To: "Josh Berkus" <josh@agliodbs.com>
cc: pgsql-sql@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: Dateadd 
In-reply-to: <web-52014@davinci.ethosmedia.com> 
References: <web-52014@davinci.ethosmedia.com>
Comments: In-reply-to "Josh Berkus" <josh@agliodbs.com>
	message dated "Sat, 05 May 2001 14:44:28 -0700"
Date: Sun, 06 May 2001 01:00:17 -0400
Message-ID: <27100.989125217@sss.pgh.pa.us>
From: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>

"Josh Berkus" <josh@agliodbs.com> writes:
> Speaking of which, why doesn't PostgreSQL allow the use of "+" between
> two VARCHARs to mean the same as "||" ?

You mean, other than the fact that "||" is the SQL-standard string
concatenation operator and "+" isn't?

I'm not eager to follow the pied pipers from Redmond down the garden
path to completely standards-ignorant products.  *Someone's* got to
stick up for standards compliance.  Microsoft has a vested interest in
locking people into their code via gratuitously nonstandard notations
... but let's not be like them.

There was some talk recently of putting together packages of function
and operator definitions to ease portability from other DBMSes to PG.
I'd have no objection to including "+ as string concatenation" in a
set of operators that're clearly marked as MS-SQL-isms.  But I don't
think we'd do the world any favor by adopting a clearly nonstandard
notation as part of our standard operator set.

			regards, tom lane