F. Additional Supplied Modules and Extensions">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pageinspect.html" title="F.23. pageinspect — low-level inspection of database pages">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">F.21. lo — manage large objects </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 18.0 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> F.23. pageinspect — low-level inspection of database pages</td></tr></table></div></body></html>