hstore docs
Update hstore docs, mostly word-smithing. David E. Wheeler
This commit is contained in:
Bruce Momjian
parent
891f924bad
commit
29fd97d982
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@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
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<!-- $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/hstore.sgml,v 1.4 2009/09/30 19:50:22 tgl Exp $ -->
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<!-- $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/hstore.sgml,v 1.5 2009/11/30 17:56:09 momjian Exp $ -->
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<sect1 id="hstore">
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<title>hstore</title>
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@ -8,62 +8,76 @@
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</indexterm>
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<para>
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This module implements a data type <type>hstore</> for storing sets of
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(key,value) pairs within a single <productname>PostgreSQL</> data field.
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This module implements the <type>hstore</> data type for storing sets of
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key/value pairs within a single <productname>PostgreSQL</> value.
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This can be useful in various scenarios, such as rows with many attributes
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that are rarely examined, or semi-structured data. Keys and values are
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arbitrary text strings.
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simply text strings.
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</para>
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<sect2>
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<title><type>hstore</> External Representation</title>
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<para>
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The text representation of an <type>hstore</> value includes zero
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or more <replaceable>key</> <literal>=></> <replaceable>value</>
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items, separated by commas. For example:
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The text representation of an <type>hstore</>, used for input and output,
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includes zero or more <replaceable>key</> <literal>=></>
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<replaceable>value</> pairs separated by commas. Some examples:
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<programlisting>
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k => v
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foo => bar, baz => whatever
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"1-a" => "anything at all"
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k => v
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foo => bar, baz => whatever
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"1-a" => "anything at all"
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</programlisting>
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The order of the items is not considered significant (and may not be
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reproduced on output). Whitespace between items or around the
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<literal>=></> sign is ignored. Use double quotes if a key or
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value includes whitespace, comma, <literal>=</> or <literal>></>.
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To include a double quote or a backslash in a key or value, precede
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it with another backslash.
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The order of the pairs is not significant (and may not be reproduced on
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output). Whitespace between pairs or around the <literal>=></> sign is
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ignored. Double-quote keys and values that include whitespace, commas,
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<literal>=</>s or <literal>></>s. To include a double quote or a
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backslash in a key or value, escape it with a backslash.
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</para>
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<para>
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A value (but not a key) can be a SQL NULL. This is represented as
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Each key in an <type>hstore</> is unique. If you declare an <type>hstore</>
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with duplicate keys, only one will be stored in the <type>hstore</> and
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there is no guarantee as to which will be kept:
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<programlisting>
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key => NULL
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% select 'a=>1,a=>2'::hstore;
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hstore
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----------
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"a"=>"1"
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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A value (but not a key) can be an SQL <literal>NULL</>. For example:
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<programlisting>
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key => NULL
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</programlisting>
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The <literal>NULL</> keyword is not case-sensitive. Again, use
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double quotes if you want the string <literal>null</> to be treated
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as an ordinary data value.
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The <literal>NULL</> keyword is case-insensitive. Double-quote the
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<literal>NULL</> to treat it as the ordinary string "NULL".
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</para>
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<note>
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<para>
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Keep in mind that the above format, when used to input hstore values,
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applies <emphasis>before</> any required quoting or escaping. If you
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are passing an hstore literal via a parameter, then no additional
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processing is needed. If you are passing it as a quoted literal
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constant, then any single-quote characters and (depending on the
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setting of <varname>standard_conforming_strings</>) backslash characters
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need to be escaped correctly. See <xref linkend="sql-syntax-strings">.
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Keep in mind that the <type>hstore</> text format, when used for input,
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applies <emphasis>before</> any required quoting or escaping. If you are
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passing an <type>hstore</> literal via a parameter, then no additional
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processing is needed. But if you're passing it as a quoted literal
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constant, then any single-quote characters and (depending on the setting of
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the <varname>standard_conforming_strings</> configuration parameter)
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backslash characters need to be escaped correctly. See
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<xref linkend="sql-syntax-strings"> for more on the handling of string
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constants.
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</para>
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</note>
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<para>
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Double quotes are always used to surround key and value
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strings on output, even when this is not strictly necessary.
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On output, double quotes always surround keys and values, even when it's
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not strictly necessary.
