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diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/html/ddl-alter.html b/doc/src/sgml/html/ddl-alter.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..259803d --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/src/sgml/html/ddl-alter.html @@ -0,0 +1,156 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?> +<!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>5.6. Modifying Tables</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 Vsnapshot" /><link rel="prev" href="ddl-system-columns.html" title="5.5. System Columns" /><link rel="next" href="ddl-priv.html" title="5.7. Privileges" /></head><body id="docContent" class="container-fluid col-10"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center">5.6. Modifying Tables</th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="ddl-system-columns.html" title="5.5. System Columns">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="ddl.html" title="Chapter 5. Data Definition">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">Chapter 5. Data Definition</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 15.5 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="ddl-priv.html" title="5.7. Privileges">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="sect1" id="DDL-ALTER"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">5.6. Modifying Tables</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ddl-alter.html#DDL-ALTER-ADDING-A-COLUMN">5.6.1. Adding a Column</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ddl-alter.html#DDL-ALTER-REMOVING-A-COLUMN">5.6.2. Removing a Column</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ddl-alter.html#DDL-ALTER-ADDING-A-CONSTRAINT">5.6.3. Adding a Constraint</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ddl-alter.html#DDL-ALTER-REMOVING-A-CONSTRAINT">5.6.4. Removing a Constraint</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ddl-alter.html#id-1.5.4.8.9">5.6.5. Changing a Column's Default Value</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ddl-alter.html#id-1.5.4.8.10">5.6.6. Changing a Column's Data Type</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ddl-alter.html#id-1.5.4.8.11">5.6.7. Renaming a Column</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="ddl-alter.html#id-1.5.4.8.12">5.6.8. Renaming a Table</a></span></dt></dl></div><a id="id-1.5.4.8.2" class="indexterm"></a><p> + When you create a table and you realize that you made a mistake, or + the requirements of the application change, you can drop the + table and create it again. But this is not a convenient option if + the table is already filled with data, or if the table is + referenced by other database objects (for instance a foreign key + constraint). Therefore <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> + provides a family of commands to make modifications to existing + tables. Note that this is conceptually distinct from altering + the data contained in the table: here we are interested in altering + the definition, or structure, of the table. + </p><p> + You can: + </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>Add columns</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Remove columns</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Add constraints</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Remove constraints</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Change default values</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Change column data types</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Rename columns</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Rename tables</p></li></ul></div><p> + + All these actions are performed using the + <a class="xref" href="sql-altertable.html" title="ALTER TABLE"><span class="refentrytitle">ALTER TABLE</span></a> + command, whose reference page contains details beyond those given + here. + </p><div class="sect2" id="DDL-ALTER-ADDING-A-COLUMN"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">5.6.1. Adding a Column</h3></div></div></div><a id="id-1.5.4.8.5.2" class="indexterm"></a><p> + To add a column, use a command like: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products ADD COLUMN description text; +</pre><p> + The new column is initially filled with whatever default + value is given (null if you don't specify a <code class="literal">DEFAULT</code> clause). + </p><div class="tip"><h3 class="title">Tip</h3><p> + From <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> 11, adding a column with + a constant default value no longer means that each row of the table + needs to be updated when the <code class="command">ALTER TABLE</code> statement + is executed. Instead, the default value will be returned the next time + the row is accessed, and applied when the table is rewritten, making + the <code class="command">ALTER TABLE</code> very fast even on large tables. + </p><p> + However, if the default value is volatile (e.g., + <code class="function">clock_timestamp()</code>) + each row will need to be updated with the value calculated at the time + <code class="command">ALTER TABLE</code> is executed. To avoid a potentially + lengthy update operation, particularly if you intend to fill the column + with mostly nondefault values anyway, it may be preferable to add the + column with no default, insert the correct values using + <code class="command">UPDATE</code>, and then add any desired default as described + below. + </p></div><p> + You can also define constraints on the column at the same time, + using the usual syntax: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products ADD COLUMN description text CHECK (description <> ''); +</pre><p> + In fact all the options that can be applied to a column description + in <code class="command">CREATE TABLE</code> can be used here. Keep in mind however + that the default value must satisfy the given constraints, or the + <code class="literal">ADD</code> will fail. Alternatively, you can add + constraints later (see below) after you've filled in the new column + correctly. + </p></div><div