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  1. doc: Fix some issues with JSON_TABLE() examples

  2. doc: Fix some issues with JSON_TABLE() exampls

  1. Minor suggestions for docs regarding json_table

    The Post Office <noreply@postgresql.org> — 2025-02-03T15:11:43Z

    The following documentation comment has been logged on the website:
    
    Page: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/17/functions-json.html
    Description:
    
    In
    https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/functions-json.html#FUNCTIONS-SQLJSON-TABLE
    
    1. There is unused `PASSING` argument `filter2`
    
    Consider:
    ```sql
    SELECT jt.* FROM
     my_films,
     JSON_TABLE (js, '$.favorites[*] ? (@.films[*].director == $filter)'
       PASSING 'Alfred Hitchcock' AS filter, 'Vertigo' AS filter2
         COLUMNS (
         id FOR ORDINALITY,
         kind text PATH '$.kind',
         title text FORMAT JSON PATH '$.films[*].title' OMIT QUOTES,
         director text PATH '$.films[*].director' KEEP QUOTES)) AS jt;
    ```
    Issue: `'Vertigo' AS filter2` is unused which is confusing
    Fix suggestion: Remove `filter2` or add a comment that it is an extra unused
    filter
    
    2. Root jsonpath is confusing
    
    Consider:
    ```sql
    SELECT * FROM JSON_TABLE (
    '{"favorites":
        {"movies":
          [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"},
           {"name": "Two", "director": "Don Joe"}],
         "books":
          [{"name": "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]},
           {"name": "Wonder", "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"},
    {"name":"Craig Doe"}]}]
    }}'::json, '$.favorites[*]'
    COLUMNS (
      user_id FOR ORDINALITY,
      NESTED '$.movies[*]'
        COLUMNS (
        movie_id FOR ORDINALITY,
        mname text PATH '$.name',
        director text),
      NESTED '$.books[*]'
        COLUMNS (
          book_id FOR ORDINALITY,
          bname text PATH '$.name',
          NESTED '$.authors[*]'
            COLUMNS (
              author_id FOR ORDINALITY,
              author_name text PATH '$.name'))));
    ```
    
    Issue: `$.favorites[*]` is used but `favorites` is an object (not an array).
    Without having knowledge about `lax`/`strict` it is confusing why it works.
    Also, it would fail if used in strict mode
    Fix suggestion: Use `$.favorites` or define `favorites` as a 1 item array or
    add a comment
    
    3. Add example for `path_expression [ AS json_path_name ]`
    
    Issue: It is not clear how/why anyone would use `path_expression AS
    json_path_name` and it would be great to have an example for it
    
  2. Re: Minor suggestions for docs regarding json_table

    Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> — 2025-02-06T21:21:51Z

    On Wed, Feb 5, 2025 at 5:11 AM PG Doc comments form
    <noreply@postgresql.org> wrote:
    >
    > The following documentation comment has been logged on the website:
    >
    > Page: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/17/functions-json.html
    > Description:
    >
    > In
    > https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/functions-json.html#FUNCTIONS-SQLJSON-TABLE
    >
    > 1. There is unused `PASSING` argument `filter2`
    >
    > Consider:
    > ```sql
    > SELECT jt.* FROM
    >  my_films,
    >  JSON_TABLE (js, '$.favorites[*] ? (@.films[*].director == $filter)'
    >    PASSING 'Alfred Hitchcock' AS filter, 'Vertigo' AS filter2
    >      COLUMNS (
    >      id FOR ORDINALITY,
    >      kind text PATH '$.kind',
    >      title text FORMAT JSON PATH '$.films[*].title' OMIT QUOTES,
    >      director text PATH '$.films[*].director' KEEP QUOTES)) AS jt;
    > ```
    > Issue: `'Vertigo' AS filter2` is unused which is confusing
    > Fix suggestion: Remove `filter2` or add a comment that it is an extra unused
    > filter
    >
    
    Yeah, I don't see any value in keeping this, especially when the
    example below it has the filter option removed, only adding to the
    confusion.
    
