Kategoriedatenbank für rekursive Funktionen

Ich würde tun:

<?php
function getChildren($id=1) {
  $sql = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM categories WHERE category_parent = '$id' ORDER BY lft ASC");
  echo "<ul>";
  while($row = mysql_fetch_array($sql)) {
    echo "<li><a href='/{$row['category_safe_name']}/'>{$row['category_name']}</a>";
    getChildren($row['category_id']);
    echo "</li>";
  }
  echo "</ul>";
}

getChildren();
?>