Thread: Table Alias posing problem in Update statements

Hi experts,

I am facing a problem using a Alias on a table while updating that table.

I am trying something like

UPDATE Table1 T1 SET  = (SELECT DISTINCT col2 FROM Table2 T2 WHERE
T2.col3 = T1.col1)

T1 and T2 are table aliases.

Here I am trying to update a column in all the rows in table "Table1"
depending on value of another column for the same row.
But the query is not working. It is not allowing alias in the update
query (i.e. alias T1 on table "Table1").

Am I making a mistake somewhere in the syntax? Or, is it just not
supported in postgresql?
I am using postgreSQL version 8.2.

I have observed similar problems with delete statements also.
But these types of queries run successfully on Oracle.

Thanks in advance.
Pushker Chaubey


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Read the SQL-Reference for your version. For PostgreSQL 8.1.3 this is

Synopsis
UPDATE [ ONLY ] table SET column = { expression | DEFAULT } [, ...]
     [ FROM fromlist ]
     [ WHERE condition ]

Description
UPDATE changes the values of the specified columns in all rows that
satisfy the condition. Only the columns to be modified need be mentioned
in the SET clause; columns not explicitly modified retain their previous
values.

By default, UPDATE will update rows in the specified table and all its
subtables. If you wish to only update the specific table mentioned, you
must use the ONLY clause.

There are two ways to modify a table using information contained in
other tables in the database: using sub-selects, or specifying
additional tables in the FROM clause. Which technique is more
appropriate depends on the specific circumstances.

You must have the UPDATE privilege on the table to update it, as well as
the SELECT privilege to any table whose values are read in the
expressions or condition.

Parameters
table
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to update.

That means there is no alias allowed in UPDATE.

Ingmar

Pushker Chaubey schrieb:
>
> Hi experts,
>
> I am facing a problem using a Alias on a table while updating that table.
>
> I am trying something like
>
> UPDATE Table1 T1 SET  = (SELECT DISTINCT col2 FROM Table2 T2 WHERE
> T2.col3 = T1.col1)
>
> T1 and T2 are table aliases.
>
> Here I am trying to update a column in all the rows in table "Table1"
> depending on value of another column for the same row.
> But the query is not working. It is not allowing alias in the update
> query (i.e. alias T1 on table "Table1").
>
> Am I making a mistake somewhere in the syntax? Or, is it just not
> supported in postgresql?
> I am using postgreSQL version 8.2.
>
> I have observed similar problems with delete statements also.
> But these types of queries run successfully on Oracle.
>
> Thanks in advance.
> Pushker Chaubey