class="sect2" id="DDL-ALTER-REMOVING-A-COLUMN"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">5.6.2. Removing a Column</h3></div></div></div><a id="id-1.5.4.8.6.2" class="indexterm"></a><p> + To remove a column, use a command like: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products DROP COLUMN description; +</pre><p> + Whatever data was in the column disappears. Table constraints involving + the column are dropped, too. However, if the column is referenced by a + foreign key constraint of another table, + <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> will not silently drop that + constraint. You can authorize dropping everything that depends on + the column by adding <code class="literal">CASCADE</code>: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products DROP COLUMN description CASCADE; +</pre><p> + See <a class="xref" href="ddl-depend.html" title="5.14. Dependency Tracking">Section 5.14</a> for a description of the general + mechanism behind this. + </p></div><div class="sect2" id="DDL-ALTER-ADDING-A-CONSTRAINT"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">5.6.3. Adding a Constraint</h3></div></div></div><a id="id-1.5.4.8.7.2" class="indexterm"></a><p> + To add a constraint, the table constraint syntax is used. For example: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products ADD CHECK (name <> ''); +ALTER TABLE products ADD CONSTRAINT some_name UNIQUE (product_no); +ALTER TABLE products ADD FOREIGN KEY (product_group_id) REFERENCES product_groups; +</pre><p> + To add a not-null constraint, which cannot be written as a table + constraint, use this syntax: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products ALTER COLUMN product_no SET NOT NULL; +</pre><p> + </p><p> + The constraint will be checked immediately, so the table data must + satisfy the constraint before it can be added. + </p></div><div class="sect2" id="DDL-ALTER-REMOVING-A-CONSTRAINT"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">5.6.4. Removing a Constraint</h3></div></div></div><a id="id-1.5.4.8.8.2" class="indexterm"></a><p> + To remove a constraint you need to know its name. If you gave it + a name then that's easy. Otherwise the system assigned a + generated name, which you need to find out. The + <span class="application">psql</span> command <code class="literal">\d + <em class="replaceable"><code>tablename</code></em></code> can be helpful + here; other interfaces might also provide a way to inspect table + details. Then the command is: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products DROP CONSTRAINT some_name; +</pre><p> + (If you are dealing with a generated constraint name like <code class="literal">$2</code>, + don't forget that you'll need to double-quote it to make it a valid + identifier.) + </p><p> + As with dropping a column, you need to add <code class="literal">CASCADE</code> if you + want to drop a constraint that something else depends on. An example + is that a foreign key constraint depends on a unique or primary key + constraint on the referenced column(s). + </p><p> + This works the same for all constraint types except not-null + constraints. To drop a not null constraint use: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products ALTER COLUMN product_no DROP NOT NULL; +</pre><p> + (Recall that not-null constraints do not have names.) + </p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.5.4.8.9"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">5.6.5. Changing a Column's Default Value</h3></div></div></div><a id="id-1.5.4.8.9.2" class="indexterm"></a><p> + To set a new default for a column, use a command like: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products ALTER COLUMN price SET DEFAULT 7.77; +</pre><p> + Note that this doesn't affect any existing rows in the table, it + just changes the default for future <code class="command">INSERT</code> commands. + </p><p> + To remove any default value, use: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products ALTER COLUMN price DROP DEFAULT; +</pre><p> + This is effectively the same as setting the default to null. + As a consequence, it is not an error + to drop a default where one hadn't been defined, because the + default is implicitly the null value. + </p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.5.4.8.10"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">5.6.6. Changing a Column's Data Type</h3></div></div></div><a id="id-1.5.4.8.10.2" class="indexterm"></a><p> + To convert a column to a different data type, use a command like: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products ALTER COLUMN price TYPE numeric(10,2); +</pre><p> + This will succeed only if each existing entry in the column can be + converted to the new type by an implicit cast. If a more complex + conversion is needed, you can add a <code class="literal">USING</code> clause that + specifies how to compute the new values from the old. + </p><p> + <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> will attempt to convert the column's + default value (if any) to the new type, as well as any constraints + that involve the column. But these conversions might fail, or might + produce surprising results. It's often best to drop any constraints + on the column before altering its type, and then add back suitably + modified constraints afterwards. + </p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.5.4.8.11"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">5.6.7. Renaming a Column</h3></div></div></div><a id="id-1.5.4.8.11.2" class="indexterm"></a><p> + To rename a column: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products RENAME COLUMN product_no TO product_number; +</pre><p> + </p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.5.4.8.12"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">5.6.8. Renaming a Table</h3></div></div></div><a id="id-1.5.4.8.12.2" class="indexterm"></a><p> + To rename a table: +</p><pre class="programlisting"> +ALTER TABLE products RENAME TO items; +</pre><p> + </p></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="ddl-system-columns.html" title="5.5. 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