    > 2. Root jsonpath is confusing
    >
    > Consider:
    > ```sql
    > SELECT * FROM JSON_TABLE (
    > '{"favorites":
    >     {"movies":
    >       [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"},
    >        {"name": "Two", "director": "Don Joe"}],
    >      "books":
    >       [{"name": "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]},
    >        {"name": "Wonder", "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"},
    > {"name":"Craig Doe"}]}]
    > }}'::json, '$.favorites[*]'
    > COLUMNS (
    >   user_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    >   NESTED '$.movies[*]'
    >     COLUMNS (
    >     movie_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    >     mname text PATH '$.name',
    >     director text),
    >   NESTED '$.books[*]'
    >     COLUMNS (
    >       book_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    >       bname text PATH '$.name',
    >       NESTED '$.authors[*]'
    >         COLUMNS (
    >           author_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    >           author_name text PATH '$.name'))));
    > ```
    >
    > Issue: `$.favorites[*]` is used but `favorites` is an object (not an array).
    > Without having knowledge about `lax`/`strict` it is confusing why it works.
    > Also, it would fail if used in strict mode
    > Fix suggestion: Use `$.favorites` or define `favorites` as a 1 item array or
    > add a comment
    >
    
    I'm a bit tempted to suggest putting the lax keyword in place, so that
    if people played around with the query and switched it to strict they
    would see an example of how that option works, but that feels a bit
    whimsical. In any case, I think adding the array bits in looks like a
    closer match to our original example (which has the array decoration).
    
    > 3. Add example for `path_expression [ AS json_path_name ]`
    >
    > Issue: It is not clear how/why anyone would use `path_expression AS
    > json_path_name` and it would be great to have an example for it
    
    Well, I can show you the how, but to be honest I am not really sure
    why someone would use this:
    (hopefully email doesn't eat the formatting)
    SELECT * FROM JSON_TABLE (
    '{"favorites":
        {"movies":
          [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"},
           {"name": "Two", "director": "Don Joe"}],
         "books":
          [{"name": "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]},
           {"name": "Wonder", "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"},
    {"name":"Craig Doe"}]}]
    }}'::json, '$.favorites[*]' as fav
    COLUMNS (
      user_id FOR ORDINALITY,
      NESTED '$.movies[*]'
        COLUMNS (
        movie_id FOR ORDINALITY,
        mname text PATH '$.name',
        director text),
      NESTED '$.books[*]' as book
        COLUMNS (
          book_id FOR ORDINALITY,
          bname text PATH '$.name',
          NESTED '$.authors[*]' as writer
            COLUMNS (
              author_id FOR ORDINALITY,
              author_name text PATH '$.fav.book.writer.name'))));
    
    Note the last line. My assumption is that people concoct complIcated
    enough json objects and path expressions that the aliasing makes it a
    bit easier to follow. If that example sparks an example that you think
    is worth adding (or maybe you think the above is?) please post it to
    the list, I'd be happy to work it into a patch.
    
    
    Robert Treat
    https://xzilla.net
    
    
    
    
  3. Re: Minor suggestions for docs regarding json_table

    Miłosz Chmura <mieszko4@gmail.com> — 2025-02-07T16:56:41Z

    On Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 10:22 PM Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> wrote:
    >
    > On Wed, Feb 5, 2025 at 5:11 AM PG Doc comments form
    > <noreply@postgresql.org> wrote:
    > >
    > > The following documentation comment has been logged on the website:
    > >
    > > Page: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/17/functions-json.html
    > > Description:
    > >
    > > In
    > >
    https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/functions-json.html#FUNCTIONS-SQLJSON-TABLE
    > >
    > > 1. There is unused `PASSING` argument `filter2`
    > >
    > > Consider:
    > > ```sql
    > > SELECT jt.* FROM
    > >  my_films,
    > >  JSON_TABLE (js, '$.favorites[*] ? (@.films[*].director == $filter)'
    > >    PASSING 'Alfred Hitchcock' AS filter, 'Vertigo' AS filter2
    > >      COLUMNS (
    > >      id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > >      kind text PATH '$.kind',
    > >      title text FORMAT JSON PATH '$.films[*].title' OMIT QUOTES,
    > >      director text PATH '$.films[*].director' KEEP QUOTES)) AS jt;
    > > ```
    > > Issue: `'Vertigo' AS filter2` is unused which is confusing
    > > Fix suggestion: Remove `filter2` or add a comment that it is an extra
    unused
    > > filter
    > >
    >
    > Yeah, I don't see any value in keeping this, especially when the
    > example below it has the filter option removed, only adding to the
    > confusion.
    
