Re: [pgsql-advocacy] Oracle buys Innobase

This is the salient sentence from the standard (that I've never personnally
thought much about before now).

"If CS has the NO PAD characteristic, then the pad character is an
implementation-dependent character different from any character in the
character set of X and Y that collates less than any string under CS."

It boils down to saying "NO PAD strings of different length are never
equal". So the correctness of any DB depends on whether the type in
question has the NO PAD characteristic. So, is varchar NO PAD? That's
the real question.

Rick

"Dann Corbit" <DCorbit(at)connx(dot)com> wrote on 10/19/2005 03:57:26 PM:

> create table fooa (col1 varchar(30))
> go
> create table bara (col1 varchar(300))
> go
> insert into fooa values ('Danniel ')
> go
> insert into bara values ('Danniel ')
> go
> select * from fooa,bara where fooa.col1=bara.col1
> go
>
> Returns:
> Danniel Danniel
>
> I think that the issue is:
> Does PostgreSQL use something other than <space> as the pad character?
> If so, what character is that (and why choose it over <space>)?
> If not, then PostgreSQL is clearly returning the wrong results.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Terry Fielder [mailto:terry(at)ashtonwoodshomes(dot)com]
> > Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 2:02 PM
> > To: Dann Corbit
> > Cc: Marc G. Fournier; Richard_D_Levine(at)raytheon(dot)com; pgsql-
> > general(at)postgresql(dot)org
> > Subject: Re: [pgsql-advocacy] [GENERAL] Oracle buys Innobase
> >
> > Hi Dann
> >
> > Without looking at the internals to see if the 1 column or the other
> is
> > being converted to the other columns type before the compare, it
> really
> > demonstrates nothing.
> >
> > It could perhaps be used to help demonstrate that when comparing a
> > datatype of CHAR to VARCHAR that
> > MS-SQL converts the VARCHAR to CHAR and then does the compare
> > Postgres converts the CHAR to VARCHAR and then does the compare
> >
> > But there isn't even enough evidence here to support that.
> >
> > Terry
> >
> > Dann Corbit wrote:
> > > create table foo (col1 varchar(30))
> > > go
> > > create table bar (col1 char(30))
> > > go
> > > insert into foo values ('Danniel ')
> > > go
> > > insert into bar values ('Danniel ')
> > > go
> > > select * from foo,bar where foo.col1=bar.col1
> > > go
> > >
> > > Result set:
> > > Danniel Danniel
> > >
> > >
> > >>-----Original Message-----
> > >>From: Terry Fielder [mailto:terry(at)ashtonwoodshomes(dot)com]
> > >>Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 1:39 PM
> > >>To: Dann Corbit
> > >>Cc: Marc G. Fournier; Richard_D_Levine(at)raytheon(dot)com; pgsql-
> > >>general(at)postgresql(dot)org
> > >>Subject: Re: [pgsql-advocacy] [GENERAL] Oracle buys Innobase
> > >>
> > >>I agree with you, but...
> > >>
> > >>Actually that's not how the compare works usually.
> > >>
> > >>Generally one of the operands is converted to the same datatype as
> the
> > >>other, and THEN the compare is performed.
> > >>
> > >>I expect MS SQL is converting a 'sdas' typeless string to be assumed
> > >>CHAR and Postgresql is converting a 'sdas' typeless string to be
> > >
> > > assumed
> > >
> > >>VARCHAR.
> > >>
> > >>Hence, the different behaviour.
> > >>
> > >>Terry
> > >>
> > >>Dann Corbit wrote:
> > >>
> > >>>Would you want varchar(30) 'Dann Corbit' to compare equal to
> > >
> > > bpchar(30)
> > >
> > >>>'Dann Corbit'?
> > >>>
> > >>>I would.
> > >>>
> > >>>If both are considered character types by the language, then they
> > >
> > > must
> > >
> > >>>compare that way.
> > >>>
> > >>>Perhaps there are some nuances that I am not aware of. But that is
> > >
> > > how
> > >
> > >>>things ought to behave, if I were king of the forest.
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>>-----Original Message-----
> > >>>>From: pgsql-general-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org [mailto:pgsql-general-
> > >>>>owner(at)postgresql(dot)org] On Behalf Of Terry Fielder
> > >>>>Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 12:37 PM
> > >>>>To: Marc G. Fournier
> > >>>>Cc: Richard_D_Levine(at)raytheon(dot)com; pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org
> > >>>>Subject: Re: [pgsql-advocacy] [GENERAL] Oracle buys Innobase
> > >>>>
> > >>>>OK, I am not an expert on the SQL standard, but I thought the
> > >>>
> > >>>definition
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>>varied by data type e.g. varchar <> bpchar
> > >>>>
> > >>>>Terry
> > >>>>
> > >>>>Marc G. Fournier wrote:
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>>On Wed, 19 Oct 2005, Richard_D_Levine(at)raytheon(dot)com wrote:
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>>I was referring to trailing blanks, but did not explicitly say
> it,
> > >>>>>>though showed it in the examples. I am pretty sure that the SQL
> > >>>>>>standard says that trailing whitespace is insignificant in
> string
> > >>>>>>comparison.
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>Then we are broken too :)
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>># select 'a ' = 'a ';
> > >>>>>?column?
> > >>>>>----------
> > >>>>>f
> > >>>>>(1 row)
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>----
> > >>>>>Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services
> > >>>>
> > >>>>(http://www.hub.org)
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>>Email: scrappy(at)hub(dot)org Yahoo!: yscrappy
> ICQ:
> > >>>>
> > >>>>7615664
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>>---------------------------(end of
> > >>>
> > >>>broadcast)---------------------------
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>>>TIP 4: Have you searched our list archives?
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>> http://archives.postgresql.org
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>--
> > >>>>Terry Fielder
> > >>>>terry(at)greatgulfhomes(dot)com
> > >>>>Associate Director Software Development and Deployment
> > >>>>Great Gulf Homes / Ashton Woods Homes
> > >>>>Fax: (416) 441-9085
> > >>>>
> > >>>>---------------------------(end of
> > >>>
> > >>>broadcast)---------------------------
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>>TIP 6: explain analyze is your friend
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>--
> > >>Terry Fielder
> > >>terry(at)greatgulfhomes(dot)com
> > >>Associate Director Software Development and Deployment
> > >>Great Gulf Homes / Ashton Woods Homes
> > >>Fax: (416) 441-9085
> > >
> > >
> >
> > --
> > Terry Fielder
> > terry(at)greatgulfhomes(dot)com
> > Associate Director Software Development and Deployment
> > Great Gulf Homes / Ashton Woods Homes
> > Fax: (416) 441-9085