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+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>CREATE SEQUENCE</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.79.1" /><link rel="prev" href="sql-createschema.html" title="CREATE SCHEMA" /><link rel="next" href="sql-createserver.html" title="CREATE SERVER" /></head><body id="docContent" class="container-fluid col-10"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/transitional" class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center">CREATE SEQUENCE</th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="sql-createschema.html" title="CREATE SCHEMA">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="sql-commands.html" title="SQL Commands">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">SQL Commands</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 13.4 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="sql-createserver.html" title="CREATE SERVER">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr></hr></div><div class="refentry" id="SQL-CREATESEQUENCE"><div class="titlepage"></div><a id="id-1.9.3.81.1" class="indexterm"></a><div class="refnamediv"><h2><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE SEQUENCE</span></h2><p>CREATE SEQUENCE — define a new sequence generator</p></div><div class="refsynopsisdiv"><h2>Synopsis</h2><pre class="synopsis">
+CREATE [ TEMPORARY | TEMP ] SEQUENCE [ IF NOT EXISTS ] <em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
+ [ AS <em class="replaceable"><code>data_type</code></em> ]
+ [ INCREMENT [ BY ] <em class="replaceable"><code>increment</code></em> ]
+ [ MINVALUE <em class="replaceable"><code>minvalue</code></em> | NO MINVALUE ] [ MAXVALUE <em class="replaceable"><code>maxvalue</code></em> | NO MAXVALUE ]
+ [ START [ WITH ] <em class="replaceable"><code>start</code></em> ] [ CACHE <em class="replaceable"><code>cache</code></em> ] [ [ NO ] CYCLE ]
+ [ OWNED BY { <em class="replaceable"><code>table_name</code></em>.<em class="replaceable"><code>column_name</code></em> | NONE } ]
+</pre></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.81.5"><h2>Description</h2><p>
+ <code class="command">CREATE SEQUENCE</code> creates a new sequence number
+ generator. This involves creating and initializing a new special
+ single-row table with the name <em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>. The generator will be
+ owned by the user issuing the command.
+ </p><p>
+ If a schema name is given then the sequence is created in the
+ specified schema. Otherwise it is created in the current schema.
+ Temporary sequences exist in a special schema, so a schema name cannot be
+ given when creating a temporary sequence.
+ The sequence name must be distinct from the name of any other sequence,
+ table, index, view, or foreign table in the same schema.
+ </p><p>
+ After a sequence is created, you use the functions
+ <code class="function">nextval</code>,
+ <code class="function">currval</code>, and
+ <code class="function">setval</code>
+ to operate on the sequence. These functions are documented in
+ <a class="xref" href="functions-sequence.html" title="9.17. Sequence Manipulation Functions">Section 9.17</a>.
+ </p><p>
+ Although you cannot update a sequence directly, you can use a query like:
+
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+SELECT * FROM <em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>;
+</pre><p>
+
+ to examine the parameters and current state of a sequence. In particular,
+ the <code class="literal">last_value</code> field of the sequence shows the last value
+ allocated by any session. (Of course, this value might be obsolete
+ by the time it's printed, if other sessions are actively doing
+ <code class="function">nextval</code> calls.)
+ </p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.81.6"><h2>Parameters</h2><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">TEMPORARY</code> or <code class="literal">TEMP</code></span></dt><dd><p>
+ If specified, the sequence object is created only for this
+ session, and is automatically dropped on session exit. Existing
+ permanent sequences with the same name are not visible (in this
+ session) while the temporary sequence exists, unless they are
+ referenced with schema-qualified names.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">IF NOT EXISTS</code></span></dt><dd><p>
+ Do not throw an error if a relation with the same name already exists.
