Re: SQL - find 'missing' numbers

On Tue, Sep 29, 2015 at 12:28 PM, T. Adair <tadair@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Chuck, you are amazing! That is exactly what I need. Now I can expand upon
this technique to get the desired results (the original example was
oversimplified). Plus I have a new 'tool' for future use.

I don't know if what he and Buck described would be considered a
"common SQL idiom" for producing a temporary range of numbers. I mean,
it definitely feels to me as though it might be. My SQL is just too
rudimentary for me to make that judgment.

But it also might be worth including a quick comment in the code that
lets less advanced readers know that "hey, we're just generating a
range of numbers here". Just a thought, for the sake of future
readability and maintainability.

For that matter, I wonder if some folks out there really do just keep
around a table of sequential numbers to make the SQL simpler in cases
like this. (And Charles Wilt's post just came in, suggesting the
affirmative.)

John Y.