    Sounds good!
    
    >
    > > 2. Root jsonpath is confusing
    > >
    > > Consider:
    > > ```sql
    > > SELECT * FROM JSON_TABLE (
    > > '{"favorites":
    > >     {"movies":
    > >       [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"},
    > >        {"name": "Two", "director": "Don Joe"}],
    > >      "books":
    > >       [{"name": "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]},
    > >        {"name": "Wonder", "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"},
    > > {"name":"Craig Doe"}]}]
    > > }}'::json, '$.favorites[*]'
    > > COLUMNS (
    > >   user_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > >   NESTED '$.movies[*]'
    > >     COLUMNS (
    > >     movie_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > >     mname text PATH '$.name',
    > >     director text),
    > >   NESTED '$.books[*]'
    > >     COLUMNS (
    > >       book_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > >       bname text PATH '$.name',
    > >       NESTED '$.authors[*]'
    > >         COLUMNS (
    > >           author_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > >           author_name text PATH '$.name'))));
    > > ```
    > >
    > > Issue: `$.favorites[*]` is used but `favorites` is an object (not an
    array).
    > > Without having knowledge about `lax`/`strict` it is confusing why it
    works.
    > > Also, it would fail if used in strict mode
    > > Fix suggestion: Use `$.favorites` or define `favorites` as a 1 item
    array or
    > > add a comment
    > >
    >
    > I'm a bit tempted to suggest putting the lax keyword in place, so that
    > if people played around with the query and switched it to strict they
    > would see an example of how that option works, but that feels a bit
    > whimsical. In any case, I think adding the array bits in looks like a
    > closer match to our original example (which has the array decoration).
    
    I think that using `[*]` never makes sense when dealing with json object
    (but maybe I am missing something).
    In any case sounds great to wrap favorites in `[]`
    
    >
    > > 3. Add example for `path_expression [ AS json_path_name ]`
    > >
    > > Issue: It is not clear how/why anyone would use `path_expression AS
    > > json_path_name` and it would be great to have an example for it
    >
    > Well, I can show you the how, but to be honest I am not really sure
    > why someone would use this:
    > (hopefully email doesn't eat the formatting)
    > SELECT * FROM JSON_TABLE (
    > '{"favorites":
    >     {"movies":
    >       [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"},
    >        {"name": "Two", "director": "Don Joe"}],
    >      "books":
    >       [{"name": "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]},
    >        {"name": "Wonder", "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"},
    > {"name":"Craig Doe"}]}]
    > }}'::json, '$.favorites[*]' as fav
    > COLUMNS (
    >   user_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    >   NESTED '$.movies[*]'
    >     COLUMNS (
    >     movie_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    >     mname text PATH '$.name',
    >     director text),
    >   NESTED '$.books[*]' as book
    >     COLUMNS (
    >       book_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    >       bname text PATH '$.name',
    >       NESTED '$.authors[*]' as writer
    >         COLUMNS (
    >           author_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    >           author_name text PATH '$.fav.book.writer.name'))));
    >
    > Note the last line. My assumption is that people concoct complIcated
    > enough json objects and path expressions that the aliasing makes it a
    > bit easier to follow. If that example sparks an example that you think
    > is worth adding (or maybe you think the above is?) please post it to
    > the list, I'd be happy to work it into a patch.
    >
    
    Thnx for the example!
    I get your point, however, when I run it, it results with NULL for every
    author_name.
    Does path alias need to be concated/escaped somehow?
    