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</para>
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</sect2>
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@ -87,42 +101,42 @@
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<tbody>
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<row>
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<entry><type>hstore</> <literal>-></> <type>text</></entry>
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<entry>get value for key (null if not present)</entry>
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<entry>get value for key (<literal>NULL</> if not present)</entry>
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<entry><literal>'a=>x, b=>y'::hstore -> 'a'</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>x</literal></entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><type>hstore</> <literal>-></> <type>text[]</></entry>
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<entry>get values for keys (null if not present)</entry>
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<entry>get values for keys (<literal>NULL</> if not present)</entry>
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<entry><literal>'a=>x, b=>y, c=>z'::hstore -> ARRAY['c','a']</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>{"z","x"}</literal></entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><type>text</> <literal>=></> <type>text</></entry>
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<entry>make single-item <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry>make single-pair <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry><literal>'a' => 'b'</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>"a"=>"b"</literal></entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><type>text[]</> <literal>=></> <type>text[]</></entry>
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<entry>construct an <type>hstore</> value from separate key and value arrays</entry>
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<entry>construct an <type>hstore</> from separate key and value arrays</entry>
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<entry><literal>ARRAY['a','b'] => ARRAY['1','2']</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>"a"=>"1","b"=>"2"</literal></entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><type>hstore</> <literal>=></> <type>text[]</></entry>
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<entry>extract a subset of an <type>hstore</> value</entry>
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<entry>extract a subset of an <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry><literal>'a=>1,b=>2,c=>3'::hstore => ARRAY['b','c','x']</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>"b"=>"2", "c"=>"3"</literal></entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><type>hstore</> <literal>||</> <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry>concatenation</entry>
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<entry>concatenate <type>hstore</>s</entry>
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<entry><literal>'a=>b, c=>d'::hstore || 'c=>x, d=>q'::hstore</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>"a"=>"b", "c"=>"x", "d"=>"q"</literal></entry>
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</row>
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@ -178,28 +192,28 @@
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<row>
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<entry><type>hstore</> <literal>-</> <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry>delete matching key/value pairs from left operand</entry>
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<entry>delete matching pairs from left operand</entry>
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<entry><literal>'a=>1, b=>2, c=>3'::hstore - 'a=>4, b=>2'::hstore</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>"a"=>"1", "c"=>"3"</literal></entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><type>record</> <literal>#=</> <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry>replace fields in record with matching values from hstore</entry>
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<entry>replace fields in <type>record</> with matching values from <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry>see Examples section</entry>
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<entry></entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><literal>%%</> <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry>convert hstore to array of alternating keys and values</entry>
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<entry>convert <type>hstore</> to array of alternating keys and values</entry>
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<entry><literal>%% 'a=>foo, b=>bar'::hstore</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>{a,foo,b,bar}</literal></entry>
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</row>
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<row>
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<entry><literal>%#</> <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry>convert hstore to two-dimensional key/value array</entry>
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<entry>convert <type>hstore</> to two-dimensional key/value array</entry>
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<entry><literal>%# 'a=>foo, b=>bar'::hstore</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>{{a,foo},{b,bar}}</literal></entry>
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</row>
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@ -208,13 +222,15 @@
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</tgroup>
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</table>
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<note>
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<para>
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(Before PostgreSQL 8.2, the containment operators @> and <@ were
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respectively called @ and ~. These names are still available, but are
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deprecated and will eventually be retired. Notice that the old names
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are reversed from the convention formerly followed by the core geometric
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datatypes!)
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</para>
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Prior to PostgreSQL 8.2, the containment operators <literal>@></>
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and <literal><@</> were called <literal>@</> and <literal>~</>,
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respectively. These names are still available, but are deprecated and will
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eventually be removed. Notice that the old names are reversed from the
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convention formerly followed by the core geometric datatypes!
