On Mon, May 23, 2016 at 11:14 AM, David G. Johnston < david.g.johns...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, May 23, 2016 at 12:55 PM, Peter van Hardenberg <p...@pvh.ca> wrote: > >> Hi there, >> >> I noticed it was very easy to accidentally call the json_* form of JSON >> manipulation functions with jsonb data as input. This is pretty >> sub-optimal, since it involves rendering the jsonb then reparsing it and >> calling the json_* form of the function. >> >> Fortunately, this seems quite easy to resolve by taking advantage of our >> ability to add json_*(jsonb) form of the functions. >> >> I talked this over with Andrew who had no objections and suggested I >> float it on the list before writing a patch. Looks pretty straightforward, >> just a few new data rows in pg_proc.h. >> >> Anyone have any concerns or suggestions? >> >> > Please provide an example of what you are talking about. > > SELECT json_array_length('[1,2]'::jsonb) > ERROR: function json_array_length(jsonb) does not exist > > -- The function name is "jsonb_array_length"; and there is no implicit > cast between the two. > He is saying that he accidentally calls json_array_length() instead of jsonb_array_length() and that it is an annoying usability problem. It happens to me too and I agree it would be better if you could just call json_array_length() regardless if the type is JSON or JSONB. If there is some significant functionality difference from the user's perspective then having separate "json_" and "jsonb_" functions makes sense, but in your example there is not.