JLL, So, you want to update a field with a NEXTVAL counter, but with the counter ordered by another column?
If so, you will have to use a procedure. Ordering your UPDATEs is not part of SQL -- it requires a procedural element. Here's a simple procedure (you debug it): CREATE PROCEDURE add_my_table_counter () RETURNS TEXT AS ' DECLARE v_rec RECORD; BEGIN WHILE v_rec IN SELECT * FROM my_table ORDER BY last_name LOOP UPDATE my_table SET counter_field = NEXTVAL(''my_sequence'') WHERE my_table.id = v_rec.id; END LOOP; RETURN ''Done updating.''; END;' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql'; -- -Josh Berkus Aglio Database Solutions San Francisco ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 3: if posting/reading through Usenet, please send an appropriate subscribe-nomail command to [EMAIL PROTECTED] so that your message can get through to the mailing list cleanly