Hi, Constants are just convenience: instead of constants, user defined functions can be used. This already works, however it's a bit verbose:
CREATE FUNCTION STATE_ACTIVE() RETURNS VARCHAR AS $$ BEGIN RETURN 'active'; END; $$ LANGUAGE PLPGSQL; Usage is almost the same: SELECT * FROM USERS WHERE STATE=STATE_ACTIVE(); > therefore arbitrary macro expansion like in those "plenty of languages" > does not seem like a good idea to me. This is _not_ macro expansion as in C '#define'. Constants are typed, as in C++ 'const' and Java 'static final'. The question is only: should the user explicitly state the data type, or should the data type be deduced from the value. Both is possible: CREATE CONSTANT STATE_ACTIVE VALUE 'active'; CREATE CONSTANT STATE_ACTIVE TEXT VALUE 'active'; Regards, Thomas -- Sent via pgsql-hackers mailing list (pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-hackers
