Chapter 14. Advanced PostgreSQL Programming
One of the true benefits PostgreSQL has over many commercial RDBMSs is that it can be regularly extended. For instance, PostgreSQL does not natively have a data type for a dewey-decimal object. However, if you were creating a database that was going to serve as the back-end system to a large library that used the Dewey Decimal system, that could be a very useful data type.
Plugging in new features and objects into the database is known as “extending” it. Fundamentally, PostgreSQL enables this by allowing users to write new C-based objects and by using the resultant function as a handler for specific data type, operator, or aggregate needs.
The basic act of extending PostgreSQL involves the following ...
Get PostgreSQL Essential Reference now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
