SYS_CONNECT_BY

Syntax

Description of the illustration sys_connect_by_path.eps

Purpose

SYS_CONNECT_BY_PATH is valid only in hierarchical queries. It returns the path of a column value from root to node, with column values separated by char for each row returned by CONNECT BY condition.

Both column and char can be any of the data types CHAR, VARCHAR2, NCHAR, or NVARCHAR2. The string returned is of VARCHAR2 data type and is in the same character set as column.

See Also:

"Hierarchical Queries" for more information about hierarchical queries and CONNECT BY conditions
Appendix C in Oracle Database Globalization Support Guide for the collation derivation rules, which define the collation assigned to the character return value of SYS_CONNECT_BY_PATH

Examples

The following example returns the path of employee names from employee Kochhar to all employees of Kochhar (and their employees):

SELECT LPAD(' ', 2*level-1)||SYS_CONNECT_BY_PATH(last_name, '/') "Path"
   FROM employees
   START WITH last_name = 'Kochhar'
   CONNECT BY PRIOR employee_id = manager_id;

Path
------------------------------
     /Kochhar/Greenberg/Chen
     /Kochhar/Greenberg/Faviet
     /Kochhar/Greenberg/Popp
     /Kochhar/Greenberg/Sciarra
     /Kochhar/Greenberg/Urman
     /Kochhar/Higgins/Gietz
   /Kochhar/Baer
   /Kochhar/Greenberg
   /Kochhar/Higgins
   /Kochhar/Mavris
   /Kochhar/Whalen
 /Kochhar