How do I find a “gap” in running counter with SQL? – This article will take you through the common SQL errors that you might encounter while working with sql, gaps-and-islands, . The wrong arrangement of keywords will certainly cause an error, but wrongly arranged commands may also be an issue. SQL keyword errors occur when one of the words that the SQL query language reserves for its commands and clauses is misspelled. If the user wants to resolve all these reported errors, without finding the original one, what started as a simple typo, becomes a much bigger problem.
SQL Problem :
I’d like to find the first “gap” in a counter column in an SQL table. For example, if there are values 1,2,4 and 5 I’d like to find out 3.
I can of course get the values in order and go through it manually, but I’d like to know if there would be a way to do it in SQL.
In addition, it should be quite standard SQL, working with different DBMSes.
Solution :
In MySQL and PostgreSQL:
SELECT id + 1
FROM mytable mo
WHERE NOT EXISTS
(
SELECT NULL
FROM mytable mi
WHERE mi.id = mo.id + 1
)
ORDER BY
id
LIMIT 1
In SQL Server:
SELECT TOP 1
id + 1
FROM mytable mo
WHERE NOT EXISTS
(
SELECT NULL
FROM mytable mi
WHERE mi.id = mo.id + 1
)
ORDER BY
id
In Oracle:
SELECT *
FROM (
SELECT id + 1 AS gap
FROM mytable mo
WHERE NOT EXISTS
(
SELECT NULL
FROM mytable mi
WHERE mi.id = mo.id + 1
)
ORDER BY
id
)
WHERE rownum = 1
ANSI (works everywhere, least efficient):
SELECT MIN(id) + 1
FROM mytable mo
WHERE NOT EXISTS
(
SELECT NULL
FROM mytable mi
WHERE mi.id = mo.id + 1
)
Systems supporting sliding window functions:
SELECT -- TOP 1
-- Uncomment above for SQL Server 2012+
previd
FROM (
SELECT id,
LAG(id) OVER (ORDER BY id) previd
FROM mytable
) q
WHERE previd <> id - 1
ORDER BY
id
-- LIMIT 1
-- Uncomment above for PostgreSQL
Your answers all work fine if you have a first value id = 1, otherwise this gap will not be detected. For instance if your table id values are 3,4,5, your queries will return 6.
I did something like this
SELECT MIN(ID+1) FROM (
SELECT 0 AS ID UNION ALL
SELECT
MIN(ID + 1)
FROM
TableX) AS T1
WHERE
ID+1 NOT IN (SELECT ID FROM TableX)
There isn’t really an extremely standard SQL way to do this, but with some form of limiting clause you can do
SELECT `table`.`num` + 1
FROM `table`
LEFT JOIN `table` AS `alt`
ON `alt`.`num` = `table`.`num` + 1
WHERE `alt`.`num` IS NULL
LIMIT 1
(MySQL, PostgreSQL)
or
SELECT TOP 1 `num` + 1
FROM `table`
LEFT JOIN `table` AS `alt`
ON `alt`.`num` = `table`.`num` + 1
WHERE `alt`.`num` IS NULL
(SQL Server)
or
SELECT `num` + 1
FROM `table`
LEFT JOIN `table` AS `alt`
ON `alt`.`num` = `table`.`num` + 1
WHERE `alt`.`num` IS NULL
AND ROWNUM = 1
(Oracle)
The first thing that came into my head. Not sure if it’s a good idea to go this way at all, but should work. Suppose the table is t and the column is c:
SELECT
t1.c + 1 AS gap
FROM t as t1
LEFT OUTER JOIN t as t2 ON (t1.c + 1 = t2.c)
WHERE t2.c IS NULL
ORDER BY gap ASC
LIMIT 1
Edit: This one may be a tick faster (and shorter!):
SELECT
min(t1.c) + 1 AS gap
FROM t as t1
LEFT OUTER JOIN t as t2 ON (t1.c + 1 = t2.c)
WHERE t2.c IS NULL
This works in SQL Server – can’t test it in other systems but it seems standard…
SELECT MIN(t1.ID)+1 FROM mytable t1 WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT ID FROM mytable WHERE ID = (t1.ID + 1))
You could also add a starting point to the where clause…
SELECT MIN(t1.ID)+1 FROM mytable t1 WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT ID FROM mytable WHERE ID = (t1.ID + 1)) AND ID > 2000
So if you had 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2005 where 2003 and 2004 didn’t exist, it would return 2003.
The following solution:
- provides test data;
- an inner query that produces other gaps; and
- it works in SQL Server 2012.
Numbers the ordered rows sequentially in the “with” clause and then reuses the result twice with an inner join on the row number, but offset by 1 so as to compare the row before with the row after, looking for IDs with a gap greater than 1. More than asked for but more widely applicable.
create table #ID ( id integer );
insert into #ID values (1),(2), (4),(5),(6),(7),(8), (12),(13),(14),(15);
with Source as (
select
row_number()over ( order by A.id ) as seq
,A.id as id
from #ID as A WITH(NOLOCK)
)
Select top 1 gap_start from (
Select
(J.id+1) as gap_start
,(K.id-1) as gap_end
from Source as J
inner join Source as K
on (J.seq+1) = K.seq
where (J.id - (K.id-1)) <> 0
) as G
The inner query produces:
gap_start gap_end
3 3
9 11
The outer query produces:
gap_start
3
Inner join to a view or sequence that has a all possible values.