    >
    > Robert Treat
    > https://xzilla.net
    
    Cheers,
    Miłosz
    
  4. Re: Minor suggestions for docs regarding json_table

    Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> — 2025-02-08T15:59:19Z

    On Fri, Feb 7, 2025 at 11:56 AM Miłosz Chmura <mieszko4@gmail.com> wrote:
    >
    >
    >
    > On Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 10:22 PM Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> wrote:
    > > On Wed, Feb 5, 2025 at 5:11 AM PG Doc comments form
    > > <noreply@postgresql.org> wrote:
    > > >
    > > > The following documentation comment has been logged on the website:
    > > >
    > > > Page: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/17/functions-json.html
    > > > Description:
    > > >
    <snip>
    > >
    > > > 3. Add example for `path_expression [ AS json_path_name ]`
    > > >
    > > > Issue: It is not clear how/why anyone would use `path_expression AS
    > > > json_path_name` and it would be great to have an example for it
    > >
    > > Well, I can show you the how, but to be honest I am not really sure
    > > why someone would use this:
    > > (hopefully email doesn't eat the formatting)
    > > SELECT * FROM JSON_TABLE (
    > > '{"favorites":
    > >     {"movies":
    > >       [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"},
    > >        {"name": "Two", "director": "Don Joe"}],
    > >      "books":
    > >       [{"name": "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]},
    > >        {"name": "Wonder", "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"},
    > > {"name":"Craig Doe"}]}]
    > > }}'::json, '$.favorites[*]' as fav
    > > COLUMNS (
    > >   user_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > >   NESTED '$.movies[*]'
    > >     COLUMNS (
    > >     movie_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > >     mname text PATH '$.name',
    > >     director text),
    > >   NESTED '$.books[*]' as book
    > >     COLUMNS (
    > >       book_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > >       bname text PATH '$.name',
    > >       NESTED '$.authors[*]' as writer
    > >         COLUMNS (
    > >           author_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > >           author_name text PATH '$.fav.book.writer.name'))));
    > >
    > > Note the last line. My assumption is that people concoct complIcated
    > > enough json objects and path expressions that the aliasing makes it a
    > > bit easier to follow. If that example sparks an example that you think
    > > is worth adding (or maybe you think the above is?) please post it to
    > > the list, I'd be happy to work it into a patch.
    > >
    >
    > Thnx for the example!
    > I get your point, however, when I run it, it results with NULL for every author_name.
    > Does path alias need to be concated/escaped somehow?
    >
    
    My apologies, it's been awhile since I've been down this rabbit hole,
    and I think I was conflating SQL/JSON and regular JSON path
    expressions together. In the above, you get nulls because PATH
    expressions are relative, so it's looking for an entry essentially
    like 'authors.fav.book.writer.name' which of course doesn't exist
    (hence the nulls).
    
    So, how does this thing get used? AFAIK there is no way to reference
    these aliases at the query level, instead they only show up within
    EXPLAIN VERBOSE output. Below is said output, where you'll see that
    the aliases I provided show up at their corresponding levels, but the
    level for "movies", which was unaliased, shows up with the system
    generated "json_table_path_0".
    
    Table Function Scan on "json_table"  (cost=0.01..1.01 rows=100 width=144)
       Output: user_id, movie_id, mname, director, book_id, bname,
    author_id, writer_name
       Table Function Call: JSON_TABLE('{"favorites": [{"books": [{"name":
    "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]}, {"name": "Wonder",
    "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"}, {"name": "Craig Doe"}]}],
    "movies": [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"}, {"name": "Two",
    "director": "Don Joe"}]}]}'::jsonb, '$."favorites"[*]' AS fav COLUMNS
    (user_id FOR ORDINALITY, NESTED PATH '$."movies"[*]' AS
    json_table_path_0 COLUMNS (movie_id FOR ORDINALITY, mname text PATH
    '$."name"', director text PATH '$."director"'), NESTED PATH
    '$."books"[*]' AS book COLUMNS (book_id FOR ORDINALITY, bname text
    PATH '$."name"', NESTED PATH '$."authors"[*]' AS writer COLUMNS
    (author_id FOR ORDINALITY, writer_name text PATH '$."name"'))))
     Query Identifier: -8600959643289807018
    (4 rows)
    
    Given the relative obscurity of this (and the difficulty I had in
    remembering it), I do think it warrants an extra line in the docs.
    I've attached a patch with some suggested wording and the previous two
    fixes.
    
