> *light bulb* Ahhhhhhh, that's it. So, I guess the solution is either > to cast the column or wait for 8.3 (which isn't a problem since the > port won't be done until 8.3 is released anyway). Just a quick bit of follow-up: This query works and is equivalent to what I was trying to do (minus the randomization and limiting): => select a.uid from generate_series(1000, 32000) as a(uid) where a.uid::smallint not in (select uid from people where uid is not null); It turns out that this and using coalesce are a wash in terms of performance, usually coming within 10 ms of each other no matter what limit and ordering constraints you put on the queries. Peter => explain analyze select a.uid from generate_series(1000, 32767) as a(uid) where a.uid not in (select coalesce(uid, 0) from people); QUERY PLAN ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Function Scan on generate_series a (cost=718.41..733.41 rows=500 width=4) (actual time=68.742..186.340 rows=26808 loops=1) Filter: (NOT (hashed subplan)) SubPlan -> Seq Scan on people (cost=0.00..702.68 rows=6294 width=2) (actual time=0.025..28.368 rows=6294 loops=1) Total runtime: 286.311 ms (5 rows) => explain analyze select a.uid from generate_series(1000, 32767) as a(uid) where a.uid::smallint not in (select uid from people where uid is not null); QUERY PLAN ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Function Scan on generate_series a (cost=699.34..716.84 rows=500 width=4) (actual time=58.508..177.683 rows=26808 loops=1) Filter: (NOT (hashed subplan)) SubPlan -> Seq Scan on people (cost=0.00..686.94 rows=4958 width=2) (actual time=0.017..23.123 rows=4971 loops=1) Filter: (uid IS NOT NULL) Total runtime: 277.699 ms (6 rows) ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 3: Have you checked our extensive FAQ? http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faq