Folks,
Preamble:
* I can create a check constraint on a column or domain that enforces "no leading or trailing whitespace". Imagine
thatthe domain is called "trimmed_varchar"
* I can create plpgsql function/triggers that "tidy" up incoming varchars, trimming the offending whitespaces, on a
columnby column basis.
* When creating a column based on a domain with the check constraint, I cannot "tidy it up" during a
pre-insert/pre-updatetrigger. Fair enough.
* I'm only asking about this because I am a long-in-the-tooth Oracle guy, and Pg seems to have many *very* nice
features,and there might be an *elegant* way to achieve this that I cannot attempt in Oracle.
Desired Outcome(s):
* I would like to have the convenience of declaring a column that obeys a constraint (similar to using a domain), but
allowsa "tidy-up" as the value is created BEFORE asserting the constraint. This *might* be termed a "domain trigger".
(Perhapseven a WORM is possible!).
* I would like to able to declare columns as "trimmed_varchar(n)".
* I'd like to be able to use the same approach for other "weak domains".
Question(s):
* Am I being realistic, or should I grit my teeth and clone code from trigger to trigger and column to column?
* Is this something I should try and do using domains, types and cast functions from "text" or some horrible
combinationof them all?
* Has anybody got a code sample that might do something similar.
Apologies if I have missed something obvious in the manual, or if it is
a well-known item in the wish-lists, but I am very new to serious Pg
work, and have a tight schedule to do deliver a schema. *sigh*
Thanks in advance
--
David T. Bath
dave.bath@unix.net
