Re: BUG #1947: Enhancement Request - CONCAT() function

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Fetter [mailto:david(at)fetter(dot)org]
> Sent: 08 October 2005 22:16
> To: Tony Marston
> Cc: pgsql-bugs(at)postgresql(dot)org
> Subject: Re: [BUGS] BUG #1947: Enhancement Request - CONCAT() function
>
>
> On Sat, Oct 08, 2005 at 12:39:40PM +0100, Tony Marston wrote:
> >
> > The following bug has been logged online:
> >
> > Bug reference: 1947
> > Logged by: Tony Marston
> > Email address: tony(at)marston-home(dot)demon(dot)co(dot)uk
> > PostgreSQL version: 8.0.3
> > Operating system: Windows XP
> > Description: Enhancement Request - CONCAT() function
> > Details:
> >
> > I would like the option to use CONCAT(field1, ' ', field2)
> instead of
> > the vertical bar syntax (field1 || ' ' || field2) as this is also
> > available in other popular databases (MySQL, ORACLE). I am
> trying to
> > develop applications which are daabase independent, so the use of
> > common SQL syntax is very important.
>
> Fix your application so that it uses the SQL standard ||,

Not until you fix your product so that it follows the current SQL standard
TO THE LETTER and contains NOTHING which is not in the standard!

It is a well-known fact that every database vendor includes their own
"extensions" to the SQL standard simply because they want to offer more
functionality to their users, and they can't wait for it to be formally
documented in the standard. It is also a well known fact that extensions
made by one database vendor may also be adopted by other vendors in order to
maintain a level of compatibility.

Are you honestly going to tell me that if your user base requested certain
additional functionality that you would refuse to include it simply because
it was "not in the standard"? If every database vendor offered nothing but
the SQL standard there would be nothing to differentiate between them, so
you would not be able to say "ou daabas is better than theirs beause..."

> which Oracle supports and MySQL can be made to support via a
> runtime option.

They also both support CONCAT() because there are sometimes difficulties in
dealing with vertical bars in the character sets used by certain operating
systems and file systems. If enough database vendors offer it then it becmes
a "de facto" standard.

Tony Marston

http://www.tonymarston.net