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From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Mart=EDn=20Marqu=E9s?= <martin@bugs.unl.edu.ar>
To: LeoDeBeo <leodebeo@hotmail.com>, pgsql-sql@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: create table
Date: Fri, 4 May 2001 19:17:02 +0300
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On Dom 29 Abr 2001 22:34, LeoDeBeo wrote:
> can anybody explain me the syntax of Create Table documentation??
>
> CREATE [ TEMPORARY | TEMP ] TABLE table (
>         column type
>         [ NULL | NOT NULL ] [ UNIQUE ] [ DEFAULT value ]
>         [ column_constraint_clause | PRIMARY KEY } [ ... ] ]
>         [ , ... ]
>         [ , PRIMARY  KEY ( column [, ... ] ) ]
>         [ , CHECK (condition) ]
>         [ , table_constraint_clause ]
>         ) [ INHERITS ( inherited_table [, ... ] ) ]
>
> i don't understand what the curly brace means after PRIMARY KEY (where is
> the other matching brace? ). It must have something to do with the fact
> that a 'column type' pair ( with options ) can occur more than once, but is
> this syntax right?
> i also don't understand what the [ ... ] and [, ... ] means. I do know that
> brackets denote options and | alternatives.

My docs (7.1) look like this:

CREATE [ TEMPORARY | TEMP ] TABLE table_name (
    { column_name type [ column_constraint [ ... ] ]
      | table_constraint }  [, ... ]
    ) [ INHERITS ( inherited_table [, ... ] ) ]

where column_constraint can be:
[ CONSTRAINT constraint_name ]
{ NOT NULL | NULL | UNIQUE | PRIMARY KEY | DEFAULT value | CHECK (condition) |
  REFERENCES table [ ( column ) ] [ MATCH FULL | MATCH PARTIAL ]
   [ ON DELETE action ] [ ON UPDATE action ]
   [ DEFERRABLE | NOT DEFERRABLE ] [ INITIALLY DEFERRED | INITIALLY IMMEDIATE 
]
}

and table_constraint can be:
[ CONSTRAINT constraint_name ]
{ UNIQUE ( column_name [, ... ] ) |
  PRIMARY KEY ( column_name [, ... ] ) |
  CHECK ( condition ) |
  FOREIGN KEY ( column_name [, ... ] ) REFERENCES table [ ( column [, ... ] ) 
]
   [ MATCH FULL | MATCH PARTIAL ] [ ON DELETE action ] [ ON UPDATE action ]
   [ DEFERRABLE | NOT DEFERRABLE ] [ INITIALLY DEFERRED | INITIALLY IMMEDIATE 
]
}

Looks clear to me. :-)

-- 
El mejor sistema operativo es aquel que te da de comer.
Cuida tu dieta.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Martin Marques                  |        mmarques@unl.edu.ar
Programador, Administrador      |       Centro de Telematica
                       Universidad Nacional
                            del Litoral
-----------------------------------------------------------------