[sql] What are the options for storing hierarchical data in a relational database?

I am using PostgreSQL with closure tables for my hierarchies. I have one universal stored procedure for the whole database:

CREATE FUNCTION nomen_tree() RETURNS trigger
    LANGUAGE plpgsql
    AS $_$
DECLARE
  old_parent INTEGER;
  new_parent INTEGER;
  id_nom INTEGER;
  txt_name TEXT;
BEGIN
-- TG_ARGV[0] = name of table with entities with PARENT-CHILD relationships (TBL_ORIG)
-- TG_ARGV[1] = name of helper table with ANCESTOR, CHILD, DEPTH information (TBL_TREE)
-- TG_ARGV[2] = name of the field in TBL_ORIG which is used for the PARENT-CHILD relationship (FLD_PARENT)
    IF TG_OP = 'INSERT' THEN
    EXECUTE 'INSERT INTO ' || TG_ARGV[1] || ' (child_id,ancestor_id,depth) 
        SELECT $1.id,$1.id,0 UNION ALL
      SELECT $1.id,ancestor_id,depth+1 FROM ' || TG_ARGV[1] || ' WHERE child_id=$1.' || TG_ARGV[2] USING NEW;
    ELSE                                                           
    -- EXECUTE does not support conditional statements inside
    EXECUTE 'SELECT $1.' || TG_ARGV[2] || ',$2.' || TG_ARGV[2] INTO old_parent,new_parent USING OLD,NEW;
    IF COALESCE(old_parent,0) <> COALESCE(new_parent,0) THEN
      EXECUTE '
      -- prevent cycles in the tree
      UPDATE ' || TG_ARGV[0] || ' SET ' || TG_ARGV[2] || ' = $1.' || TG_ARGV[2]
        || ' WHERE id=$2.' || TG_ARGV[2] || ' AND EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM '
        || TG_ARGV[1] || ' WHERE child_id=$2.' || TG_ARGV[2] || ' AND ancestor_id=$2.id);
      -- first remove edges between all old parents of node and its descendants
      DELETE FROM ' || TG_ARGV[1] || ' WHERE child_id IN
        (SELECT child_id FROM ' || TG_ARGV[1] || ' WHERE ancestor_id = $1.id)
        AND ancestor_id IN
        (SELECT ancestor_id FROM ' || TG_ARGV[1] || ' WHERE child_id = $1.id AND ancestor_id <> $1.id);
      -- then add edges for all new parents ...
      INSERT INTO ' || TG_ARGV[1] || ' (child_id,ancestor_id,depth) 
        SELECT child_id,ancestor_id,d_c+d_a FROM
        (SELECT child_id,depth AS d_c FROM ' || TG_ARGV[1] || ' WHERE ancestor_id=$2.id) AS child
        CROSS JOIN
        (SELECT ancestor_id,depth+1 AS d_a FROM ' || TG_ARGV[1] || ' WHERE child_id=$2.' 
        || TG_ARGV[2] || ') AS parent;' USING OLD, NEW;
    END IF;
  END IF;
  RETURN NULL;
END;
$_$;

Then for each table where I have a hierarchy, I create a trigger

CREATE TRIGGER nomenclature_tree_tr AFTER INSERT OR UPDATE ON nomenclature FOR EACH ROW EXECUTE PROCEDURE nomen_tree('my_db.nomenclature', 'my_db.nom_helper', 'parent_id');

For populating a closure table from existing hierarchy I use this stored procedure:

CREATE FUNCTION rebuild_tree(tbl_base text, tbl_closure text, fld_parent text) RETURNS void
    LANGUAGE plpgsql
    AS $$
BEGIN
    EXECUTE 'TRUNCATE ' || tbl_closure || ';
    INSERT INTO ' || tbl_closure || ' (child_id,ancestor_id,depth) 
        WITH RECURSIVE tree AS
      (
        SELECT id AS child_id,id AS ancestor_id,0 AS depth FROM ' || tbl_base || '
        UNION ALL 
        SELECT t.id,ancestor_id,depth+1 FROM ' || tbl_base || ' AS t
        JOIN tree ON child_id = ' || fld_parent || '
      )
      SELECT * FROM tree;';
END;
$$;

Closure tables are defined with 3 columns - ANCESTOR_ID, DESCENDANT_ID, DEPTH. It is possible (and I even advice) to store records with same value for ANCESTOR and DESCENDANT, and a value of zero for DEPTH. This will simplify the queries for retrieval of the hierarchy. And they are very simple indeed:

-- get all descendants
SELECT tbl_orig.*,depth FROM tbl_closure LEFT JOIN tbl_orig ON descendant_id = tbl_orig.id WHERE ancestor_id = XXX AND depth <> 0;
-- get only direct descendants
SELECT tbl_orig.* FROM tbl_closure LEFT JOIN tbl_orig ON descendant_id = tbl_orig.id WHERE ancestor_id = XXX AND depth = 1;
-- get all ancestors
SELECT tbl_orig.* FROM tbl_closure LEFT JOIN tbl_orig ON ancestor_id = tbl_orig.id WHERE descendant_id = XXX AND depth <> 0;
-- find the deepest level of children
SELECT MAX(depth) FROM tbl_closure WHERE ancestor_id = XXX;