linking data from 2 tables

[xelianx]

Hi,

I'm relatively new to SQL and databases in general, and I have a question about linking data between 2 tables. I have one table which lists department names and each department has its own id (primary key) it looks like this:

id int8
name varchar(50)

I have another table which stores data from user input. One of the columns is the department id.

task_id int8
.
.
.
department_id int8 <- this would map to the id column in the previous table.


Is it possible to link the department id column in the user input table to the other table so that when I run a query, the department name will be returned instead of the id?

Thanks!

-Mike

 

[feherke]

Hi

Yes or no. Yes, they could be linked, which in SQL is called [tt]join[/tt]. No, if you want this to happen automagically each time without your contribution.

[b]select[/b]
department.name,userinput.*

[b]from[/b] department
[b]inner join[/b] userinput [b]on[/b] userinput.department_id=department.id

If you need it many times, then better create a view

[b]create view[/b] userinput_with_name [b]as[/b]
[b]select[/b]
department.name,userinput.*

[b]from[/b] department
[b]inner join[/b] userinput [b]on[/b] userinput.department_id=department.id

Then when you need data [tt]select[/tt] from the view instead of the table :

[b]select[/b]
*

[b]from[/b] userinput_with_name

Note : I do not like views and I do not suggest to use them. I mentioned this possibility just as information.

Feherke.

http://rootshell.be/~feherke/