+ A notice is issued in this case. Note that there is no guarantee that
+ the existing relation is anything like the sequence that would have
+ been created — it might not even be a sequence.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em></span></dt><dd><p>
+ The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the sequence to be created.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>data_type</code></em></span></dt><dd><p>
+ The optional
+ clause <code class="literal">AS <em class="replaceable"><code>data_type</code></em></code>
+ specifies the data type of the sequence. Valid types are
+ <code class="literal">smallint</code>, <code class="literal">integer</code>,
+ and <code class="literal">bigint</code>. <code class="literal">bigint</code> is the
+ default. The data type determines the default minimum and maximum
+ values of the sequence.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>increment</code></em></span></dt><dd><p>
+ The optional clause <code class="literal">INCREMENT BY <em class="replaceable"><code>increment</code></em></code> specifies
+ which value is added to the current sequence value to create a
+ new value. A positive value will make an ascending sequence, a
+ negative one a descending sequence. The default value is 1.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>minvalue</code></em><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NO MINVALUE</code></span></dt><dd><p>
+ The optional clause <code class="literal">MINVALUE <em class="replaceable"><code>minvalue</code></em></code> determines
+ the minimum value a sequence can generate. If this clause is not
+ supplied or <code class="option">NO MINVALUE</code> is specified, then
+ defaults will be used. The default for an ascending sequence is 1. The
+ default for a descending sequence is the minimum value of the data type.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>maxvalue</code></em><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NO MAXVALUE</code></span></dt><dd><p>
+ The optional clause <code class="literal">MAXVALUE <em class="replaceable"><code>maxvalue</code></em></code> determines
+ the maximum value for the sequence. If this clause is not
+ supplied or <code class="option">NO MAXVALUE</code> is specified, then
+ default values will be used. The default for an ascending sequence is
+ the maximum value of the data type. The default for a descending
+ sequence is -1.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>start</code></em></span></dt><dd><p>
+ The optional clause <code class="literal">START WITH <em class="replaceable"><code>start</code></em> </code> allows the
+ sequence to begin anywhere. The default starting value is
+ <em class="replaceable"><code>minvalue</code></em> for
+ ascending sequences and <em class="replaceable"><code>maxvalue</code></em> for descending ones.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>cache</code></em></span></dt><dd><p>
+ The optional clause <code class="literal">CACHE <em class="replaceable"><code>cache</code></em></code> specifies how
+ many sequence numbers are to be preallocated and stored in
+ memory for faster access. The minimum value is 1 (only one value
+ can be generated at a time, i.e., no cache), and this is also the
+ default.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">CYCLE</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NO CYCLE</code></span></dt><dd><p>
+ The <code class="literal">CYCLE</code> option allows the sequence to wrap
+ around when the <em class="replaceable"><code>maxvalue</code></em> or <em class="replaceable"><code>minvalue</code></em> has been reached by an
+ ascending or descending sequence respectively. If the limit is
+ reached, the next number generated will be the <em class="replaceable"><code>minvalue</code></em> or <em class="replaceable"><code>maxvalue</code></em>, respectively.
+ </p><p>
+ If <code class="literal">NO CYCLE</code> is specified, any calls to
+ <code class="function">nextval</code> after the sequence has reached its
+ maximum value will return an error. If neither
+ <code class="literal">CYCLE</code> or <code class="literal">NO CYCLE</code> are
+ specified, <code class="literal">NO CYCLE</code> is the default.
+ </p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">OWNED BY</code> <em class="replaceable"><code>table_name</code></em>.<em class="replaceable"><code>column_name</code></em><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">OWNED BY NONE</code></span></dt><dd><p>
+ The <code class="literal">OWNED BY</code> option causes the sequence to be
+ associated with a specific table column, such that if that column
+ (or its whole table) is dropped, the sequence will be automatically
+ dropped as well. The specified table must have the same owner and be in
+ the same schema as the sequence.
+ <code class="literal">OWNED BY NONE</code>, the default, specifies that there
+ is no such association.
+ </p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.81.7"><h2>Notes</h2><p>
+ Use <code class="command">DROP SEQUENCE</code> to remove a sequence.
+ </p><p>
+ Sequences are based on <code class="type">bigint</code> arithmetic, so the range
+ cannot exceed the range of an eight-byte integer
+ (-9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807).
+ </p><p>
+ Because <code class="function">nextval</code> and <code class="function">setval</code> calls are never
+ rolled back, sequence objects cannot be used if <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">gapless</span>”</span>
+ assignment of sequence numbers is needed. It is possible to build
+ gapless assignment by using exclusive locking of a table containing a
+ counter; but this solution is much more expensive than sequence
+ objects, especially if many transactions need sequence numbers
+ concurrently.
