Implicit type conversion -- where documented?

From: Kirk Parker <khp(at)equatoria(dot)us>
To: pgsql-docs(at)lists(dot)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Implicit type conversion -- where documented?
Date: 2022-11-11 02:27:21
Message-ID: CANwZ8r=Z-fUmZkSQAV1O0gsOBedt9qDEOw3tbYdYbx3Vt9ezDQ@mail.gmail.com
Views: Raw Message | Whole Thread | Download mbox | Resend email
Thread:
Lists: pgsql-docs

I came across what seems like anomalous behavior regarding
implicit conversion from a numeric type to text. You can write:

select 3.1416 || '?';

and the number implicitly converts to text and concatenates just fine, but
writing:

select trim(3.1416);

fails with an error message. This seems odd to me--in both cases a float
literal is used in a context expecting text; in one case it implicitly
converts, in the other it doesn't.

*This brings up my real question*: are the details of this documented
anywhere? Chapter 10 refers to ' implicit conversions' but I can't see
anywhere that the docs explain the details of how it is done, that would
explain the observed difference in behavior described above.

Thanks!

Responses

Browse pgsql-docs by date

  From Date Subject
Next Message Julien Rouhaud 2022-11-11 03:09:31 Re: Implicit type conversion -- where documented?
Previous Message Tom Lane 2022-11-10 17:44:12 Re: pg_relation_is_updatable, pg_column_is_updatable not documented