Postgres FOR LOOP

Question

I am trying to get 25 random samples of 15,000 IDs from a table. Instead of manually pressing run every time, I'm trying to do a loop. Which I fully understand is not the optimum use of Postgres, but it is the tool I have. This is what I have so far:

for i in 1..25 LOOP
   insert into playtime.meta_random_sample
   select i, ID
   from   tbl
   order  by random() limit 15000
end loop

Answer 1

Procedural elements like loops are not part of the SQL language and can only be used inside the body of a procedural language function, procedure (Postgres 11 or later) or a DO statement, where such additional elements are defined by the respective procedural language. The default is PL/pgSQL, but there are others.

Example with plpgsql:

DO
$do$
BEGIN 
   FOR i IN 1..25 LOOP
      INSERT INTO playtime.meta_random_sample
         (col_i, col_id)                       -- declare target columns!
      SELECT  i,     id
      FROM   tbl
      ORDER  BY random()
      LIMIT  15000;
   END LOOP;
END
$do$;

For many tasks that can be solved with a loop, there is a shorter and faster set-based solution around the corner. Pure SQL equivalent for your example:

INSERT INTO playtime.meta_random_sample (col_i, col_id)
SELECT t.*
FROM   generate_series(1,25) i
CROSS  JOIN LATERAL (
   SELECT i, id
   FROM   tbl
   ORDER  BY random()
   LIMIT  15000
   ) t;

About generate_series():

• What is the expected behaviour for multiple set-returning functions in select clause?

About optimizing performance of random selections:

• Best way to select random rows PostgreSQL