<literal>3</literal>).
</para>
+ <para>
+ There are also some comparison predicates, as shown in <xref
+ linkend="functions-comparison-pred-table">. These behave much like
+ operators, but have special syntax mandated by the SQL standard.
+ </para>
+
+ <table id="functions-comparison-pred-table">
+ <title>Comparison Predicates</title>
+ <tgroup cols="2">
+ <thead>
+ <row>
+ <entry>Predicate</entry>
+ <entry>Description</entry>
+ </row>
+ </thead>
+
+ <tbody>
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>a</> <literal>BETWEEN</> <replaceable>x</> <literal>AND</> <replaceable>y</> </entry>
+ <entry>between</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>a</> <literal>NOT BETWEEN</> <replaceable>x</> <literal>AND</> <replaceable>y</> </entry>
+ <entry>not between</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>a</> <literal>BETWEEN SYMMETRIC</> <replaceable>x</> <literal>AND</> <replaceable>y</> </entry>
+ <entry>between, after sorting the comparison values</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>a</> <literal>NOT BETWEEN SYMMETRIC</> <replaceable>x</> <literal>AND</> <replaceable>y</> </entry>
+ <entry>not between, after sorting the comparison values</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>a</> <literal>IS DISTINCT FROM</> <replaceable>b</> </entry>
+ <entry>not equal, treating null like an ordinary value</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry><replaceable>a</> <literal>IS NOT DISTINCT FROM</> <replaceable>b</></entry>
+ <entry>equal, treating null like an ordinary value</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>expression</> <literal>IS NULL</> </entry>
+ <entry>is null</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>expression</> <literal>IS NOT NULL</> </entry>
+ <entry>is not null</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>expression</> <literal>ISNULL</> </entry>
+ <entry>is null (nonstandard syntax)</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>expression</> <literal>NOTNULL</> </entry>
+ <entry>is not null (nonstandard syntax)</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>boolean_expression</> <literal>IS TRUE</> </entry>
+ <entry>is true</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>boolean_expression</> <literal>IS NOT TRUE</> </entry>
+ <entry>is false or unknown</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>boolean_expression</> <literal>IS FALSE</> </entry>
+ <entry>is false</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>boolean_expression</> <literal>IS NOT FALSE</> </entry>
+ <entry>is true or unknown</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>boolean_expression</> <literal>IS UNKNOWN</> </entry>
+ <entry>is unknown</entry>
+ </row>
+
+ <row>
+ <entry> <replaceable>boolean_expression</> <literal>IS NOT UNKNOWN</> </entry>
+ <entry>is true or false</entry>
+ </row>
+ </tbody>
+ </tgroup>
+ </table>
+
<para>
<indexterm>
<primary>BETWEEN</primary>
</indexterm>
- In addition to the comparison operators, the special
- <token>BETWEEN</token> construct is available:
+ The <token>BETWEEN</token> predicate simplifies range tests:
<synopsis>
<replaceable>a</replaceable> BETWEEN <replaceable>x</replaceable> AND <replaceable>y</replaceable>
</synopsis>
<indexterm>
<primary>BETWEEN SYMMETRIC</primary>
</indexterm>
- <literal>BETWEEN SYMMETRIC</> is the same as <literal>BETWEEN</>
+ <literal>BETWEEN SYMMETRIC</> is like <literal>BETWEEN</>
except there is no requirement that the argument to the left of
<literal>AND</> be less than or equal to the argument on the right.
If it is not, those two arguments are automatically swapped, so that
a nonempty range is always implied.
</para>
+ <para>
+ <indexterm>
+ <primary>IS DISTINCT FROM</primary>
+ </indexterm>
+ <indexterm>
+ <primary>IS NOT DISTINCT FROM</primary>
+ </indexterm>
+ Ordinary comparison operators yield null (signifying <quote>unknown</>),
+ not true or false, when either input is null. For example,
+ <literal>7 = NULL</> yields null, as does <literal>7 <> NULL</>. When
+ this behavior is not suitable, use the
+ <literal>IS <optional> NOT </> DISTINCT FROM</literal> predicates:
+<synopsis>
+<replaceable>a</replaceable> IS DISTINCT FROM <replaceable>b</replaceable>
+<replaceable>a</replaceable> IS NOT DISTINCT FROM <replaceable>b</replaceable>
+</synopsis>
+ For non-null inputs, <literal>IS DISTINCT FROM</literal> is
+ the same as the <literal><></> operator. However, if both
+ inputs are null it returns false, and if only one input is
+ null it returns true. Similarly, <literal>IS NOT DISTINCT
+ FROM</literal> is identical to <literal>=</literal> for non-null
+ inputs, but it returns true when both inputs are null, and false when only
+ one input is null. Thus, these predicates effectively act as though null
+ were a normal data value, rather than <quote>unknown</>.
