49.34. pg_opfamily
The catalog pg_opfamily defines operator families. Each operator family is a collection of operators and associated support routines that implement the semantics specified for a particular index access method. Furthermore, the operators in a family are all “compatible”, in a way that is specified by the access method. The operator family concept allows cross-data-type operators to be used with indexes and to be reasoned about using knowledge of access method semantics.
Operator families are described at length in Section 35.14.
Table 49.34. pg_opfamily Columns
| Name | Type | References | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
oid | oid | Row identifier (hidden attribute; must be explicitly selected) | |
opfmethod | oid | | Index access method operator family is for |
opfname | name | Name of this operator family | |
opfnamespace | oid | | Namespace of this operator family |
opfowner | oid | | Owner of the operator family |
The majority of the information defining an operator family is not in its pg_opfamily row, but in the associated rows in pg_amop, pg_amproc, and pg_opclass.