SEQUENCE_TABLE(n) function¶

Using SEQUENCE_TABLE() function provides the following:

Benefit	Description
Generates Sequences	Acts as an inline table-valued function that generates a sequence of numbers.
Table-Valued Function	Unlike traditional scalar functions, `SEQUENCE_TABLE()` returns a virtual table with a single column named `value` containing the generated sequence.
Simpler Syntax	Simplifies queries that need to generate predictable sequences of numbers.
Flexibility	Allows dynamic definition of sequences within queries, offering more control compared to pre-defined tables for sequences.
Predefined Sequence	Does not manage sequences like Oracle or PostgreSQL; instead, it allows definition and generation of sequences within a `SELECT` statement.
Customization	Enables customization of starting value, increment/decrement amount, and number of values to generate.

Version update¶

Percona Server for MySQL 8.0.37 deprecated SEQUENCE_TABLE(), and this function can be removed in a future release. We recommend that you use PERCONA_SEQUENCE_TABLE() instead.

To maintain compatibility with existing third-party software, SEQUENCE_TABLE is no longer a reserved term and can be used as a regular identifier.

Percona Server for MySQL 8.0.20-11 introduced the SEQUENCE_TABLE() function.

Table functions¶

The function is an inline table-valued function. This function creates a temporary table with multiple rows. You can use this function within a single SELECT statement. Oracle MySQL Server only has the JSON_TABLE table function. The Percona Server for MySQL has the JSON_TABLE and SEQUENCE_TABLE() table functions. A single SELECT statement generates a multi-row result set. In contrast, a scalar function (like EXP(x) or LOWER(str) always returns a single value of a specific data type.

Syntax¶

As with any derived tables, a table function requires an alias in the SELECT statement.

The result set is a single column with the predefined column name value of type BIGINT UNSIGNED. You can reference the value column in SELECT statements. The following statements are valid. Using n as the number of generated values, the following is the basic syntax:

SEQUENCE_TABLE(n) [AS] alias

SELECT … FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(n) [AS] alias

SEQUENCE_TABLE(n) [AS] alias

SELECT * FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(n) AS tt;
SELECT <expr(value)> FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(n) AS tt;

The first number in the series, the initial term, is defined as 0, and the series ends with a value less than n.

Example usage¶

Using SEQUENCE_TABLE():

mysql> SELECT * FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(5)) AS sequence_data;

Using PERCONA_SEQUENCE_TABLE():

mysql> SELECT * FROM PERCONA_SEQUENCE_TABLE(5)) AS sequence_data;

Basic sequence generation¶

In this example, the following statement generates a sequence:

mysql> SELECT * FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(3) AS tt;

Expected output

+-------+
| value |
+-------+
|     0 |
|     1 |
|     2 |
+-------+

Start with a specific value¶

You can define the initial value using the WHERE clause. The following example starts the sequence with 4.

SELECT value AS result FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(8) AS tt WHERE value >= 4;

Expected output

+--------+
| result |
+--------+
|      4 |
|      5 |
|      6 |
|      7 |
+--------+

Filter even numbers¶

Consecutive terms increase or decrease by a common difference. The default common difference value is 1. However, it is possible to filter the results using the WHERE clause to simulate common differences greater than 1.

The following example prints only even numbers from the 0..7 range:

SELECT value AS result FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(8) AS tt WHERE value % 2 = 0;

Expected output

+--------+
| result |
+--------+
|      0 |
|      2 |
|      4 |
|      6 |
+--------+

Generate random numbers¶

The following is an example of using the function to populate a table with a set of random numbers:

mysql> SELECT FLOOR(RAND() * 100) AS result FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(4) AS tt;

The output could be the following:

Expected output

+--------+
| result |
+--------+
|     24 |
|     56 |
|     70 |
|     25 |
+--------+

Generate random strings¶

You can populate a table with a set of pseudo-random strings with the following statement:

mysql> SELECT MD5(value) AS result FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(4) AS tt;

Expected output

+----------------------------------+
| result                           |
+----------------------------------+
| f17d9c990f40f8ac215f2ecdfd7d0451 |
| 2e5751b7cfd7f053cd29e946fb2649a4 |
| b026324c6904b2a9cb4b88d6d61c81d1 |
| 26ab0db90d72e28ad0ba1e22ee510510 |
+----------------------------------+

Add a sequence to a table¶

You can add the sequence as a column to a new table or an existing table, as shown in this example:

mysql> CREATE TABLE t1 AS SELECT * FROM SEQUENCE_TABLE(4) AS tt;

mysql> SELECT * FROM t1;

Expected output

+-------+
| value |
+-------+
|     0 |
|     1 |
|     2 |
|     3 |
+-------+

Sequences are useful for various purposes, such as populating tables and generating test data.