For example, elements containing curly braces, commas (or the data type's
delimiter character), double quotes, backslashes, or leading or trailing
whitespace must be double-quoted. Empty strings and strings matching the
- word <literal>NULL</literal> must be quoted, too. To put a double quote or
- backslash in a quoted array element value, use escape string syntax
- and precede it with a backslash. Alternatively, you can avoid quotes and use
+ word <literal>NULL</literal> must be quoted, too. To put a double
+ quote or backslash in a quoted array element value, precede it
+ with a backslash. Alternatively, you can avoid quotes and use
backslash-escaping to protect all data characters that would otherwise
be taken as array syntax.
</para>
non-whitespace characters of an element, is not ignored.
</para>
- <note>
- <para>
- Remember that what you write in an SQL command will first be interpreted
- as a string literal, and then as an array. This doubles the number of
- backslashes you need. For example, to insert a <type>text</type> array
- value containing a backslash and a double quote, you'd need to write:
-<programlisting>
-INSERT ... VALUES (E'{"\\\\","\\""}');
-</programlisting>
- The escape string processor removes one level of backslashes, so that
- what arrives at the array-value parser looks like <literal>{"\\","\""}</literal>.
- In turn, the strings fed to the <type>text</type> data type's input routine
- become <literal>\</literal> and <literal>"</literal> respectively. (If we were working
- with a data type whose input routine also treated backslashes specially,
- <type>bytea</type> for example, we might need as many as eight backslashes
- in the command to get one backslash into the stored array element.)
- Dollar quoting (see <xref linkend="sql-syntax-dollar-quoting"/>) can be
- used to avoid the need to double backslashes.
- </para>
- </note>
-
<tip>
<para>
The <literal>ARRAY</literal> constructor syntax (see
strings are distinguished from character strings in two
ways. First, binary strings specifically allow storing
octets of value zero and other <quote>non-printable</quote>
- octets (usually, octets outside the range 32 to 126).
+ octets (usually, octets outside the decimal range 32 to 126).
Character strings disallow zero octets, and also disallow any
other octet values and sequences of octet values that are invalid
according to the database's selected character set encoding.
</para>
<para>
- The <type>bytea</type> type supports two external formats for
- input and output: <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>'s historical
- <quote>escape</quote> format, and <quote>hex</quote> format. Both
+ The <type>bytea</type> type supports two
+ formats for input and output: <quote>hex</quote> format
+ and <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>'s historical
+ <quote>escape</quote> format. Both
of these are always accepted on input. The output format depends
on the configuration parameter <xref linkend="guc-bytea-output"/>;
the default is hex. (Note that the hex format was introduced in
<para>
Example:
<programlisting>
-SELECT E'\\xDEADBEEF';
+SELECT '\xDEADBEEF';
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect2>
convenient. But in practice it is usually confusing because it
fuzzes up the distinction between binary strings and character
strings, and also the particular escape mechanism that was chosen is
- somewhat unwieldy. So this format should probably be avoided
+ somewhat unwieldy. Therefore, this format should probably be avoided
for most new applications.
</para>
octal value and precede it
by a backslash (or two backslashes, if writing the value as a
literal using escape string syntax).
- Backslash itself (octet value 92) can alternatively be represented by
+ Backslash itself (octet decimal value 92) can alternatively be represented by
double backslashes.
<xref linkend="datatype-binary-sqlesc"/>
shows the characters that must be escaped, and gives the alternative
<row>
<entry>0</entry>
<entry>zero octet</entry>
- <entry><literal>E'\\000'</literal></entry>
- <entry><literal>SELECT E'\\000'::bytea;</literal></entry>
- <entry><literal>\000</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>'\000'</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>SELECT '\000'::bytea;</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>\x00</literal></entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>39</entry>
<entry>single quote</entry>
- <entry><literal>''''</literal> or <literal>E'\\047'</literal></entry>
- <entry><literal>SELECT E'\''::bytea;</literal></entry>
- <entry><literal>'</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>''''</literal> or <literal>'\047'</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>SELECT ''''::bytea;</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>\x27</literal></entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>92</entry>
<entry>backslash</entry>
- <entry><literal>E'\\\\'</literal> or <literal>E'\\134'</literal></entry>
- <entry><literal>SELECT E'\\\\'::bytea;</literal></entry>
- <entry><literal>\\</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>'\'</literal> or <literal>'\\134'</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>SELECT '\\'::bytea;</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>\x5c</literal></entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>0 to 31 and 127 to 255</entry>
<entry><quote>non-printable</quote> octets</entry>
- <entry><literal>E'\\<replaceable>xxx'</replaceable></literal> (octal value)</entry>
- <entry><literal>SELECT E'\\001'::bytea;</literal></entry>
- <entry><literal>\001</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>'\<replaceable>xxx'</replaceable></literal> (octal value)</entry>
+ <entry><literal>SELECT '\001'::bytea;</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>\x01</literal></entry>
</row>
</tbody>
of escaping.) The remaining backslash is then recognized by the
<type>bytea</type> input function as starting either a three
digit octal value or escaping another backslash. For example,
- a string literal passed to the server as <literal>E'\\001'</literal>
+ a string literal passed to the server as <literal>'\001'</literal>
becomes <literal>\001</literal> after passing through the
escape string parser. The <literal>\001</literal> is then sent
to the <type>bytea</type> input function, where it is converted
</para>
<para>
- <type>Bytea</type> octets are sometimes escaped when output. In general, each
- <quote>non-printable</quote> octet is converted into
- its equivalent three-digit octal value and preceded by one backslash.
