diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ddl.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ddl.sgml index 094324c919e..fe4efe10426 100644 --- a/doc/src/sgml/ddl.sgml +++ b/doc/src/sgml/ddl.sgml @@ -402,6 +402,59 @@ CREATE TABLE products ( ensure that a column does not contain null values, the not-null constraint described in the next section can be used. + + + + PostgreSQL does not support + CHECK constraints that reference table data other than + the new or updated row being checked. While a CHECK + constraint that violates this rule may appear to work in simple + tests, it cannot guarantee that the database will not reach a state + in which the constraint condition is false (due to subsequent changes + of the other row(s) involved). This would cause a database dump and + reload to fail. The reload could fail even when the complete + database state is consistent with the constraint, due to rows not + being loaded in an order that will satisfy the constraint. If + possible, use UNIQUE, EXCLUDE, + or FOREIGN KEY constraints to express + cross-row and cross-table restrictions. + + + + If what you desire is a one-time check against other rows at row + insertion, rather than a continuously-maintained consistency + guarantee, a custom trigger can be used + to implement that. (This approach avoids the dump/reload problem because + pg_dump does not reinstall triggers until after + reloading data, so that the check will not be enforced during a + dump/reload.) + + + + + + PostgreSQL assumes that + CHECK constraints' conditions are immutable, that + is, they will always give the same result for the same input row. + This assumption is what justifies examining CHECK + constraints only when rows are inserted or updated, and not at other + times. (The warning above about not referencing other table data is + really a special case of this restriction.) + + + + An example of a common way to break this assumption is to reference a + user-defined function in a CHECK expression, and + then change the behavior of that + function. PostgreSQL does not disallow + that, but it will not notice if there are rows in the table that now + violate the CHECK constraint. That would cause a + subsequent database dump and reload to fail. + The recommended way to handle such a change is to drop the constraint + (using ALTER TABLE), adjust the function definition, + and re-add the constraint, thereby rechecking it against all table rows. + + diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_domain.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_domain.sgml index 74dda73c699..77926eb6082 100644 --- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_domain.sgml +++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_domain.sgml @@ -118,8 +118,8 @@ ALTER DOMAIN name This form validates a constraint previously added as - NOT VALID, that is, verify that all data in columns using the - domain satisfy the specified constraint. + NOT VALID, that is, it verifies that all values in + table columns of the domain type satisfy the specified constraint. @@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ ALTER DOMAIN name NOT VALID - Do not verify existing column data for constraint validity. + Do not verify existing stored data for constraint validity. @@ -272,6 +272,21 @@ ALTER DOMAIN name Notes + + Although ALTER DOMAIN ADD CONSTRAINT attempts to verify + that existing stored data satisfies the new constraint, this check is not + bulletproof, because the command cannot see table rows that + are newly inserted or updated and not yet committed. If there is a hazard + that concurrent operations might insert bad data, the way to proceed is to + add the constraint using the NOT VALID option, commit + that command, wait until all transactions started before that commit have + finished, and then issue ALTER DOMAIN VALIDATE + CONSTRAINT to search for data violating the constraint. This + method is reliable because once the constraint is committed, all new + transactions are guaranteed to enforce it against new values of the domain + type. + + Currently, ALTER DOMAIN ADD CONSTRAINT, ALTER DOMAIN VALIDATE CONSTRAINT, and ALTER DOMAIN SET NOT NULL diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_table.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_table.sgml index 595ae32f404..68df9745d80 100644 --- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_table.sgml +++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_table.sgml @@ -264,16 +264,23 @@ ALTER TABLE ALL IN TABLESPACE name , plus the option NOT VALID, which is currently only allowed for foreign key and CHECK constraints. - If the constraint is marked NOT VALID, the - potentially-lengthy initial check to verify that all rows in the table - satisfy the constraint is skipped. The constraint will still be + + + + Normally, this form will cause a scan of the table to verify that all + existing rows in the table satisfy the new constraint. But if + the NOT VALID option is used, this + potentially-lengthy scan is skipped. The constraint will still be enforced against subsequent inserts or updates (that is, they'll fail unless there is a matching row in the referenced table, in the case - of foreign keys; and they'll fail unless the new row matches the - specified check constraints). But the + of foreign keys, or they'll fail unless the new row matches the + specified