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Provide adequate documentation of the "table_name *" notation.

Browse Source 
Somewhere along the line, somebody decided to remove all trace of this
notation from the documentation text.  It was still in the command syntax
synopses, or at least some of them, but with no indication what it meant.
This will not do, as evidenced by the confusion apparent in bug #7543;
even if the notation is now unnecessary, people will find it in legacy
SQL code and need to know what it does.
REL8_4_STABLE
Tom Lane 13 years ago
parent 5010bbc2c5
commit c842673b86
9 changed files with 104 additions and 73 deletions
Show all changes Ignore whitespace when comparing lines Ignore changes in amount of whitespace Ignore changes in whitespace at EOL
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  1. 22
      doc/src/sgml/config.sgml
  2. 37
      doc/src/sgml/ddl.sgml
  3. 10
      doc/src/sgml/queries.sgml
  4. 12
      doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_table.sgml
  5. 27
      doc/src/sgml/ref/delete.sgml
  6. 10
      doc/src/sgml/ref/lock.sgml
  7. 33
      doc/src/sgml/ref/select.sgml
  8. 12
      doc/src/sgml/ref/truncate.sgml
  9. 14
      doc/src/sgml/ref/update.sgml

22
doc/src/sgml/config.sgml
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@ -4801,11 +4801,23 @@ dynamic_library_path = 'C:\tools\postgresql;H:\my_project\lib;$libdir'
<indexterm><primary>inheritance</></>
<listitem>
<para>
This controls the inheritance semantics. If turned <literal>off</>,
subtables are not included by various commands by default; basically
an implied <literal>ONLY</literal> key word. This was added for
compatibility with releases prior to 7.1. See
<xref linkend="ddl-inherit"> for more information.
This setting controls whether undecorated table references are
considered to include inheritance child tables. The default is
<literal>on</>, which means child tables are included (thus,
a <literal>*</> suffix is assumed by default). If turned
<literal>off</>, child tables are not included (thus, an
<literal>ONLY</literal> prefix is assumed). The SQL standard
requires child tables to be included, so the <literal>off</> setting
is not spec-compliant, but it is provided for compatibility with
<productname>PostgreSQL</> releases prior to 7.1.
See <xref linkend="ddl-inherit"> for more information.
</para>
<para>
Turning <varname>sql_inheritance</> off is deprecated, because that
behavior has been found to be error-prone as well as contrary to SQL
standard. Discussions of inheritance behavior elsewhere in this
manual generally assume that it is <literal>on</>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

37
doc/src/sgml/ddl.sgml
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@ -1995,6 +1995,23 @@ SELECT name, altitude
<literal>ONLY</literal> keyword.
</para>
<para>
You can also write the table name with a trailing <literal>*</>
to explicitly specify that descendant tables are included:
<programlisting>
SELECT name, altitude
FROM cities*
WHERE altitude &gt; 500;
</programlisting>
Writing <literal>*</> is not necessary, since this behavior is
the default (unless you have changed the setting of the
<xref linkend="guc-sql-inheritance"> configuration option).
However writing <literal>*</> might be useful to emphasize that
additional tables will be searched.
</para>
<para>
In some cases you might wish to know which table a particular row
originated from. There is a system column called
@ -2142,15 +2159,15 @@ VALUES ('New York', NULL, NULL, 'NY');
data modification, or schema modification
(e.g., <literal>SELECT</literal>, <literal>UPDATE</literal>, <literal>DELETE</literal>,
most variants of <literal>ALTER TABLE</literal>, but
not <literal>INSERT</literal> and <literal>ALTER TABLE ...
not <literal>INSERT</literal> or <literal>ALTER TABLE ...
RENAME</literal>) typically default to including child tables and
support the <literal>ONLY</literal> notation to exclude them.
Commands that do database maintenance and tuning
(e.g., <literal>REINDEX</literal>, <literal>VACUUM</literal>)
typically only work on individual, physical tables and do no
typically only work on individual, physical tables and do not
support recursing over inheritance hierarchies. The respective
behavior of each individual command is documented in the reference
part (<xref linkend="sql-commands">).
behavior of each individual command is documented in its reference
page (<xref linkend="sql-commands">).
</para>
<para>
@ -2200,18 +2217,6 @@ VALUES ('New York', NULL, NULL, 'NY');
inheritance is useful for your application.
</para>
<note>
<title>Deprecated</title>
<para>
In releases of <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> prior to 7.1, the
default behavior was not to include child tables in queries. This was
found to be error prone and also in violation of the SQL
standard. You can get the pre-7.1 behavior by turning off the
<xref linkend="guc-sql-inheritance"> configuration
option.
</para>
</note>
</sect2>
</sect1>

