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51.63. pg_type
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51.63. pg_type

The catalog pg_type stores information about data types. Base types and enum types (scalar types) are created with CREATE TYPE, and domains with CREATE DOMAIN. A composite type is automatically created for each table in the database, to represent the row structure of the table. It is also possible to create composite types with CREATE TYPE AS.

Table 51.63. pg_type Columns

Name Type References Description
oid oid   Row identifier
typname name   Data type name
typnamespace oid pg_namespace.oid The OID of the namespace that contains this type
typowner oid pg_authid.oid Owner of the type
typlen int2   For a fixed-size type, typlen is the number of bytes in the internal representation of the type. But for a variable-length type, typlen is negative. -1 indicates a “varlena” type (one that has a length word), -2 indicates a null-terminated C string.
typbyval bool   typbyval determines whether internal routines pass a value of this type by value or by reference. typbyval had better be false if typlen is not 1, 2, or 4 (or 8 on machines where Datum is 8 bytes). Variable-length types are always passed by reference. Note that typbyval can be false even if the length would allow pass-by-value.
typtype char   typtype is b for a base type, c for a composite type (e.g., a table's row type), d for a domain, e for an enum type, p for a pseudo-type, or r for a range type. See also typrelid and typbasetype.
typcategory char   typcategory is an arbitrary classification of data types that is used by the parser to determine which implicit casts should be “preferred”. See Table 51.64.
typispreferred bool   True if the type is a preferred cast target within its typcategory
typisdefined bool   True if the type is defined, false if this is a placeholder entry for a not-yet-defined type. When typisdefined is false, nothing except the type name, namespace, and OID can be relied on.
typdelim char   Character that separates two values of this type when parsing array input. Note that the delimiter is associated with the array element data type, not the array data type.
typrelid oid pg_class.oid If this is a composite type (see typtype), then this column points to the pg_class entry that defines the corresponding table. (For a free-standing composite type, the pg_class entry doesn't really represent a table, but it is needed anyway for the type's pg_attribute entries to link to.) Zero for non-composite types.
typelem oid pg_type.oid If typelem is not 0 then it identifies another row in pg_type. The current type can then be subscripted like an array yielding values of type typelem. A “true” array type is variable length (typlen = -1), but some fixed-length (typlen > 0) types also have nonzero typelem, for example name and point. If a fixed-length type has a typelem then its internal representation must be some number of values of the typelem data type with no other data. Variable-length array types have a header defined by the array subroutines.
typarray oid pg_type.oid If typarray is not 0 then it identifies another row in pg_type, which is the “true” array type having this type as element
typinput regproc pg_proc.oid Input conversion function (text format)
typoutput regproc pg_proc.oid Output conversion function (text format)
typreceive regproc pg_proc.oid Input conversion function (binary format), or 0 if none
typsend regproc pg_proc.oid Output conversion function (binary format), or 0 if none
typmodin regproc pg_proc.oid Type modifier input function, or 0 if type does not support modifiers
typmodout regproc pg_proc.oid Type modifier output function, or 0 to use the standard format
typanalyze regproc pg_proc.oid Custom ANALYZE function, or 0 to use the standard function
typalign char  

typalign is the alignment required when storing a value of this type. It applies to storage on disk as well as most representations of the value inside PostgreSQL. When multiple values are stored consecutively, such as in the representation of a complete row on disk, padding is inserted before a datum of this type so that it begins on the specified boundary. The alignment reference is the beginning of the first datum in the sequence.

Possible values are:

  • c = char alignment, i.e., no alignment needed.

  • s = short alignment (2 bytes on most machines).

  • i = int alignment (4 bytes on most machines).

  • d = double alignment (8 bytes on many machines, but by no means all).

Note

For types used in system tables, it is critical that the size and alignment defined in pg_type agree with the way that the compiler will lay out the column in a structure representing a table row.
typstorage char  

typstorage tells for varlena types (those with typlen = -1) if the type is prepared for toasting and what the default strategy for attributes of this type should be. Possible values are

  • p: Value must always be stored plain.

  • e: Value can be stored in a “secondary” relation (if relation has one, see pg_class.reltoastrelid).

  • m: Value can be stored compressed inline.

  • x: Value can be stored compressed inline or stored in “secondary” storage.

Note that m columns can also be moved out to secondary storage, but only as a last resort (e and x columns are moved first).
typnotnull bool  

typnotnull represents a not-null constraint on a type. Used for domains only.
typbasetype oid pg_type.oid

If this is a domain (see typtype), then typbasetype identifies the type that this one is based on. Zero if this type is not a domain.
typtypmod int4  

Domains use typtypmod to record the typmod to be applied to their base type (-1 if base type does not use a typmod). -1 if this type is not a domain.
typndims int4  

typndims is the number of array dimensions for a domain over an array (that is, typbasetype is an array type). Zero for types other than domains over array types.
typcollation oid pg_collation.oid

typcollation specifies the collation of the type. If the type does not support collations, this will be zero. A base type that supports collations will have a nonzero value here, typically DEFAULT_COLLATION_OID. A domain over a collatable type can have a collation OID different from its base type's, if one was specified for the domain.
typdefaultbin pg_node_tree  

If typdefaultbin is not null, it is the nodeToString() representation of a default expression for the type. This is only used for domains.
typdefault text  

typdefault is null if the type has no associated default value. If typdefaultbin is not null, typdefault must contain a human-readable version of the default expression represented by typdefaultbin. If typdefaultbin is null and typdefault is not, then typdefault is the external representation of the type's default value, which can be fed to the type's input converter to produce a constant.
typacl aclitem[]   Access privileges; see Section 5.7 for details

Table 51.64 lists the system-defined values of typcategory. Any future additions to this list will also be upper-case ASCII letters. All other ASCII characters are reserved for user-defined categories.

Table 51.64. typcategory Codes

Code Category
A Array types
B Boolean types
C Composite types
D Date/time types
E Enum types
G Geometric types
I Network address types
N Numeric types
P Pseudo-types
R Range types
S String types
T Timespan types
U User-defined types
V Bit-string types
X unknown type

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