check condition). But the database will not assume that the constraint holds for all rows in the table, until it is validated by using the VALIDATE CONSTRAINT option. + See below for more information + about using the NOT VALID option. @@ -343,23 +350,13 @@ ALTER TABLE ALL IN TABLESPACE name VALIDATE CONSTRAINT - This form validates a foreign key or check constraint that was previously created - as NOT VALID, by scanning the table to ensure there - are no rows for which the constraint is not satisfied. - Nothing happens if the constraint is already marked valid. - - - Validation can be a long process on larger tables. The value of separating - validation from initial creation is that you can defer validation to less - busy times, or can be used to give additional time to correct pre-existing - errors while preventing new errors. Note also that validation on its own - does not prevent normal write commands against the table while it runs. - - - Validation acquires only a SHARE UPDATE EXCLUSIVE lock - on the table being altered. If the constraint is a foreign key then - a ROW SHARE lock is also required on - the table referenced by the constraint. + This form validates a foreign key or check constraint that was + previously created as NOT VALID, by scanning the + table to ensure there are no rows for which the constraint is not + satisfied. Nothing happens if the constraint is already marked valid. + (See below for an explanation of the + usefulness of this command.) @@ -941,8 +938,8 @@ ALTER TABLE ALL IN TABLESPACE name - - Notes + + Notes The key word COLUMN is noise and can be omitted. @@ -983,6 +980,32 @@ ALTER TABLE ALL IN TABLESPACE name rewrites can thereby be combined into a single pass over the table. + + Scanning a large table to verify a new foreign key or check constraint + can take a long time, and other updates to the table are locked out + until the ALTER TABLE ADD CONSTRAINT command is + committed. The main purpose of the NOT VALID + constraint option is to reduce the impact of adding a constraint on + concurrent updates. With NOT VALID, + the ADD CONSTRAINT command does not scan the table + and can be committed immediately. After that, a VALIDATE + CONSTRAINT command can be issued to verify that existing rows + satisfy the constraint. The validation step does not need to lock out + concurrent updates, since it knows that other transactions will be + enforcing the constraint for rows that they insert or update; only + pre-existing rows need to be checked. Hence, validation acquires only + a SHARE UPDATE EXCLUSIVE lock on the table being + altered. (If the constraint is a foreign key then a ROW + SHARE lock is also required on the table referenced by the + constraint.) In addition to improving concurrency, it can be useful to + use NOT VALID and VALIDATE + CONSTRAINT in cases where the table is known to contain + pre-existing violations. Once the constraint is in place, no new + violations can be inserted, and the existing problems can be corrected + at leisure until VALIDATE CONSTRAINT finally + succeeds. + + The DROP COLUMN form does not physically remove the column, but simply makes it invisible to SQL operations. Subsequent diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/create_domain.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/create_domain.sgml index 3423bf9a328..6b426d21708 100644 --- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/create_domain.sgml +++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/create_domain.sgml @@ -214,6 +214,30 @@ INSERT INTO tab (domcol) VALUES ((SELECT domcol FROM tab WHERE false)); and then to apply column NOT NULL constraints to columns of the domain type as needed, rather than directly to the domain type. + + + PostgreSQL assumes that + CHECK constraints' conditions are immutable, that is, + they will always give the same result for the same input value. This + assumption is what justifies examining CHECK + constraints only when a value is first converted to be of a domain type, + and not at other times. (This is essentially the same as the treatment + of table CHECK constraints, as described in + .) + + + + An example of a common way to break this assumption is to reference a + user-defined function in a CHECK expression, and then + change the behavior of that + function. PostgreSQL does not disallow that, + but it will not notice if there are stored values of the domain type that + now violate the CHECK constraint. That would cause a + subsequent database dump and reload to fail. The recommended way to + handle such a change is to drop the constraint (using ALTER + DOMAIN), adjust the function definition, and re-add the + constraint, thereby rechecking it against stored data. + diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/create_table.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/create_table.sgml index b1eaa73cf90..f3673f85be5 100644 --- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/create_table.sgml +++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/create_table.sgml @@ -443,7 +443,8 @@ CREATE [ [ GLOBAL | LOCAL ] { TEMPORARY | TEMP } | UNLOGGED ] TABLE [ IF NOT EXI Currently, CHECK expressions cannot contain subqueries nor refer to variables other than columns of the - current row. The system column tableoid + current row (see ). + The system column tableoid may be referenced, but not any other system column.