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</para>
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</note>
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<table id="hstore-func-table">
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<title><type>hstore</> Functions</title>
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@ -251,7 +267,7 @@
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<row>
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<entry><function>akeys(hstore)</function></entry>
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<entry><type>text[]</type></entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s keys as array</entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s keys as an array</entry>
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<entry><literal>akeys('a=>1,b=>2')</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>{a,b}</literal></entry>
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</row>
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@ -259,10 +275,10 @@
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<row>
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<entry><function>skeys(hstore)</function></entry>
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<entry><type>setof text</type></entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s keys as set</entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s keys as a set</entry>
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<entry><literal>skeys('a=>1,b=>2')</literal></entry>
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<entry>
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<programlisting>
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22<programlisting>
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a
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b
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</programlisting></entry>
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@ -271,7 +287,7 @@ b
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<row>
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<entry><function>avals(hstore)</function></entry>
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<entry><type>text[]</type></entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s values as array</entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s values as an array</entry>
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<entry><literal>avals('a=>1,b=>2')</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>{1,2}</literal></entry>
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</row>
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@ -279,7 +295,7 @@ b
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<row>
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<entry><function>svals(hstore)</function></entry>
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<entry><type>setof text</type></entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s values as set</entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s values as a set</entry>
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<entry><literal>svals('a=>1,b=>2')</literal></entry>
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<entry>
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<programlisting>
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@ -307,8 +323,8 @@ b
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<row>
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<entry><function>each(hstore)</function></entry>
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<entry><type>setof (key text, value text)</type></entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s keys and values as set</entry>
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<entry><type>setof(key text, value text)</type></entry>
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<entry>get <type>hstore</>'s keys and values as a set</entry>
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<entry><literal>select * from each('a=>1,b=>2')</literal></entry>
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<entry>
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<programlisting>
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@ -330,7 +346,7 @@ b
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<row>
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<entry><function>defined(hstore,text)</function></entry>
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<entry><type>boolean</type></entry>
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<entry>does <type>hstore</> contain non-null value for key?</entry>
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<entry>does <type>hstore</> contain non-<literal>NULL</> value for key?</entry>
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<entry><literal>defined('a=>NULL','a')</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>f</literal></entry>
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</row>
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@ -338,7 +354,7 @@ b
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<row>
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<entry><function>delete(hstore,text)</function></entry>
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<entry><type>hstore</type></entry>
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<entry>delete any item matching key</entry>
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<entry>delete pair with matching key</entry>
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<entry><literal>delete('a=>1,b=>2','b')</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>"a"=>"1"</literal></entry>
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</row>
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@ -346,7 +362,7 @@ b
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<row>
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<entry><function>delete(hstore,text[])</function></entry>
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<entry><type>hstore</type></entry>
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<entry>delete any item matching any of the keys</entry>
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<entry>delete pairs with matching keys</entry>
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<entry><literal>delete('a=>1,b=>2,c=>3',ARRAY['a','b'])</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>"c"=>"3"</literal></entry>
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</row>
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@ -354,7 +370,7 @@ b
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<row>
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<entry><function>delete(hstore,hstore)</function></entry>
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<entry><type>hstore</type></entry>
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<entry>delete any key/value pair with an exact match in the second argument</entry>
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<entry>delete pairs matching those in the second argument</entry>
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<entry><literal>delete('a=>1,b=>2','a=>4,b=>2'::hstore)</literal></entry>
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<entry><literal>"a"=>"1"</literal></entry>
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</row>
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@ -362,7 +378,7 @@ b
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<row>
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<entry><function>populate_record(record,hstore)</function></entry>
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<entry><type>record</type></entry>
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<entry>replace fields in record with matching values from hstore</entry>
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<entry>replace fields in <type>record</> with matching values from <type>hstore</></entry>
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<entry>see Examples section</entry>
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<entry></entry>
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</row>
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@ -374,7 +390,7 @@ b
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<note>
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<para>
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The function <function>populate_record</function> is actually declared
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with <type>anyelement</>, not <type>record</>, as its first argument;
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with <type>anyelement</>, not <type>record</>, as its first argument,
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but it will reject non-record types with a runtime error.
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</para>
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</note>
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<title>Indexes</title>
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<para>
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<type>hstore</> has index support for <literal>@></>, <literal>?</>,
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<literal>?&</> and <literal>?|</> operators. You can use either
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GiST or GIN index types. For example:
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<type>hstore</> has GiST and GIN index support for the <literal>@></>,
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<literal>?</>, <literal>?&</> and <literal>?|</> operators. For example:
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</para>
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<programlisting>
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CREATE INDEX hidx ON testhstore USING GIST (h);
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@ -395,14 +410,13 @@ CREATE INDEX hidx ON testhstore USING GIN (h);
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</programlisting>
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<para>
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Additionally, <type>hstore</> has index support for the <literal>=</>
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operator using the <type>btree</> or <type>hash</> index types. This
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allows <type>hstore</> columns to be declared UNIQUE, or used with
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GROUP BY, ORDER BY or DISTINCT. The sort ordering for <type>hstore</>
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values is not intended to be particularly useful; it merely brings
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exactly equal values together.