10
doc/src/sgml/queries.sgml
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@ -140,6 +140,16 @@ FROM <replaceable>table_reference</replaceable> <optional>, <replaceable>table_r
&mdash; any columns added in subtables are ignored.
</para>
<para>
Instead of writing <literal>ONLY</> before the table name, you can write
<literal>*</> after the table name to explicitly specify that descendant
tables are included. Writing <literal>*</> is not necessary since that
behavior is the default (unless you have changed the setting of the <xref
linkend="guc-sql-inheritance"> configuration option). However writing
<literal>*</> might be useful to emphasize that additional tables will be
searched.
</para>
<sect3 id="queries-join">
<title>Joined Tables</title>

12
doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_table.sgml
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@ -449,10 +449,12 @@ where <replaceable class="PARAMETER">action</replaceable> is one of:
<term><replaceable class="PARAMETER">name</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
The name (possibly schema-qualified) of an existing table to
alter. If <literal>ONLY</> is specified, only that table is
altered. If <literal>ONLY</> is not specified, the table and any
descendant tables are altered.
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table to
alter. If <literal>ONLY</> is specified before the table name, only
that table is altered. If <literal>ONLY</> is not specified, the table
and all its descendant tables (if any) are altered. Optionally,
<literal>*</> can be specified after the table name to explicitly
indicate that descendant tables are included.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
@ -833,7 +835,7 @@ ALTER TABLE distributors DROP CONSTRAINT zipchk;
</para>
<para>
To remove a check constraint from a table only:
To remove a check constraint from one table only:
<programlisting>
ALTER TABLE ONLY distributors DROP CONSTRAINT zipchk;
</programlisting>

27
doc/src/sgml/ref/delete.sgml
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@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
<refsynopsisdiv>
<synopsis>
DELETE FROM [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">table</replaceable> [ [ AS ] <replaceable class="parameter">alias</replaceable> ]
DELETE FROM [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">table</replaceable> [ * ] [ [ AS ] <replaceable class="parameter">alias</replaceable> ]
[ USING <replaceable class="PARAMETER">usinglist</replaceable> ]
[ WHERE <replaceable class="PARAMETER">condition</replaceable> | WHERE CURRENT OF <replaceable class="PARAMETER">cursor_name</replaceable> ]
[ RETURNING * | <replaceable class="parameter">output_expression</replaceable> [ [ AS ] <replaceable class="parameter">output_name</replaceable> ] [, ...] ]
@ -46,13 +46,6 @@ DELETE FROM [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">table</replaceable> [ [ AS ]
</para>
</tip>
<para>
By default, <command>DELETE</command> will delete rows in the
specified table and all its child tables. If you wish to delete only
from the specific table mentioned, you must use the
<literal>ONLY</literal> clause.
</para>
<para>
There are two ways to delete rows in a table using information
contained in other tables in the database: using sub-selects, or
@ -83,21 +76,17 @@ DELETE FROM [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">table</replaceable> [ [ AS ]
<title>Parameters</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><literal>ONLY</></term>
<listitem>
<para>
If specified, delete rows from the named table only. When not
specified, any tables inheriting from the named table are also processed.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table.
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to delete rows
from. If <literal>ONLY</> is specified before the table name,
matching rows are deleted from the named table only. If
<literal>ONLY</> is not specified, matching rows are also deleted
from any tables inheriting from the named table. Optionally,
<literal>*</> can be specified after the table name to explicitly
indicate that descendant tables are included.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

10
doc/src/sgml/ref/lock.sgml
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@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
<refsynopsisdiv>
<synopsis>
LOCK [ TABLE ] [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">name</replaceable> [, ...] [ IN <replaceable class="PARAMETER">lockmode</replaceable> MODE ] [ NOWAIT ]
LOCK [ TABLE ] [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">name</replaceable> [ * ] [, ...] [ IN <replaceable class="PARAMETER">lockmode</replaceable> MODE ] [ NOWAIT ]
where <replaceable class="PARAMETER">lockmode</replaceable> is one of:
@ -109,9 +109,11 @@ where <replaceable class="PARAMETER">lockmode</replaceable> is one of:
<listitem>
<para>
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table to
lock. If <literal>ONLY</> is specified, only that table is
locked. If <literal>ONLY</> is not specified, the table and all
its descendant tables (if any) are locked.
lock. If <literal>ONLY</> is specified before the table name, only that
table is locked. If <literal>ONLY</> is not specified, the table and all
its descendant tables (if any) are locked. Optionally, <literal>*</>
can be specified after the table name to explicitly indicate that
descendant tables are included.
</para>
<para>