- Most <quote>printable</quote> octets are represented by their standard
- representation in the client character set. The octet with decimal
- value 92 (backslash) is doubled in the output.
+ <type>Bytea</type> octets are output in <literal>hex</literal>
+ format by default. If you change <xref linkend="guc-bytea-output"/>
+ to <literal>escape</literal>,
+ <quote>non-printable</quote> octet are converted to
+ equivalent three-digit octal value and preceded by one backslash.
+ Most <quote>printable</quote> octets are output by their standard
+ representation in the client character set, e.g.:
+
+<programlisting>
+SET bytea_output = 'escape';
+
+SELECT 'abc \153\154\155 \052\251\124'::bytea;
+ bytea
+----------------
+ abc klm *\251T
+</programlisting>
+
+ The octet with decimal value 92 (backslash) is doubled in the output.
Details are in <xref linkend="datatype-binary-resesc"/>.
</para>
<entry>92</entry>
<entry>backslash</entry>
<entry><literal>\\</literal></entry>
- <entry><literal>SELECT E'\\134'::bytea;</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>SELECT '\134'::bytea;</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>\\</literal></entry>
</row>
<entry>0 to 31 and 127 to 255</entry>
<entry><quote>non-printable</quote> octets</entry>
<entry><literal>\<replaceable>xxx</replaceable></literal> (octal value)</entry>
- <entry><literal>SELECT E'\\001'::bytea;</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>SELECT '\001'::bytea;</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>\001</literal></entry>
</row>
<entry>32 to 126</entry>
<entry><quote>printable</quote> octets</entry>
<entry>client character set representation</entry>
- <entry><literal>SELECT E'\\176'::bytea;</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>SELECT '\176'::bytea;</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>~</literal></entry>
</row>
octal sequences (<literal>\</literal><replaceable>nnn</replaceable>) and
doubles backslashes.
</entry>
- <entry><literal>encode(E'123\\000\\001', 'base64')</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>encode('123\000\001', 'base64')</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>MTIzAAE=</literal></entry>
</row>
the delimiter. See <xref linkend="functions-posix-regexp"/> for more
information.
</entry>
- <entry><literal>regexp_split_to_array('hello world', E'\\s+')</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>regexp_split_to_array('hello world', '\s+')</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>{hello,world}</literal></entry>
</row>
the delimiter. See <xref linkend="functions-posix-regexp"/> for more
information.
</entry>
- <entry><literal>regexp_split_to_table('hello world', E'\\s+')</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>regexp_split_to_table('hello world', '\s+')</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>hello</literal><para><literal>world</literal></para> (2 rows)</entry>
</row>
SELECT format('INSERT INTO %I VALUES(%L)', 'Foo bar', E'O\'Reilly');
<lineannotation>Result: </lineannotation><computeroutput>INSERT INTO "Foo bar" VALUES('O''Reilly')</computeroutput>
-SELECT format('INSERT INTO %I VALUES(%L)', 'locations', E'C:\\Program Files');
-<lineannotation>Result: </lineannotation><computeroutput>INSERT INTO locations VALUES(E'C:\\Program Files')</computeroutput>
+SELECT format('INSERT INTO %I VALUES(%L)', 'locations', 'C:\Program Files');
+<lineannotation>Result: </lineannotation><computeroutput>INSERT INTO locations VALUES('C:\Program Files')</computeroutput>
</screen>
</para>
<secondary>concatenation</secondary>
</indexterm>
</entry>
- <entry><literal>E'\\\\Post'::bytea || E'\\047gres\\000'::bytea</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>'\\Post'::bytea || '\047gres\000'::bytea</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>\\Post'gres\000</literal></entry>
</row>
</entry>
<entry><type>int</type></entry>
<entry>Number of bytes in binary string</entry>
- <entry><literal>octet_length(E'jo\\000se'::bytea)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>octet_length('jo\000se'::bytea)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>5</literal></entry>
</row>
<entry>
Replace substring
</entry>
- <entry><literal>overlay(E'Th\\000omas'::bytea placing E'\\002\\003'::bytea from 2 for 3)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>overlay('Th\000omas'::bytea placing '\002\003'::bytea from 2 for 3)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>T\\002\\003mas</literal></entry>
</row>
</entry>
<entry><type>int</type></entry>
<entry>Location of specified substring</entry>
- <entry><literal>position(E'\\000om'::bytea in E'Th\\000omas'::bytea)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>position('\000om'::bytea in 'Th\000omas'::bytea)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>3</literal></entry>
</row>
<entry>
Extract substring
</entry>
- <entry><literal>substring(E'Th\\000omas'::bytea from 2 for 3)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>substring('Th\000omas'::bytea from 2 for 3)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>h\000o</literal></entry>
</row>
<parameter>bytes</parameter> from the start
and end of <parameter>string</parameter>
</entry>
- <entry><literal>trim(E'\\000\\001'::bytea from E'\\000Tom\\001'::bytea)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>trim('\000\001'::bytea from '\000Tom\001'::bytea)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>Tom</literal></entry>
</row>
</tbody>
<parameter>bytes</parameter> from the start and end of
<parameter>string</parameter>
</entry>
- <entry><literal>btrim(E'\\000trim\\001'::bytea, E'\\000\\001'::bytea)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>btrim('\000trim\001'::bytea, '\000\001'::bytea)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>trim</literal></entry>
</row>
Decode binary data from textual representation in <parameter>string</parameter>.
