Re: identity columns ?

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So this raises a question I was wondering, what use *is* the oid column in
non-system tables? The only thing I could think of is for last-resort row
uniqueness if the application somehow borked up. Are there any other
reasons to even have this column in a user table?

Joshua b. Jore
http://www.greentechnologist.org

On Fri, 5 Apr 2002, Josh Berkus wrote:

> Harald, Chris,
>
> > > 1. M$ SQL Server has an identity column which generates a
> > sequential number
> > > for you, we use this often for unique primary keys. Does postgres
> > support
> > > anything like this ?
> >
> > select *,oid from your_table
>
> NO!!!! This is wrong. DO NOT USE the oid for anything other than
> system purposes. It is NOT a user-friendly value for several reasons.
>
> Chris, the data type you want is SERIAL. Please read the section of
> the docs on sequences:
> http://www.postgresql.org/idocs/index.php?sql-createsequence.html
> ... as the SERIAL datatype simply automates the creation of a sequence.
> BTW, postgres sequences are both more powerful and more user-friendly
> than MS SQL Identity columns.
>
> I would also strongly suggest buying a beginner's postgresql book, such
> as "PostgreSQL: Introduction and Concepts" or Wrox Press' PostgreSQL
> book.
>
> -Josh Berkus
>
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>
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