DESIGN FOR HIERARCHICAL COMPUTATIONS OF NODES HAVING NON-TREE TOPOLOGIES IN RELATIONAL DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Performing hierarchical computations in relational database management systems, where the hierarchical computations are based on tabular input data that builds non-tree topologies by modifying the tabular input data to form tree topologies. One or more nodes, in a hierarchy of nodes, generated from tabular data, can have a non-tree-like topology. One or more attributes of entries in the tabular indexed data structure associated with the one or more nodes having the non-tree-like topology can be modified. The modified attributes can cause the tabular indexed data to form a tree-like topology. The modifying can be based on a type of non-tree-like topology of the one or more nodes having the non-tree-like topology. A navigation function can be selected and applied to the modified tabular indexed data structure to determine a navigation result for traversing the hierarchy of nodes. The navigation result can be provided and the hierarchy traversed.