Re: User defined types -- Social Security number...

"Greg Patnude" <gpatnude(at)hotmail(dot)com> writes:
> It would be really sweet in postgreSQL if we could apply the
> equivalent of a printf(columnname) to the table definition -- MS
> Access has what they call an "input mask" and it comes in really
> handy -- however -- I havent used Access for anthing serious for
> about 4 years...

Hmm.

% man "create type"

NAME
CREATE TYPE - define a new data type

SYNOPSIS
CREATE TYPE name AS
( attribute_name data_type [, ... ] )

CREATE TYPE name (
INPUT = input_function,
OUTPUT = output_function
[ , RECEIVE = receive_function ]
[ , SEND = send_function ]
[ , INTERNALLENGTH = { internallength | VARIABLE } ]
[ , PASSEDBYVALUE ]
[ , ALIGNMENT = alignment ]
[ , STORAGE = storage ]
[ , DEFAULT = default ]
[ , ELEMENT = element ]
[ , DELIMITER = delimiter ]
)

"input_function" and "output_function" sure _sound_ like what you're
looking for.

They would make your imagined issue of "missing leading zeros" go
away.

I think that CREATE TYPE has been around for a goodly few years now;
it is not impossible that this functionality has been around longer
than MS Access (which is saying something!).
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