No table? Make a table. I always keep a dummy table around just for this.
create table artificial_range(
id int not null primary key auto_increment,
name varchar( 20 ) null ) ;
-- or whatever your database requires for an auto increment column
insert into artificial_range( name ) values ( null )
-- create one row.
insert into artificial_range( name ) select name from artificial_range;
-- you now have two rows
insert into artificial_range( name ) select name from artificial_range;
-- you now have four rows
insert into artificial_range( name ) select name from artificial_range;
-- you now have eight rows
--etc.
insert into artificial_range( name ) select name from artificial_range;
-- you now have 1024 rows, with ids 1-1024
Then,
select a.id from artificial_range a
where not exists ( select * from your_table b
where b.counter = a.id) ;
This one accounts for everything mentioned so far. It includes 0 as a starting point, which it will default to if no values exist as well. I also added the appropriate locations for the other parts of a multi-value key. This has only been tested on SQL Server.
select
MIN(ID)
from (
select
0 ID
union all
select
[YourIdColumn]+1
from
[YourTable]
where
--Filter the rest of your key--
) foo
left join
[YourTable]
on [YourIdColumn]=ID
and --Filter the rest of your key--
where
[YourIdColumn] is null
For PostgreSQL
An example that makes use of recursive query.
This might be useful if you want to find a gap in a specific range
(it will work even if the table is empty, whereas the other examples will not)
WITH
RECURSIVE a(id) AS (VALUES (1) UNION ALL SELECT id + 1 FROM a WHERE id < 100), -- range 1..100
b AS (SELECT id FROM my_table) -- your table ID list
SELECT a.id -- find numbers from the range that do not exist in main table
FROM a
LEFT JOIN b ON b.id = a.id
WHERE b.id IS NULL
-- LIMIT 1 -- uncomment if only the first value is needed
My guess:
SELECT MIN(p1.field) + 1 as gap
FROM table1 AS p1
INNER JOIN table1 as p3 ON (p1.field = p3.field + 2)
LEFT OUTER JOIN table1 AS p2 ON (p1.field = p2.field + 1)
WHERE p2.field is null;
create table sequential(id int not null, name varchar(10) null);
Here is an alternative to show the range of all possible gap values in portable and more compact way :
Assume your table schema looks like this :
> SELECT id FROM your_table;
+-----+
| id |
+-----+
| 90 |
| 103 |
| 104 |
| 118 |
| 119 |
| 120 |
| 121 |
| 161 |
| 162 |
| 163 |
| 185 |
+-----+
To fetch the ranges of all possible gap values, you have the following query :
- The subquery lists pairs of ids, each of which has the
lowerboundcolumn being smaller thanupperboundcolumn, then useGROUP BYandMIN(m2.id)to reduce number of useless records. - The outer query further removes the records where
lowerboundis exactlyupperbound - 1 - My query doesn’t (explicitly) output the 2 records
(YOUR_MIN_ID_VALUE, 89)and(186, YOUR_MAX_ID_VALUE)at both ends, that implicitly means any number in both of the ranges hasn’t been used inyour_tableso far.
> SELECT m3.lowerbound + 1, m3.upperbound - 1 FROM
(
SELECT m1.id as lowerbound, MIN(m2.id) as upperbound FROM
your_table m1 INNER JOIN your_table
AS m2 ON m1.id < m2.id GROUP BY m1.id
)
m3 WHERE m3.lowerbound < m3.upperbound - 1;
+-------------------+-------------------+
| m3.lowerbound + 1 | m3.upperbound - 1 |
+-------------------+-------------------+
| 91 | 102 |
| 105 | 117 |
| 122 | 160 |
| 164 | 184 |
+-------------------+-------------------+
select min([ColumnName]) from [TableName]
where [ColumnName]-1 not in (select [ColumnName] from [TableName])
and [ColumnName] <> (select min([ColumnName]) from [TableName])
Here is standard a SQL solution that runs on all database servers with no change:
select min(counter + 1) FIRST_GAP
from my_table a
where not exists (select 'x' from my_table b where b.counter = a.counter + 1)
and a.counter <> (select max(c.counter) from my_table c);
See in action for;
- PL/SQL via Oracle’s livesql,
- MySQL via sqlfiddle,
- PostgreSQL via sqlfiddle
- MS Sql via sqlfiddle