33
doc/src/sgml/ref/select.sgml
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@ -268,10 +268,12 @@ TABLE { [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="parameter">table_name</replaceable> [ * ] |
<term><replaceable class="parameter">table_name</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table or
view. If <literal>ONLY</> is specified, only that table is
scanned. If <literal>ONLY</> is not specified, the table and
any descendant tables are scanned.
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table or view.
If <literal>ONLY</> is specified before the table name, only that
table is scanned. If <literal>ONLY</> is not specified, the table
and all its descendant tables (if any) are scanned. Optionally,
<literal>*</> can be specified after the table name to explicitly
indicate that descendant tables are included.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
@ -1488,15 +1490,24 @@ SELECT distributors.* WHERE distributors.name = 'Westward';
</refsect2>
<refsect2>
<title><literal>ONLY</literal> and Parentheses</title>
<title><literal>ONLY</literal> and Inheritance</title>
<para>
The SQL standard requires parentheses around the table name
after <literal>ONLY</literal>, as in <literal>SELECT * FROM ONLY
(tab1), ONLY (tab2) WHERE ...</literal>. PostgreSQL supports that
as well, but the parentheses are optional. (This point applies
equally to all SQL commands supporting the <literal>ONLY</literal>
option.)
The SQL standard requires parentheses around the table name when
writing <literal>ONLY</literal>, for example <literal>SELECT * FROM ONLY
(tab1), ONLY (tab2) WHERE ...</literal>. <productname>PostgreSQL</>
considers these parentheses to be optional.
</para>
<para>
<productname>PostgreSQL</> allows a trailing <literal>*</> to be written to
explicitly specify the non-<literal>ONLY</literal> behavior of including
child tables. The standard does not allow this.
</para>
<para>
(These points apply equally to all SQL commands supporting the
<literal>ONLY</literal> option.)
</para>
</refsect2>

12
doc/src/sgml/ref/truncate.sgml
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@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
<refsynopsisdiv>
<synopsis>
TRUNCATE [ TABLE ] [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">name</replaceable> [, ... ]
TRUNCATE [ TABLE ] [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">name</replaceable> [ * ] [, ... ]
[ RESTART IDENTITY | CONTINUE IDENTITY ] [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]
</synopsis>
</refsynopsisdiv>
@ -47,10 +47,12 @@ TRUNCATE [ TABLE ] [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">name</replaceable> [,
<term><replaceable class="PARAMETER">name</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of a table to be
truncated. If <literal>ONLY</> is specified, only that table is
truncated. If <literal>ONLY</> is not specified, the table and
all its descendant tables (if any) are truncated.
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of a table to truncate.
If <literal>ONLY</> is specified before the table name, only that table
is truncated. If <literal>ONLY</> is not specified, the table and all
its descendant tables (if any) are truncated. Optionally, <literal>*</>
can be specified after the table name to explicitly indicate that
descendant tables are included.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

14
doc/src/sgml/ref/update.sgml
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@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
<refsynopsisdiv>
<synopsis>
UPDATE [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">table</replaceable> [ [ AS ] <replaceable class="parameter">alias</replaceable> ]
UPDATE [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">table</replaceable> [ * ] [ [ AS ] <replaceable class="parameter">alias</replaceable> ]
SET { <replaceable class="PARAMETER">column</replaceable> = { <replaceable class="PARAMETER">expression</replaceable> | DEFAULT } |
( <replaceable class="PARAMETER">column</replaceable> [, ...] ) = ( { <replaceable class="PARAMETER">expression</replaceable> | DEFAULT } [, ...] ) } [, ...]
[ FROM <replaceable class="PARAMETER">fromlist</replaceable> ]
@ -40,13 +40,6 @@ UPDATE [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">table</replaceable> [ [ AS ] <rep
columns not explicitly modified retain their previous values.
</para>
<para>
By default, <command>UPDATE</command> will update rows in the
specified table and all its subtables. If you wish to only update
the specific table mentioned, you must use the <literal>ONLY</>
clause.
</para>
<para>
There are two ways to modify a table using information contained in
other tables in the database: using sub-selects, or specifying
@ -84,6 +77,11 @@ UPDATE [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="PARAMETER">table</replaceable> [ [ AS ] <rep
<listitem>
<para>
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to update.
If <literal>ONLY</> is specified before the table name, matching rows
are updated in the named table only. If <literal>ONLY</> is not
specified, matching rows are also updated in any tables inheriting from
the named table. Optionally, <literal>*</> can be specified after the
table name to explicitly indicate that descendant tables are included.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

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