Using two different rows from the same table in an expression - postgresql

Question

I'm using PostgreSQL + PostGIS.
In table I have a point and line geometry in the same column of the same table, in different rows. To get the line I run:
SELECT the_geom
FROM filedata
WHERE id=3
If i want to take point I run:
SELECT the_geom
FROM filedata
WHERE id=4
I want take point and line together, like they're shown in this WITH expression, but using a real query against the table instead:
WITH data AS (
SELECT 'LINESTRING (50 40, 40 60, 50 90, 30 140)'::geometry AS road,
'POINT (60 110)'::geometry AS poi)
SELECT ST_AsText(
ST_Line_Interpolate_Point(road, ST_Line_Locate_Point(road, poi))) AS projected_poi
FROM data;
You see in this example data comes from a hand-created WITH expression. I want take it from my filedata table. My problem is i dont know how to work with data from two different rows of one table at the same time.

Answer 1

One possible way:
A subquery to retrieve another value from a different row.
SELECT ST_AsText(
ST_Line_Interpolate_Point(
the_geom
,ST_Line_Locate_Point(
the_geom
,(SELECT the_geom FROM filedata WHERE id = 4)
)
)
) AS projected_poi
FROM filedata
WHERE id = 3;

Answer 2

Use a self-join:
SELECT ST_AsText(
ST_Line_Interpolate_Point(fd_road.the_geom, ST_Line_Locate_Point(
fd_road.the_geom,
fd_poi.the_geom
)) AS projected_poi
FROM filedata fd_road, filedata fd_poi
WHERE fd_road.id = 3 AND fd_poi.id = 4;
Alternately use a subquery to fetch the other row, as Erwin pointed out.
The main options for using multiple rows from one table in a single expression are:
Self-join the table with two different aliases as shown above, then filter the rows;
Use a subquery expression to get a value for all but one of the rows, as Erwin's answer shows;
Use a window function like lag() and lead() to get a row relative to the current row within the query result; or
JOIN on a subquery that returns a table
The latter two are more advanced options that solve problems that're difficult or inefficient to solve with the simpler self-join or subquery expression.