It works for empty tables or with negatives values as well. Just tested in SQL Server 2012
select min(n) from (
select case when lead(i,1,0) over(order by i)>i+1 then i+1 else null end n from MyTable) w
If You use Firebird 3 this is most elegant and simple:
select RowID
from (
select `ID_Column`, Row_Number() over(order by `ID_Column`) as RowID
from `Your_Table`
order by `ID_Column`)
where `ID_Column` <> RowID
rows 1
-- PUT THE TABLE NAME AND COLUMN NAME BELOW
-- IN MY EXAMPLE, THE TABLE NAME IS = SHOW_GAPS AND COLUMN NAME IS = ID
-- PUT THESE TWO VALUES AND EXECUTE THE QUERY
DECLARE @TABLE_NAME VARCHAR(100) = 'SHOW_GAPS'
DECLARE @COLUMN_NAME VARCHAR(100) = 'ID'
DECLARE @SQL VARCHAR(MAX)
SET @SQL =
'SELECT TOP 1
'+@COLUMN_NAME+' + 1
FROM '+@TABLE_NAME+' mo
WHERE NOT EXISTS
(
SELECT NULL
FROM '+@TABLE_NAME+' mi
WHERE mi.'+@COLUMN_NAME+' = mo.'+@COLUMN_NAME+' + 1
)
ORDER BY
'+@COLUMN_NAME
-- SELECT @SQL
DECLARE @MISSING_ID TABLE (ID INT)
INSERT INTO @MISSING_ID
EXEC (@SQL)
--select * from @MISSING_ID
declare @var_for_cursor int
DECLARE @LOW INT
DECLARE @HIGH INT
DECLARE @FINAL_RANGE TABLE (LOWER_MISSING_RANGE INT, HIGHER_MISSING_RANGE INT)
DECLARE IdentityGapCursor CURSOR FOR
select * from @MISSING_ID
ORDER BY 1;
open IdentityGapCursor
fetch next from IdentityGapCursor
into @var_for_cursor
WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
SET @SQL = '
DECLARE @LOW INT
SELECT @LOW = MAX('+@COLUMN_NAME+') + 1 FROM '+@TABLE_NAME
+' WHERE '+@COLUMN_NAME+' < ' + cast( @var_for_cursor as VARCHAR(MAX))
SET @SQL = @sql + '
DECLARE @HIGH INT
SELECT @HIGH = MIN('+@COLUMN_NAME+') - 1 FROM '+@TABLE_NAME
+' WHERE '+@COLUMN_NAME+' > ' + cast( @var_for_cursor as VARCHAR(MAX))
SET @SQL = @sql + 'SELECT @LOW,@HIGH'
INSERT INTO @FINAL_RANGE
EXEC( @SQL)
fetch next from IdentityGapCursor
into @var_for_cursor
END
CLOSE IdentityGapCursor;
DEALLOCATE IdentityGapCursor;
SELECT ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY LOWER_MISSING_RANGE) AS 'Gap Number',* FROM @FINAL_RANGE
Found most of approaches run very, very slow in mysql. Here is my solution for mysql < 8.0. Tested on 1M records with a gap near the end ~ 1sec to finish. Not sure if it fits other SQL flavours.
SELECT cardNumber - 1
FROM
(SELECT @row_number := 0) as t,
(
SELECT (@row_number:=@row_number+1), cardNumber, cardNumber-@row_number AS diff
FROM cards
ORDER BY cardNumber
) as x
WHERE diff >= 1
LIMIT 0,1
I assume that sequence starts from `1`.
If your counter is starting from 1 and you want to generate first number of sequence (1) when empty, here is the corrected piece of code from first answer valid for Oracle:
SELECT
NVL(MIN(id + 1),1) AS gap
FROM
mytable mo
WHERE 1=1
AND NOT EXISTS
(
SELECT NULL
FROM mytable mi
WHERE mi.id = mo.id + 1
)
AND EXISTS
(
SELECT NULL
FROM mytable mi
WHERE mi.id = 1
)
DECLARE @Table AS TABLE(
[Value] int
)
INSERT INTO @Table ([Value])
VALUES
(1),(2),(4),(5),(6),(10),(20),(21),(22),(50),(51),(52),(53),(54),(55)
--Gaps
--Start End Size
--3 3 1
--7 9 3
--11 19 9
--23 49 27
SELECT [startTable].[Value]+1 [Start]
,[EndTable].[Value]-1 [End]
,([EndTable].[Value]-1) - ([startTable].[Value]) Size
FROM
(
SELECT [Value]
,ROW_NUMBER() OVER(PARTITION BY 1 ORDER BY [Value]) Record
FROM @Table
)AS startTable
JOIN
(
SELECT [Value]
,ROW_NUMBER() OVER(PARTITION BY 1 ORDER BY [Value]) Record
FROM @Table
)AS EndTable
ON [EndTable].Record = [startTable].Record+1
WHERE [startTable].[Value]+1 <>[EndTable].[Value]
If the numbers in the column are positive integers (starting from 1) then here is how to solve it easily. (assuming ID is your column name)
SELECT TEMP.ID
FROM (SELECT ROW_NUMBER() OVER () AS NUM FROM 'TABLE-NAME') AS TEMP
WHERE ID NOT IN (SELECT ID FROM 'TABLE-NAME')
ORDER BY 1 ASC LIMIT 1
Finding SQL syntax errors can be complicated, but there are some tips on how to make it a bit easier. Using the aforementioned Error List helps in a great way. It allows the user to check for errors while still writing the project, and avoid later searching through thousands lines of code.