PostgreSQL: serial vs integer sequences?

[Lou Picciano]

Hi Nick!


Absolutely no good reason not to use the serial pseudotype. 


Really, what it gets you is a ticket to the sequence functionality in PostgreSQL, which does so much of the heavy lifting for you.

Beautiful, built-in stuff.


Check out the currval() and nextval() functions, and how these can make life so much easier!


Yes, that sound is me beating on the PostgreSQL 'drum' again...  (!)


Lou Picciano


> 
>     On March 6, 2017 at 5:31 AM Nick Renders <omnis1 at arcict.com> wrote:
> 
>     Hi Everybody,
> 
>     We recently upgraded our Postgres server from v9.4 to v9.6 and
>     exported/imported
>     all our data in doing so. I noticed that all the columns of type serial
>     have been
>     converted to integer. The sequences are still in place, so I didn't
>     think too much
>     of it, but now that I need to create some new tables, I am wondering:
> 
>     Is there any reason NOT to use the serial type for sequence fields?
> 
>     Using integer fields for sequences seems so much clunkier.
> 
>     Cheers,
> 
>     Nick Renders
> 
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