SQL to show one result calculated by the other values? - sql

Question

It seems we can use a SQL statement as:
select
(
select
count(*) as c_foos
from
foos
),
(
select
count(*) as c_bars
from
bars
);
but we can't do
select
(
select
count(*) as c_foos
from
foos
),
(
select
count(*) as c_bars
from
bars
),
(
select
(c_foos / c_bars) as the_ratio
);
or
select
(
select
count(*) as c_foos
from
foos
),
(
select
count(*) as c_bars
from
bars
),
(c_foos / c_bars) as the_ratio;
Is there a way to do that showing all 3 numbers? Is there a more definite rule as to what can be done and what can't?

Answer 1

You can try this:
You define two CTEs in a WITH clause, so you can use your result in the main query built on two cte tables (cte_num and cte_den)
WITH recursive
cte_num AS (
SELECT count(*) as c_foos
FROM foos
),
cte_den AS (
SELECT count(*) as c_bars
FROM bars
)
SELECT
cte_num.foos,
cte_den.bars,
cte_num.foos / cte_den.bars as the_ratio
from cte_num, cte_den;

Answer 2

There is a small number of simple rules... but SQL seems so easy that most programmers prefer to cut to the chase, and later complain they didn't get the plot :)
You can think of a query as a description of a flow: columns in a select share inputs (defined in from), but are evaluated "in parallel", without seeing each other. Your complex example boils down to the fact, that you cannot do this:
select 1 as a, 2 as b, a + b;
fields a and b are defined as outputs from the query, but there are no inputs called a and b. All you have to do is modify the query so that a and b are inputs:
select a + b from (select 1 as a, 2 as b) as inputs
And this will work (this is, btw., the solution for your queries).
Addendum:
The confusion comes from the fact, that in most SQL 101 cases outputs are created directly from inputs (data just passes through).
This flow model is useful, because it makes things easier to reason about in more complex cases. Also, we avoid ambiguities and loops. You can think about it in the context of query like: select name as last_name, last_name as name, name || ' ' || last_name from person;

Answer 3

Move the conditions to the FROM clause:
select f.c_foos, b.c_bars, f.c_foos / f.c_bars
from (select count(*) as c_foos from foos
) f cross join
(select count(*) as c_bars from bars
) b;
Ironically, your first version will work in MySQL (see here). I don't actually think this is intentional. I think it is an artifact of their parser -- meaning that it happens to work but might stop working in future versions.

Answer 4

The simplest way is to use a CTE that returns the 2 columns:
with cte as (
select
(select count(*) from foos) as c_foos,
(select count(*) from bars) as c_bars
)
select c_foos, c_bars, (c_foos / c_bars) as the_ratio
from cte
Note that the aliases of the 2 columns must be set outside of each query and not inside (the parentheses).