+ </para>
+
<para>
<indexterm>
<primary>IS NULL</primary>
<indexterm>
<primary>NOTNULL</primary>
</indexterm>
- To check whether a value is or is not null, use the constructs:
+ To check whether a value is or is not null, use the predicates:
<synopsis>
<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS NULL
<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS NOT NULL
</synopsis>
- or the equivalent, but nonstandard, constructs:
+ or the equivalent, but nonstandard, predicates:
<synopsis>
<replaceable>expression</replaceable> ISNULL
<replaceable>expression</replaceable> NOTNULL
<literal><replaceable>expression</replaceable> = NULL</literal>
because <literal>NULL</> is not <quote>equal to</quote>
<literal>NULL</>. (The null value represents an unknown value,
- and it is not known whether two unknown values are equal.) This
- behavior conforms to the SQL standard.
+ and it is not known whether two unknown values are equal.)
</para>
<tip>
</para>
</tip>
- <note>
<para>
If the <replaceable>expression</replaceable> is row-valued, then
<literal>IS NULL</> is true when the row expression itself is null
<literal>IS NOT NULL</> is true when the row expression itself is non-null
and all the row's fields are non-null. Because of this behavior,
<literal>IS NULL</> and <literal>IS NOT NULL</> do not always return
- inverse results for row-valued expressions, i.e., a row-valued
- expression that contains both NULL and non-null values will return false
- for both tests.
- This definition conforms to the SQL standard, and is a change from the
- inconsistent behavior exhibited by <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
- versions prior to 8.2.
- </para>
- </note>
-
- <para>
- <indexterm>
- <primary>IS DISTINCT FROM</primary>
- </indexterm>
- <indexterm>
- <primary>IS NOT DISTINCT FROM</primary>
- </indexterm>
- Ordinary comparison operators yield null (signifying <quote>unknown</>),
- not true or false, when either input is null. For example,
- <literal>7 = NULL</> yields null, as does <literal>7 <> NULL</>. When
- this behavior is not suitable, use the
- <literal>IS <optional> NOT </> DISTINCT FROM</literal> constructs:
-<synopsis>
-<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS DISTINCT FROM <replaceable>expression</replaceable>
-<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS NOT DISTINCT FROM <replaceable>expression</replaceable>
-</synopsis>
- For non-null inputs, <literal>IS DISTINCT FROM</literal> is
- the same as the <literal><></> operator. However, if both
- inputs are null it returns false, and if only one input is
- null it returns true. Similarly, <literal>IS NOT DISTINCT
- FROM</literal> is identical to <literal>=</literal> for non-null
- inputs, but it returns true when both inputs are null, and false when only
- one input is null. Thus, these constructs effectively act as though null
- were a normal data value, rather than <quote>unknown</>.
+ inverse results for row-valued expressions; in particular, a row-valued
+ expression that contains both null and non-null fields will return false
+ for both tests. In some cases, it may be preferable to
+ write <replaceable>row</replaceable> <literal>IS DISTINCT FROM NULL</>
+ or <replaceable>row</replaceable> <literal>IS NOT DISTINCT FROM NULL</>,
+ which will simply check whether the overall row value is null without any
+ additional tests on the row fields.
</para>
<para>
<indexterm>
<primary>IS NOT UNKNOWN</primary>
</indexterm>
- Boolean values can also be tested using the constructs
+ Boolean values can also be tested using the predicates
<synopsis>
-<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS TRUE
-<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS NOT TRUE
-<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS FALSE
-<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS NOT FALSE
-<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS UNKNOWN
-<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS NOT UNKNOWN
+<replaceable>boolean_expression</replaceable> IS TRUE
+<replaceable>boolean_expression</replaceable> IS NOT TRUE
+<replaceable>boolean_expression</replaceable> IS FALSE
+<replaceable>boolean_expression</replaceable> IS NOT FALSE
+<replaceable>boolean_expression</replaceable> IS UNKNOWN
+<replaceable>boolean_expression</replaceable> IS NOT UNKNOWN
</synopsis>
These will always return true or false, never a null value, even when the
operand is null.
