A computer implemented method is provided for extracting hierarchical data from one or more tables in a database, the method comprises firstly receiving user input identifying, one or more tables in the database that contain the hierarchical data and the hierarchical structure of the hierarchical data. A Structured Query Language (SQL) statement is then generated using the user input received. The SQL statement is presented to the database for execution and the hierarchical data are then extracted from the database in response to the execution of the SQL statement.