Re: Compatibility types, type aliases, and distinct types

* Peter Eisentraut (peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net) wrote:
> There is also another possible way one might want to create a compatibility
> type. Instead of creating a new type, create an alias for an existing type,
> much like we currently have built-in mappings for int -> int4, bigint ->
> int8, etc. The difference here is that the type you put in is not the same
> as the one you get dumped out. So depending on taste and requirements, a
> user might want to choose the distinct type or the alias route.

The alias route gets me thinking about Oracle synonyms.. That'd be nice
to have in PG for a number of object types. Most recently I was wishing
I could create a schema synonym, though being able to do tables/views
would have worked as well in that case, just a bit more work.

> What do you think about adding this kind of support to PostgreSQL? Obviously,
> some details need to be worked out, but most of this is actually
> straightforward catalog manipulation.

I like the concept. Not sure how much I'd end up using it, personally.

Thanks,

Stephen