Thread: cascading backwards

cascading backwards

From
Paul Makepeace
Date:
If a table A contains a foreign key to table B is it possible to have
a DELETE remove the targetted row in B when there are no longer any
other references in A to it? Either with SQL or using some other
PostgreSQL facility.

As an example,

Body:
body_id data
1       "some news"

Page:
page_id body_id name
10      1       "news"
11      1       "recent news"

If page_id=10 is deleted, nothing extra happens. If page_id=11 is
deleted, body_id=1 goes with it.

Many thanks, Paul

--
Paul Makepeace ....................................... http://paulm.com/

"If kangaroos graduate, then it shall rain in ghana on my sweet
 potatoes."
   -- http://paulm.com/toys/surrealism/


Re: cascading backwards

From
Ron Johnson
Date:
On Thu, 2003-05-08 at 16:55, Paul Makepeace wrote:
> If a table A contains a foreign key to table B is it possible to have
> a DELETE remove the targetted row in B when there are no longer any
> other references in A to it? Either with SQL or using some other
> PostgreSQL facility.
>
> As an example,
>
> Body:
> body_id data
> 1       "some news"
>
> Page:
> page_id body_id name
> 10      1       "news"
> 11      1       "recent news"
>
> If page_id=10 is deleted, nothing extra happens. If page_id=11 is
> deleted, body_id=1 goes with it.

How about an AFTER DELETE trigger on Page?

pseudo-code:
  tmp = old.body_id;
  If count(*) = 0 where body_id=tmp then
    delete from Body where body_id=tmp;
  end if;

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