Re: Changing the type of timestamp columns - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Tom Lane
Subject Re: Changing the type of timestamp columns
Date
Msg-id 14512.1092061974@sss.pgh.pa.us
Whole thread Raw
In response to Changing the type of timestamp columns  (Christopher Kings-Lynne <chriskl@familyhealth.com.au>)
List pgsql-hackers
Christopher Kings-Lynne <chriskl@familyhealth.com.au> writes:
> Is it safe to update the atttypid of a timestamp column to be a 
> timestamptz column?

For sufficiently small values of "safe", sure.

The problem is that unless you live in GMT zone, the interpretation
of values is different: the zero reference for timestamptz is midnight
GMT 2000-01-01, whereas for timestamp it's midnight your local time
2000-01-01.  So if you do the above, all the stored timestamps will
appear to change value by your offset from GMT.

If you're planning to replace all the column entries then it won't
matter, but ...
        regards, tom lane


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