<primary>IS NOT OF</primary>
</indexterm>
It is possible to check the data type of an expression using the
- constructs
+ predicates
<synopsis>
<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS OF (typename, ...)
<replaceable>expression</replaceable> IS NOT OF (typename, ...)
</indexterm>
<literal>num_nonnulls(VARIADIC "any")</literal>
</entry>
- <entry>returns the number of non-NULL arguments</entry>
+ <entry>returns the number of non-null arguments</entry>
<entry><literal>num_nonnulls(1, NULL, 2)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>2</literal></entry>
</row>
</indexterm>
<literal>num_nulls(VARIADIC "any")</literal>
</entry>
- <entry>returns the number of NULL arguments</entry>
+ <entry>returns the number of null arguments</entry>
<entry><literal>num_nulls(1, NULL, 2)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>1</literal></entry>
</row>
{"q2":0,"q1":0}
(3 rows)
+--
+-- IS [NOT] NULL should not recurse into nested composites (bug #14235)
+--
+explain (verbose, costs off)
+select r, r is null as isnull, r is not null as isnotnull
+from (values (1,row(1,2)), (1,row(null,null)), (1,null),
+ (null,row(1,2)), (null,row(null,null)), (null,null) ) r(a,b);
+ QUERY PLAN
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Values Scan on "*VALUES*"
+ Output: ROW("*VALUES*".column1, "*VALUES*".column2), (("*VALUES*".column1 IS NULL) AND ("*VALUES*".column2 IS NULL)), (("*VALUES*".column1 IS NOT NULL) AND ("*VALUES*".column2 IS NOT NULL))
+(2 rows)
+
+select r, r is null as isnull, r is not null as isnotnull
+from (values (1,row(1,2)), (1,row(null,null)), (1,null),
+ (null,row(1,2)), (null,row(null,null)), (null,null) ) r(a,b);
+ r | isnull | isnotnull
+-------------+--------+-----------
+ (1,"(1,2)") | f | t
+ (1,"(,)") | f | t
+ (1,) | f | f
+ (,"(1,2)") | f | f
+ (,"(,)") | f | f
+ (,) | t | f
+(6 rows)
+
+explain (verbose, costs off)
+with r(a,b) as
+ (values (1,row(1,2)), (1,row(null,null)), (1,null),
+ (null,row(1,2)), (null,row(null,null)), (null,null) )
+select r, r is null as isnull, r is not null as isnotnull from r;
+ QUERY PLAN
+----------------------------------------------------------
+ CTE Scan on r
+ Output: r.*, (r.* IS NULL), (r.* IS NOT NULL)
+ CTE r
+ -> Values Scan on "*VALUES*"
+ Output: "*VALUES*".column1, "*VALUES*".column2
+(5 rows)
+
+with r(a,b) as
+ (values (1,row(1,2)), (1,row(null,null)), (1,null),
+ (null,row(1,2)), (null,row(null,null)), (null,null) )
+select r, r is null as isnull, r is not null as isnotnull from r;
+ r | isnull | isnotnull
+-------------+--------+-----------
+ (1,"(1,2)") | f | t
+ (1,"(,)") | f | t
+ (1,) | f | f
+ (,"(1,2)") | f | f
+ (,"(,)") | f | f
+ (,) | t | f
+(6 rows)
+
create temp table tt2 () inherits(tt1);
insert into tt2 values(0,0);
select row_to_json(r) from (select q2,q1 from tt1 offset 0) r;
+
+--
+-- IS [NOT] NULL should not recurse into nested composites (bug #14235)
+--
+
+explain (verbose, costs off)
+select r, r is null as isnull, r is not null as isnotnull
+from (values (1,row(1,2)), (1,row(null,null)), (1,null),
+ (null,row(1,2)), (null,row(null,null)), (null,null) ) r(a,b);
+
+select r, r is null as isnull, r is not null as isnotnull
+from (values (1,row(1,2)), (1,row(null,null)), (1,null),
+ (null,row(1,2)), (null,row(null,null)), (null,null) ) r(a,b);
+
+explain (verbose, costs off)
+with r(a,b) as
+ (values (1,row(1,2)), (1,row(null,null)), (1,null),
+ (null,row(1,2)), (null,row(null,null)), (null,null) )
+select r, r is null as isnull, r is not null as isnotnull from r;
+
+with r(a,b) as
+ (values (1,row(1,2)), (1,row(null,null)), (1,null),
+ (null,row(1,2)), (null,row(null,null)), (null,null) )
+select r, r is null as isnull, r is not null as isnotnull from r;