Re: Cleanup/remove/update references to OID column

Daniel Verite <daniel@manitou-mail.org>

From: "Daniel Verite" <daniel@manitou-mail.org>
To: "Justin Pryzby" <pryzby@telsasoft.com>
Cc: pgsql-hackers@lists.postgresql.org
Date: 2019-04-10T16:32:35Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers
	Justin Pryzby wrote:

> Cleanup/remove/update references to OID column...
> 
> ..in wake of 578b229718e8f.

Just spotted a couple of other references that need updates:

#1. In catalogs.sgml:

     <row>
      <entry><structfield>attnum</structfield></entry>
      <entry><type>int2</type></entry>
      <entry></entry>
      <entry>
       The number of the column.  Ordinary columns are numbered from 1
       up.  System columns, such as <structfield>oid</structfield>,
       have (arbitrary) negative numbers.
      </entry>
     </row>

oid should be replaced by xmin or some other system column.


#2. In ddl.sgml, when describing ctid:

     <para>
      The physical location of the row version within its table.  Note that
      although the <structfield>ctid</structfield> can be used to
      locate the row version very quickly, a row's
      <structfield>ctid</structfield> will change if it is
      updated or moved by <command>VACUUM FULL</command>.  Therefore
      <structfield>ctid</structfield> is useless as a long-term row
      identifier.  The OID, or even better a user-defined serial
      number, should be used to identify logical rows.
     </para>

"The OID" used to refer to an entry above in that list, now it's not
clear what it refers to.
"serial number" also sounds somewhat obsolete now that IDENTITY is
supported. The last sentence could be changed to:
 "A primary key should be used to identify logical rows".


Best regards,
-- 
Daniel Vérité
PostgreSQL-powered mailer: http://www.manitou-mail.org
Twitter: @DanielVerite



Commits

  1. Doc: remove obsolete description of oid column as being "hidden".

  2. docs: Fix small copy & paste mistake.

  3. pg_dump: Remove stray option parsing support for -o.

  4. docs: cleanup/remove/update references to OID column.

  5. Adjust some more comments for WITH OIDS removal.

  6. Doc: remove obsolete statements about system OID columns in ALTER TABLE.