Using Character Types in Postgres

When working with strings in PostgreSQL, understanding the available character types is crucial. As a new user, let’s explore these types in more detail.

1. character varying(n) (or varchar(n))

• Description:

  • Variable-length character type.
  • Can store strings up to n characters (not bytes) in length.
  • Excess characters beyond the specified length result in an error unless they are spaces (in which case the string is truncated).

• Example:

  • Suppose we want to create a users table to store usernames. First, let’s create the table:

    CREATE TABLE users (
      user_id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
      username VARCHAR(50) -- Define the maximum length (e.g., 50 characters)
    );
    
    

  • Now we can insert a username:

    INSERT INTO users (username) VALUES ('alice');
    
    

• Use Case:

  • Use varchar when you need flexibility in string length, such as for user-generated content.

2. character(n) (or char(n))

• Description:

  • Fixed-length, blank-padded character type.
  • Similar to character varying(n) but always pads with spaces.

• Example:

  • Let’s create an employees table to store employee IDs:

    CREATE TABLE employees (
      employee_id CHAR(5) -- Define the fixed length (e.g., 5 characters)
    );
    
    

  • Insert an employee ID:

    INSERT INTO employees (employee_id) VALUES ('E001');
    
    

• Use Case:

  • Use char when you require fixed-length strings (e.g., employee IDs).

3. bpchar (unlimited length, blank-trimmed)

• Description:

  • Similar to char, but without a specified length.
  • Accepts strings of any length, and trailing spaces are insignificant.

• Example:

  • Create a products table for storing product codes:

    CREATE TABLE products (
      product_code BPCHAR -- No specific length defined
    );
    
    

  • Insert a product code:

    INSERT INTO products (product_code) VALUES ('P12345');
    
    

• Use Case:

  • Use bpchar when you want to trim trailing spaces.

4. text (variable unlimited length)

• Description:

  • PostgreSQL’s native string data type.
  • Stores strings of any length.

• Example:

  • Let’s create an articles table for storing article content:

    CREATE TABLE articles (
      article_id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
      content TEXT -- No length restriction
    );
    
    

  • Insert article content:

    INSERT INTO articles (content) VALUES ('Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet...');
    
    

• Use Case:

  • Use text for general-purpose text storage.

Operations and Considerations:

• All character types support standard string functions (e.g., LENGTH, SUBSTRING, CONCAT).
• Performance considerations:
  • text is the most flexible but may have slightly slower indexing.
  • Fixed-length types (char, bpchar) are faster for exact-length lookups.
• As a new user, start with text or character varying unless you have specific requirements. Feel free to experiment with different types based on your application needs!

For more detailed information, consult the official PostgreSQL documentation. If you have further questions, feel free to ask us on our Discord!