The like search will still be faster than hitting the db repeatedly to get each node's children which is how most people seem to implement retrieving a tree. T

The like search will still be faster than hitting the db repeatedly to get each node's children which is how most people seem to implement retrieving a tree. This "path" method is straight out of SQL for Smarties - Hierarchies & Trees" and though the nested set method is probably better for most uses, the path column has its uses.