Re: Enums patch v2

On Tue, Dec 19, 2006 at 08:09:47AM +0000, Heikki Linnakangas wrote:
> Tom Dunstan wrote:
> >Here is an updated version of the enums patch. It has been brought up to
> >date and applies against current CVS HEAD. The original email is at [1],
> >and describes the implementation.
>
> I'm sorry I missed the original discussions, but I have to ask: Why do
> we want enums in core? The only potential advantage I can see over using
> a look-up table and FK references is performance.

A natural ordering is another. I'd love to be able to make a type
color that has

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet

and then be able to do an ORDER BY color;

> And I'd rather spend time improving the performance of FK checks
> than add extra machinery to do the same thing in a different way.

Not the same thing.

> Ignoring my general dislike of enums, I have a few issues with the patch
> as it is:
>
> 1. What's the point of having comparison operators for enums? For most
> use cases, there's no natural ordering of enum values.

A natural ordering is precisely the use case for enums. Otherwise,
you just use a FK to a one-column table and have done.

Cheers,
D
--
David Fetter <david(at)fetter(dot)org> http://fetter.org/
phone: +1 415 235 3778 AIM: dfetter666
Skype: davidfetter

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