Ben wrote:
> I'm sorry maybe I missed something, but if you don't need NULLs and feel
> they just add extra work, why don't you just declare all your columns to
> be not null and have them default to zero or an empty string?
Stop making sense!
Joshua D. Drake
>
> On Feb 22, 2007, at 5:11 PM, Glen Parker wrote:
>
>> Buy the same token, some application have no use whatsoever for the
>> distinction between NULL and ''. In that case, the distinction just
>> adds work.
>>
>> I would love to see different ways to handle NULL implemented by the
>> server. For what I do, NULL could always compare equal to zero and
>> ''. I have no use for NULL in text values. I do need it for
>> numerics, however it doesn't mean "unknown", it just means "not
>> entered", which is different because I always treat it as zero.
>>
>> I haven't put enough thought into this to make any sort of
>> comprehensive proposal, but it occurs to me that perhaps it could be
>> integrated into the type system. If I were able to specify, for any
>> given type, a value that should compare equal to NULL ('' for varchar,
>> 0 for int4, for example), that, in combination with NOT NULL
>> constraints, might just do it for me.
>>
>> -Glen
>>
>>> Well, your mileage must vary. The absence of nulls would make my life
>>> difficult.
>>> Just substitute "unknown" for "null" as mentioned above and the various
>>> operations with "null" make sense. For example, take some days and
>>> low-temperatures:
>>> Mon: 30
>>> Tue: 10
>>> Wed: 0
>>> Thu: unknown
>>> Fri: 0
>>> Sat: unknown
>>> Sun: -5
>>> Was the low temperature the same on:
>>> Mon/Tue: no
>>> Wed/Fri: yes
>>> Thu/Fri: unknown
>>> Thu/Sat: unknown <- the always seemingly confusing null=null is null.
>
>
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 5: don't forget to increase your free space map settings
>
--
=== The PostgreSQL Company: Command Prompt, Inc. ===
Sales/Support: +1.503.667.4564 || 24x7/Emergency: +1.800.492.2240
Providing the most comprehensive PostgreSQL solutions since 1997
http://www.commandprompt.com/
Donate to the PostgreSQL Project: http://www.postgresql.org/about/donate
PostgreSQL Replication: http://www.commandprompt.com/products/
