Re: cataloguing NOT NULL constraints

Peter Eisentraut <peter@eisentraut.org>

From: Peter Eisentraut <peter@eisentraut.org>
To: Alvaro Herrera <alvherre@alvh.no-ip.org>
Cc: Pg Hackers <pgsql-hackers@lists.postgresql.org>
Date: 2023-09-05T11:29:47Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers

Commits

Same data as JSON: GET /api/v1/messages/:b64id/commits the thread's linked commits as JSON, with link sources. API reference →
  1. Revert structural changes to not-null constraints

  2. Fix inconsistencies in error messages

  3. Disallow direct change of NO INHERIT of not-null constraints

  4. Disallow NO INHERIT not-null constraints on partitioned tables

  5. Better handle indirect constraint drops

  6. Don't try to assign smart names to constraints

  7. Fix restore of not-null constraints with inheritance

  8. ATTACH PARTITION: Don't match a PK with a UNIQUE constraint

  9. Fix propagating attnotnull in multiple inheritance

  10. Check stack depth in new recursive functions

  11. Move privilege check to the right place

  12. Update information_schema definition for not-null constraints

  13. Fix not-null constraint test

  14. Disallow changing NO INHERIT status of a not-null constraint

  15. Catalog not-null constraints

  16. parallel_schedule: add comment on event_trigger test dependency

  17. Revert "Catalog NOT NULL constraints" and fallout

  18. Adjust contrib/sepgsql regression test expected outputs.

  19. Fix table name clash in recently introduced test

  20. Catalog NOT NULL constraints

  21. Change the rules for inherited CHECK constraints to be essentially the same

On 31.08.23 12:02, Alvaro Herrera wrote:
> In constraint_column_usage, you're adding a relkind to the catalog scan
> that goes through pg_depend for CHECK constraints.  Here we can rely on
> a simple conkey[1] check and a separate UNION ALL arm[q5]; this is also
> faster when there are many tables.
> 
> The third view definition looks ok.  It's certainly very nice to be able
> to delete XXX comments there.

The following information schema views are affected by the not-null 
constraint catalog entries:

1. CHECK_CONSTRAINTS
2. CONSTRAINT_COLUMN_USAGE
3. DOMAIN_CONSTRAINTS
4. TABLE_CONSTRAINTS

Note that 1 and 3 also contain domain constraints.  So as long as the 
domain not-null constraints are not similarly catalogued, we can't 
delete the separate not-null union branch.  (3 never had one, so 
arguably a bit buggy.)

I think we can fix up 4 by just deleting the not-null union branch.

For 2, the simple fix is also easy, but there are some other options, as 
you discuss above.

How do you want to proceed?