On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 10:49 AM, Rich Shepard <rshepard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > I have a lot of data currently in .pdf files. I can extract the relevant > data to plain text and format it to create a large text file of "INSERT INTO > ..." rows. I need a unique ID for each row and there are no columns that > would make a natural key so the serial data type would be appropriate. The record should be logically unique as well as physically unique (of if it isn't, why bother making a unique constraint at all?). Sometimes you *have* to force a surrogate, for example if certain (broken) client tools need a primary key to work, but aside from that you shouldn't rely on a surrogate to generate uniqueness. merlin -- Sent via pgsql-general mailing list (pgsql-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-general