    
    Robert Treat
    https://xzilla.net
    
  5. Re: Minor suggestions for docs regarding json_table

    Miłosz Chmura <mieszko4@gmail.com> — 2025-02-10T11:01:52Z

    Thnx! All makes sense now.
    I guess that if something like `$$.fav.book.writer.name` was implemented to
    make absolute paths possible then the alias would be more useful. But I
    still did not think of an example of when that would be actually needed :)
    
    In any case, your patch looks great to me.
    Thank you!
    Miłosz
    
    On Sat, Feb 8, 2025 at 4:59 PM Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> wrote:
    
    > On Fri, Feb 7, 2025 at 11:56 AM Miłosz Chmura <mieszko4@gmail.com> wrote:
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > On Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 10:22 PM Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> wrote:
    > > > On Wed, Feb 5, 2025 at 5:11 AM PG Doc comments form
    > > > <noreply@postgresql.org> wrote:
    > > > >
    > > > > The following documentation comment has been logged on the website:
    > > > >
    > > > > Page: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/17/functions-json.html
    > > > > Description:
    > > > >
    > <snip>
    > > >
    > > > > 3. Add example for `path_expression [ AS json_path_name ]`
    > > > >
    > > > > Issue: It is not clear how/why anyone would use `path_expression AS
    > > > > json_path_name` and it would be great to have an example for it
    > > >
    > > > Well, I can show you the how, but to be honest I am not really sure
    > > > why someone would use this:
    > > > (hopefully email doesn't eat the formatting)
    > > > SELECT * FROM JSON_TABLE (
    > > > '{"favorites":
    > > >     {"movies":
    > > >       [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"},
    > > >        {"name": "Two", "director": "Don Joe"}],
    > > >      "books":
    > > >       [{"name": "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]},
    > > >        {"name": "Wonder", "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"},
    > > > {"name":"Craig Doe"}]}]
    > > > }}'::json, '$.favorites[*]' as fav
    > > > COLUMNS (
    > > >   user_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > > >   NESTED '$.movies[*]'
    > > >     COLUMNS (
    > > >     movie_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > > >     mname text PATH '$.name',
    > > >     director text),
    > > >   NESTED '$.books[*]' as book
    > > >     COLUMNS (
    > > >       book_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > > >       bname text PATH '$.name',
    > > >       NESTED '$.authors[*]' as writer
    > > >         COLUMNS (
    > > >           author_id FOR ORDINALITY,
    > > >           author_name text PATH '$.fav.book.writer.name'))));
    > > >
    > > > Note the last line. My assumption is that people concoct complIcated
    > > > enough json objects and path expressions that the aliasing makes it a
    > > > bit easier to follow. If that example sparks an example that you think
    > > > is worth adding (or maybe you think the above is?) please post it to
    > > > the list, I'd be happy to work it into a patch.
    > > >
    > >
    > > Thnx for the example!
    > > I get your point, however, when I run it, it results with NULL for every
    > author_name.
    > > Does path alias need to be concated/escaped somehow?
    > >
    >
    > My apologies, it's been awhile since I've been down this rabbit hole,
    > and I think I was conflating SQL/JSON and regular JSON path
    > expressions together. In the above, you get nulls because PATH
    > expressions are relative, so it's looking for an entry essentially
    > like 'authors.fav.book.writer.name' which of course doesn't exist
    > (hence the nulls).
    >
    > So, how does this thing get used? AFAIK there is no way to reference
    > these aliases at the query level, instead they only show up within
    > EXPLAIN VERBOSE output. Below is said output, where you'll see that
    > the aliases I provided show up at their corresponding levels, but the
    > level for "movies", which was unaliased, shows up with the system
    > generated "json_table_path_0".
    >
    > Table Function Scan on "json_table"  (cost=0.01..1.01 rows=100 width=144)
    >    Output: user_id, movie_id, mname, director, book_id, bname,
    > author_id, writer_name
    >    Table Function Call: JSON_TABLE('{"favorites": [{"books": [{"name":
    > "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]}, {"name": "Wonder",
    > "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"}, {"name": "Craig Doe"}]}],
    > "movies": [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"}, {"name": "Two",
    > "director": "Don Joe"}]}]}'::jsonb, '$."favorites"[*]' AS fav COLUMNS
    > (user_id FOR ORDINALITY, NESTED PATH '$."movies"[*]' AS
    > json_table_path_0 COLUMNS (movie_id FOR ORDINALITY, mname text PATH
    > '$."name"', director text PATH '$."director"'), NESTED PATH
    > '$."books"[*]' AS book COLUMNS (book_id FOR ORDINALITY, bname text
    > PATH '$."name"', NESTED PATH '$."authors"[*]' AS writer COLUMNS
    > (author_id FOR ORDINALITY, writer_name text PATH '$."name"'))))
    >  Query Identifier: -8600959643289807018
    > (4 rows)
    >
    > Given the relative obscurity of this (and the difficulty I had in
    > remembering it), I do think it warrants an extra line in the docs.
    > I've attached a patch with some suggested wording and the previous two
    > fixes.
    >
    >
    > Robert Treat
    > https://xzilla.net
    >
    