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If an index is needed to support <literal>=</> comparisons it can be
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created as follows:
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<type>hstore</> also supports <type>btree</> or <type>hash</> indexes for
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the <literal>=</> operator. This allows <type>hstore</> columns to be
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declared <literal>UNIQUE</>, or to be used in <literal>GROUP BY</>,
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<literal>ORDER BY</> or <literal>DISTINCT</> expressions. The sort ordering
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for <type>hstore</> values is not particularly useful, but these indexes
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may be useful for equivalence lookups. Create indexes for <literal>=</>
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comparisons as follows:
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</para>
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<programlisting>
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CREATE INDEX hidx ON testhstore USING BTREE (h);
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@ -418,7 +432,7 @@ CREATE INDEX hidx ON testhstore USING HASH (h);
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Add a key, or update an existing key with a new value:
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</para>
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE tab SET h = h || ('c' => '3');
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UPDATE tab SET h = h || ('c' => '3');
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</programlisting>
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<para>
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@ -429,7 +443,7 @@ UPDATE tab SET h = delete(h, 'k1');
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</programlisting>
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<para>
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Convert a record to an hstore:
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Convert a <type>record</> to an <type>hstore</>:
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</para>
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<programlisting>
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CREATE TABLE test (col1 integer, col2 text, col3 text);
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@ -438,18 +452,18 @@ INSERT INTO test VALUES (123, 'foo', 'bar');
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SELECT hstore(t) FROM test AS t;
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hstore
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||||
---------------------------------------------
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"col1"=>"123", "col2"=>"foo", "col3"=>"bar"
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"col1"=>"123", "col2"=>"foo", "col3"=>"bar"
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(1 row)
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</programlisting>
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<para>
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Convert an hstore to a predefined record type:
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Convert an <type>hstore</> to a predefined <type>record</> type:
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</para>
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<programlisting>
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CREATE TABLE test (col1 integer, col2 text, col3 text);
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SELECT * FROM populate_record(null::test,
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'"col1"=>"456", "col2"=>"zzz"');
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'"col1"=>"456", "col2"=>"zzz"');
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col1 | col2 | col3
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------+------+------
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456 | zzz |
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@ -457,13 +471,13 @@ SELECT * FROM populate_record(null::test,
|
|||
</programlisting>
|
||||
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
Modify an existing record using the values from an hstore:
|
||||
Modify an existing record using the values from an <type>hstore</>:
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
<programlisting>
|
||||
CREATE TABLE test (col1 integer, col2 text, col3 text);
|
||||
INSERT INTO test VALUES (123, 'foo', 'bar');
|
||||
|
||||
SELECT (r).* FROM (SELECT t #= '"col3"=>"baz"' AS r FROM test t) s;
|
||||
SELECT (r).* FROM (SELECT t #= '"col3"=>"baz"' AS r FROM test t) s;
|
||||
col1 | col2 | col3
|
||||
------+------+------
|
||||
123 | foo | baz
|
||||
|
|
@ -477,15 +491,15 @@ SELECT (r).* FROM (SELECT t #= '"col3"=>"baz"' AS r FROM test t) s;
|
|||
<para>
|
||||
The <type>hstore</> type, because of its intrinsic liberality, could
|
||||
contain a lot of different keys. Checking for valid keys is the task of the
|
||||
application. Examples below demonstrate several techniques for checking
|
||||
keys and obtaining statistics.
|
||||
application. The following examples demonstrate several techniques for
|
||||
checking keys and obtaining statistics.
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
Simple example:
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
<programlisting>
|
||||
SELECT * FROM each('aaa=>bq, b=>NULL, ""=>1');
|
||||
SELECT * FROM each('aaa=>bq, b=>NULL, ""=>1');
|
||||
</programlisting>
|
||||
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
|
|
@ -523,8 +537,8 @@ SELECT key, count(*) FROM
|
|||
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
<emphasis>When upgrading from older versions, always load the new
|
||||
version of this module into the database before restoring an old
|
||||
dump. Otherwise, many new features will be unavailable.</emphasis>
|
||||
version of this module into the database before restoring a dump.
|
||||
Otherwise, many new features will be unavailable.</emphasis>
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
|
|
@ -535,12 +549,11 @@ SELECT key, count(*) FROM
|
|||
</para>
|
||||
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
In the event of doing a binary upgrade, upward
|
||||
compatibility is maintained by having the new code recognize
|
||||
old-format data. This will entail a slight performance penalty when
|
||||
processing data that has not yet been modified by the new code. It is
|
||||
possible to force an upgrade of all values in a table column
|
||||
by doing an UPDATE statement as follows:
|
||||
In the event of a binary upgrade, upward compatibility is maintained by
|
||||
having the new code recognize old-format data. This will entail a slight
|
||||
performance penalty when processing data that has not yet been modified by
|
||||
the new code. It is possible to force an upgrade of all values in a table
|
||||
column by doing an <literal>UPDATE</> statement as follows:
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
<programlisting>
|
||||
UPDATE tablename SET hstorecol = hstorecol || '';
|
||||
|
|
@ -569,7 +582,8 @@ ALTER TABLE tablename ALTER hstorecol TYPE hstore USING hstorecol || '';
|
|||
</para>
|
||||
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
Additional enhancements by Andrew Gierth <email>andrew@tao11.riddles.org.uk</email>, United Kingdom
|
||||
Additional enhancements by Andrew Gierth <email>andrew@tao11.riddles.org.uk</email>,
|
||||
United Kingdom
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
</sect2>
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue