What's the best way to structure a binary tree in a database for organizing religious texts?

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1

I’m working on a project to organize religious texts in a database. I initially thought of using separate tables for different levels like contemporary spaces, books, chapters, and passages. But a friend suggested using a single table with a binary tree structure instead.

Here’s what I had in mind:

CREATE TABLE texts (
  id INT PRIMARY KEY,
  level VARCHAR(20),
  content VARCHAR(255),
  parent_id INT
);

I’m not sure how to navigate this structure like a binary tree using the parent_id. Also, I want to link passages to sermons and explanations, plus add URLs for each passage.

Any advice on the best approach? Should I stick with multiple tables or go for the single-table binary tree? I’m new to databases and could use some guidance on structuring this efficiently.

2

hey, i’ve worked on similar stuff before. binary trees aren’t great for religious texts. try using a nested set model instead. it’s way better for hierarchies in databases.

for ur project, stick with multiple tables. it’s easier to work with. make tables for books, chapters, and verses. use foreign keys to connect em. add columns for URLs and stuff.

for sermons and explanations, make separate tables and use junction tables to link em. trust me, it’ll save u headaches later.

3

I’d caution against using a binary tree structure for religious texts. While efficient for certain operations, it’s not ideal for hierarchical data like this. Instead, consider a nested set model or adjacency list pattern. These are better suited for representing hierarchies in relational databases.

For your use case, I’d recommend sticking with multiple tables. It’ll be more intuitive and flexible. You could have tables for books, chapters, and verses, with foreign key relationships. This allows for easy querying and maintains clear relationships between different levels of text.

For linking passages to sermons and explanations, create separate tables for these and use junction tables to establish many-to-many relationships. As for URLs, you can add a column in your verses table for this.

Remember, the goal is to balance efficiency with ease of use and maintainability. Sometimes, simpler structures are more practical in the long run.

4

As someone who’s worked on similar projects, I’d advise against using a binary tree structure for religious texts. It’s not the most suitable for hierarchical data like this. From my experience, a modified adjacency list model works well.

Here’s what I’ve found effective:

CREATE TABLE texts (
  id INT PRIMARY KEY,
  parent_id INT,
  level VARCHAR(20),
  content TEXT,
  url VARCHAR(255)
);

CREATE TABLE sermons (
  id INT PRIMARY KEY,
  title VARCHAR(255),
  content TEXT
);

CREATE TABLE text_sermon_links (
  text_id INT,
  sermon_id INT,
  PRIMARY KEY (text_id, sermon_id)
);

This structure allows for easy navigation and querying. You can retrieve the entire hierarchy or specific branches efficiently. The separate sermons table and linking table provide flexibility for associating passages with multiple sermons or explanations.

I’ve used this approach in production, and it scales well. Just ensure you index the parent_id column for performance.