  6. Re: Minor suggestions for docs regarding json_table

    Amit Langote <amitlangote09@gmail.com> — 2025-02-14T08:00:20Z

    On Sun, Feb 9, 2025 at 12:59 AM Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> wrote:
    > So, how does this thing get used? AFAIK there is no way to reference
    > these aliases at the query level, instead they only show up within
    > EXPLAIN VERBOSE output. Below is said output, where you'll see that
    > the aliases I provided show up at their corresponding levels, but the
    > level for "movies", which was unaliased, shows up with the system
    > generated "json_table_path_0".
    >
    > Table Function Scan on "json_table"  (cost=0.01..1.01 rows=100 width=144)
    >    Output: user_id, movie_id, mname, director, book_id, bname,
    > author_id, writer_name
    >    Table Function Call: JSON_TABLE('{"favorites": [{"books": [{"name":
    > "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]}, {"name": "Wonder",
    > "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"}, {"name": "Craig Doe"}]}],
    > "movies": [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"}, {"name": "Two",
    > "director": "Don Joe"}]}]}'::jsonb, '$."favorites"[*]' AS fav COLUMNS
    > (user_id FOR ORDINALITY, NESTED PATH '$."movies"[*]' AS
    > json_table_path_0 COLUMNS (movie_id FOR ORDINALITY, mname text PATH
    > '$."name"', director text PATH '$."director"'), NESTED PATH
    > '$."books"[*]' AS book COLUMNS (book_id FOR ORDINALITY, bname text
    > PATH '$."name"', NESTED PATH '$."authors"[*]' AS writer COLUMNS
    > (author_id FOR ORDINALITY, writer_name text PATH '$."name"'))))
    >  Query Identifier: -8600959643289807018
    > (4 rows)
    >
    > Given the relative obscurity of this (and the difficulty I had in
    > remembering it), I do think it warrants an extra line in the docs.
    > I've attached a patch with some suggested wording and the previous two
    > fixes.
    
    The path names are not particularly useful in queries, meaning they
    don’t serve a purpose in path expressions. However, they will be
    needed when the PLAN clause is supported [1].
    
    For example, consider the following query that uses the PLAN clause:
    
    SELECT
      director1 AS director, title1, kind1, title2, kind2
    FROM
      JSON_TABLE (
            '{ "favorites" : [
                    { "kind" : "comedy", "films" : [
                            { "title" : "Bananas",
                              "director" : "Woody Allen"},
                            { "title" : "The Dinner Game",
                              "director" : "Francis Veber" } ] },
                    { "kind" : "horror", "films" : [
                            { "title" : "Psycho",
                              "director" : "Alfred Hitchcock" } ] },
                    { "kind" : "thriller", "films" : [
                            { "title" : "Vertigo",
                              "director" : "Alfred Hitchcock" } ] },
                    { "kind" : "drama", "films" : [
                            { "title" : "Yojimbo",
                              "director" : "Akira Kurosawa" } ] }] }',
    '$.favorites' AS favs
      COLUMNS (
        NESTED PATH '$[*]' AS films1 COLUMNS (
          kind1 text PATH '$.kind',
          NESTED PATH '$.films[*]' AS film1 COLUMNS (
            title1 text PATH '$.title',
            director1 text PATH '$.director')
        ),
        NESTED PATH '$[*]' AS films2 COLUMNS (
          kind2 text PATH '$.kind',
          NESTED PATH '$.films[*]' AS film2 COLUMNS (
            title2 text PATH '$.title',
            director2 text PATH '$.director'
          )
        )
       )
       PLAN (favs OUTER ((films1 INNER film1) CROSS (films2 INNER film2)))
      ) AS jt
    WHERE kind1 > kind2 AND director1 = director2;
         director     | title1  |  kind1   | title2 | kind2
    ------------------+---------+----------+--------+--------
     Alfred Hitchcock | Vertigo | thriller | Psycho | horror
    (1 row)
    
    Given this, I think we should leave the path name documentation as it
    is for now and address it, if needed, as part of the patch for the
    PLAN clause. I'll go ahead and push your other fixes as in the
    attached patch.
    