+ </p><p>
+ Unexpected results might be obtained if a <em class="replaceable"><code>cache</code></em> setting greater than one is
+ used for a sequence object that will be used concurrently by
+ multiple sessions. Each session will allocate and cache successive
+ sequence values during one access to the sequence object and
+ increase the sequence object's <code class="literal">last_value</code> accordingly.
+ Then, the next <em class="replaceable"><code>cache</code></em>-1
+ uses of <code class="function">nextval</code> within that session simply return the
+ preallocated values without touching the sequence object. So, any
+ numbers allocated but not used within a session will be lost when
+ that session ends, resulting in <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">holes</span>”</span> in the
+ sequence.
+ </p><p>
+ Furthermore, although multiple sessions are guaranteed to allocate
+ distinct sequence values, the values might be generated out of
+ sequence when all the sessions are considered. For example, with
+ a <em class="replaceable"><code>cache</code></em> setting of 10,
+ session A might reserve values 1..10 and return
+ <code class="function">nextval</code>=1, then session B might reserve values
+ 11..20 and return <code class="function">nextval</code>=11 before session A
+ has generated <code class="literal">nextval</code>=2. Thus, with a
+ <em class="replaceable"><code>cache</code></em> setting of one
+ it is safe to assume that <code class="function">nextval</code> values are generated
+ sequentially; with a <em class="replaceable"><code>cache</code></em> setting greater than one you
+ should only assume that the <code class="function">nextval</code> values are all
+ distinct, not that they are generated purely sequentially. Also,
+ <code class="literal">last_value</code> will reflect the latest value reserved by
+ any session, whether or not it has yet been returned by
+ <code class="function">nextval</code>.
+ </p><p>
+ Another consideration is that a <code class="function">setval</code> executed on
+ such a sequence will not be noticed by other sessions until they
+ have used up any preallocated values they have cached.
+ </p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.81.8"><h2>Examples</h2><p>
+ Create an ascending sequence called <code class="literal">serial</code>, starting at 101:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+CREATE SEQUENCE serial START 101;
+</pre><p>
+ </p><p>
+ Select the next number from this sequence:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+SELECT nextval('serial');
+
+ nextval
+---------
+ 101
+</pre><p>
+ </p><p>
+ Select the next number from this sequence:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+SELECT nextval('serial');
+
+ nextval
+---------
+ 102
+</pre><p>
+ </p><p>
+ Use this sequence in an <code class="command">INSERT</code> command:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+INSERT INTO distributors VALUES (nextval('serial'), 'nothing');
+</pre><p>
+ </p><p>
+ Update the sequence value after a <code class="command">COPY FROM</code>:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+BEGIN;
+COPY distributors FROM 'input_file';
+SELECT setval('serial', max(id)) FROM distributors;
+END;
+</pre></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.81.9"><h2>Compatibility</h2><p>
+ <code class="command">CREATE SEQUENCE</code> conforms to the <acronym class="acronym">SQL</acronym>
+ standard, with the following exceptions:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Obtaining the next value is done using the <code class="function">nextval()</code>
+ function instead of the standard's <code class="command">NEXT VALUE FOR</code>
+ expression.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The <code class="literal">OWNED BY</code> clause is a <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span>
+ extension.
+ </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.81.10"><h2>See Also</h2><span class="simplelist"><a class="xref" href="sql-altersequence.html" title="ALTER SEQUENCE"><span class="refentrytitle">ALTER SEQUENCE</span></a>, <a class="xref" href="sql-dropsequence.html" title="DROP SEQUENCE"><span class="refentrytitle">DROP SEQUENCE</span></a></span></div></div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/transitional" class="navfooter"><hr></hr><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="sql-createschema.html" title="CREATE SCHEMA">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="sql-commands.html" title="SQL Commands">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="sql-createserver.html" title="CREATE SERVER">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">CREATE SCHEMA </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 13.4 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> CREATE SERVER</td></tr></table></div></body></html> \ No newline at end of file