Circular Record Reference

[ruse7013]

To: All Who Love Oracle Challenges

Environment:
Oracle8i (8.1.7)

Scenario:
The following records exist in a table:

ITEM DEST SRC
---- ---- ----
1111 101 201
1111 201 202
1111 202 101

or in a generic example, we have:

ITEM DEST SRC
---- ---- ----
1111 A B
1111 B C
1111 C A

Question:
What would be the best approach in Oracle8i to find a circular reference in columns DEST and SRC? For example, for ITEM=1111, the following circular reference exists for DEST->SRC: A->B->C->A

Any ideas are highly appreciated!
Thanks.

Regards,
<ruse7013>

 

[lewisp]

Use a CONNECT BY PRIOR and trap the Oracle error.

 

[ruse7013]

Hi lewisp,

Thank you for your idea. The challenge has been resolved. It's a very short and "cute" solution.

Regards,
<ruse7013>