# Cross tabulation

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/cross-tabulation/48860>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [November 25, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/cross-tabulation/48860 "2005-11-25T20:53:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![yetanothergeek](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/y/8e8cbc/32.png) [@yetanothergeek](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/yetanothergeek)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/cross-tabulation/48860/1 "2005-11-25T20:53:37Z")

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For a little background and comparison, there’s an article on O’Reilly  
([Radar – O’Reilly](http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2003/12/04/crosstabs.html)) that  
discusses the topic of server-side cross-tabulation, with respect to a  
Perl toolset (DBIx::SQLCrosstab).

I’m getting started on a project for a client that will involve building  
a variety of complex crosstabs on large sets of data. Unfortunately,  
while there is a consensus that ruby/rails/some-foss-db would be the  
preferred platform on which to code the app, there isn’t time reinvent  
the crosstab wheel. The functionality needed here is a dealbreaker, and  
sadly to say, these types of queries seem to be supported much better  
within SQL Server than postgress/mysql, et al. Having become very  
attached to Ruby, Rails and , I will be sick with  
irony to have to use a lesser platform for the sake of expediency.

Does anyone know of a way to accomplish complex crosstabs from within a  
ruby/rails app, without having to rely on database specific queries  
(e.g. Microsoft SQL extensions), and without having to write it from  
scratch?

Thanks!

(If anyone is interested in starting a project to do this with  
Ruby/rails, feel free to email me. I would love to be involved.)