Options for <parameter>format</parameter> are same as in <function>encode</function>.
</entry>
- <entry><literal>decode(E'123\\000456', 'escape')</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>decode('123\000456', 'escape')</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>123\000456</literal></entry>
</row>
octal sequences (<literal>\</literal><replaceable>nnn</replaceable>) and
doubles backslashes.
</entry>
- <entry><literal>encode(E'123\\000456'::bytea, 'escape')</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>encode('123\000456'::bytea, 'escape')</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>123\000456</literal></entry>
</row>
<entry>
Extract bit from string
</entry>
- <entry><literal>get_bit(E'Th\\000omas'::bytea, 45)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>get_bit('Th\000omas'::bytea, 45)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>1</literal></entry>
</row>
<entry>
Extract byte from string
</entry>
- <entry><literal>get_byte(E'Th\\000omas'::bytea, 4)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>get_byte('Th\000omas'::bytea, 4)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>109</literal></entry>
</row>
<see>binary strings, length</see>
</indexterm>
</entry>
- <entry><literal>length(E'jo\\000se'::bytea)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>length('jo\000se'::bytea)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>5</literal></entry>
</row>
Calculates the MD5 hash of <parameter>string</parameter>,
returning the result in hexadecimal
</entry>
- <entry><literal>md5(E'Th\\000omas'::bytea)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>md5('Th\000omas'::bytea)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>8ab2d3c9689aaf18​b4958c334c82d8b1</literal></entry>
</row>
<entry>
Set bit in string
</entry>
- <entry><literal>set_bit(E'Th\\000omas'::bytea, 45, 0)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>set_bit('Th\000omas'::bytea, 45, 0)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>Th\000omAs</literal></entry>
</row>
<entry>
Set byte in string
</entry>
- <entry><literal>set_byte(E'Th\\000omas'::bytea, 4, 64)</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>set_byte('Th\000omas'::bytea, 4, 64)</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>Th\000o@as</literal></entry>
</row>
<lineannotation>fooXbaz</lineannotation>
regexp_replace('foobarbaz', 'b..', 'X', 'g')
<lineannotation>fooXX</lineannotation>
-regexp_replace('foobarbaz', 'b(..)', E'X\\1Y', 'g')
+regexp_replace('foobarbaz', 'b(..)', 'X\1Y', 'g')
<lineannotation>fooXarYXazY</lineannotation>
</programlisting>
</para>
Some examples:
<programlisting>
-SELECT foo FROM regexp_split_to_table('the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog', E'\\s+') AS foo;
+SELECT foo FROM regexp_split_to_table('the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog', '\s+') AS foo;
foo
-------
the
dog
(9 rows)
-SELECT regexp_split_to_array('the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog', E'\\s+');
+SELECT regexp_split_to_array('the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog', '\s+');
regexp_split_to_array
-----------------------------------------------
{the,quick,brown,fox,jumps,over,the,lazy,dog}
(1 row)
-SELECT foo FROM regexp_split_to_table('the quick brown fox', E'\\s*') AS foo;
+SELECT foo FROM regexp_split_to_table('the quick brown fox', '\s*') AS foo;
foo
-----
t
Create a large object and store data there, returning its OID.
Pass <literal>0</literal> to have the system choose an OID.
</entry>
- <entry><literal>lo_from_bytea(0, E'\\xffffff00')</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>lo_from_bytea(0, '\xffffff00')</literal></entry>
<entry><literal>24528</literal></entry>
</row>
<entry>
Write data at the given offset.
</entry>
- <entry><literal>lo_put(24528, 1, E'\\xaa')</literal></entry>
+ <entry><literal>lo_put(24528, 1, '\xaa')</literal></entry>
<entry></entry>
</row>
containing a double quote and a backslash in a composite
value, you'd need to write:
<programlisting>
-INSERT ... VALUES (E'("\\"\\\\")');
+INSERT ... VALUES ('("\"\\")');
</programlisting>
The string-literal processor removes one level of backslashes, so that
what arrives at the composite-value parser looks like