    -- 
    Thanks, Amit Langote
    
    [1] https://www.postgresql.org/message-id/flat/CAN-LCVP7HXmGu-WcinsHvdKqMGEdv%3D1Y67H4U58F6Y%3DQ0M5GyQ%40mail.gmail.com
    
  7. Re: Minor suggestions for docs regarding json_table

    Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> — 2025-02-14T15:20:15Z

    On Fri, Feb 14, 2025 at 3:00 AM Amit Langote <amitlangote09@gmail.com>
    wrote:
    
    > On Sun, Feb 9, 2025 at 12:59 AM Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> wrote:
    > > So, how does this thing get used? AFAIK there is no way to reference
    > > these aliases at the query level, instead they only show up within
    > > EXPLAIN VERBOSE output. Below is said output, where you'll see that
    > > the aliases I provided show up at their corresponding levels, but the
    > > level for "movies", which was unaliased, shows up with the system
    > > generated "json_table_path_0".
    > >
    > > Table Function Scan on "json_table"  (cost=0.01..1.01 rows=100 width=144)
    > >    Output: user_id, movie_id, mname, director, book_id, bname,
    > > author_id, writer_name
    > >    Table Function Call: JSON_TABLE('{"favorites": [{"books": [{"name":
    > > "Mystery", "authors": [{"name": "Brown Dan"}]}, {"name": "Wonder",
    > > "authors": [{"name": "Jun Murakami"}, {"name": "Craig Doe"}]}],
    > > "movies": [{"name": "One", "director": "John Doe"}, {"name": "Two",
    > > "director": "Don Joe"}]}]}'::jsonb, '$."favorites"[*]' AS fav COLUMNS
    > > (user_id FOR ORDINALITY, NESTED PATH '$."movies"[*]' AS
    > > json_table_path_0 COLUMNS (movie_id FOR ORDINALITY, mname text PATH
    > > '$."name"', director text PATH '$."director"'), NESTED PATH
    > > '$."books"[*]' AS book COLUMNS (book_id FOR ORDINALITY, bname text
    > > PATH '$."name"', NESTED PATH '$."authors"[*]' AS writer COLUMNS
    > > (author_id FOR ORDINALITY, writer_name text PATH '$."name"'))))
    > >  Query Identifier: -8600959643289807018
    > > (4 rows)
    > >
    > > Given the relative obscurity of this (and the difficulty I had in
    > > remembering it), I do think it warrants an extra line in the docs.
    > > I've attached a patch with some suggested wording and the previous two
    > > fixes.
    >
    > The path names are not particularly useful in queries, meaning they
    > don’t serve a purpose in path expressions. However, they will be
    > needed when the PLAN clause is supported [1].
    >
    
    <snip>
    
    >
    >
    Given this, I think we should leave the path name documentation as it
    > is for now and address it, if needed, as part of the patch for the
    > PLAN clause. I'll go ahead and push your other fixes as in the
    > attached patch.
    >
    >
    Ah, thanks for the heads up. Reasoning makes sense to me / patch looks
    good. Thanks!
    
    Robert Treat
    https://xzilla.net
    
  8. Re: Minor suggestions for docs regarding json_table

    Amit Langote <amitlangote09@gmail.com> — 2025-02-19T07:26:33Z

    On Sat, Feb 15, 2025 at 12:20 AM Robert Treat <rob@xzilla.net> wrote:
    >> Given this, I think we should leave the path name documentation as it
    >> is for now and address it, if needed, as part of the patch for the
    >> PLAN clause. I'll go ahead and push your other fixes as in the
    >> attached patch.
    >>
    >
    > Ah, thanks for the heads up. Reasoning makes sense to me / patch looks good. Thanks!
    
    Pushed this now, thanks for the patch.
    
    -- 
    Thanks, Amit Langote