Bob Pawley <rjpawley(at)shaw(dot)ca> writes:
> I am using the numbers to identify devices.
> If a device is deleted or replaced with another type of device I want the
> numbering to still be sequential.
It sounds to me like you oughtn't be storing these numbers in the
database at all. You just want to attach them at display time --- they
are certainly utterly meaningless as keys if they can change at any
moment.
regards, tom lane