simplifying a MySQL query, pulling table name dynamically from table data

I have a mysql table and one of the fields is 'template'. 开发者_高级运维This field will point to the correct template table to reference the unique fields for that particular template.

So for example if table.template = 'news', I also need to pull the info from the news_template table to have the complete set of listing info. Right now I only know how to do this with two separate query calls from PHP.

Is there anyway to do a join with a dynamic table name based on the data in one of the columns?

Thanks in advance!

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I don't think this can be done directly in MySQL without splitting it into multiple queries.

I usually see this handled by querying for the info needed to determine the correct table name, then the scripting language being used (PHP?) puts together another query using that information.

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If you can, I would suggest restructuring your *_template tables into a new table called template_data. This table can then have a column called template_name. Then selecting the correct data becomes a simple SQL query, eg.

select Parameter, Value from template_data where template_name = ?