Re: pg_dump --binary-upgrade vs. ALTER TYPE ... DROP ATTRIBUTE

On Apr 20, 2011, at 11:37 PM, Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us> wrote:
>
>> But one might well wonder why we didn't decide on:
>> CREATE TABLE n OF TYPE t;
>> ...rather than the actual syntax:
>> CREATE TABLE n OF t;
>> ...which has brevity to recommend it, but likewise isn't terribly clear.
>
>> I presume someone will now refer to a standard of some kind....
>
> SQL:2008 11.3 <table definition>, the bits around <typed table clause>
> to be specific.

Right on schedule...

> The SQL committee's taste in syntax is, uh, not mine. They are
> amazingly long-winded in places and then they go and do something
> like this ...

Not to mention that it won't do to use existing syntax (like function call notation) when you could invent bespoke syntax, ideally involving new keywords.

...Robert