Chris Bartlett <c.bartl...@paradise.net.nz> writes:
 I'm trying to set [now(), 2049-12-31 00:00:00) as the default for a
 tsrange column (Postgres 9.2), but can't figure out how to do it. I'm
 either getting syntax errors or now() is being evaluated, so that the
 default becomes something like [2012-07-14 14:04:35, 2049-12-31
 00:00:00), which is not what I want. Can anyone point me in the right
 direction, please?

I think you'd need to use the constructor function, ie

        default tsrange(now(), '2049-12-31 00:00:00')

I had tried the constructor function and hadn't managed to get a successful result. E.g.

alter table the_table alter column the_column set default tsrange(now(), '2049-12-31 00:00:00');
-> ERROR:  function tsrange(timestamp with time zone, unknown) does not exist
HINT: No function matches the given name and argument types. You might need to add explicit type casts.

Realisation: now() is a timestamp with time zone, but my column is a timestamp without time zone. So this works:

alter table the_table alter column the_column set default tsrange(now()::timestamp without time zone, '2049-12-31 00:00:00'::timestamp without time zone);
-> ALTER TABLE

BTW, that second value looks a whole lot like a poorly thought out substitute for 'infinity' ...
                        regards, tom lane


That's certainly an interesting comment and I'm open to suggestions! The original db has two columns (from_timestamp, to_timestamp). I don't go for NULL in the to_timestamp column. Alternatively, a timestamp very, very far in the future can throw off query planners.

Thanks,
Chris

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