Re: Calling json_* functions with JSONB data - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From David G. Johnston
Subject Re: Calling json_* functions with JSONB data
Date
Msg-id CAKFQuwbTk8xwWJ5SFTGoRnxwEyh4Y4TXvy6BSuk_WN+4ov_w4Q@mail.gmail.com
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: Calling json_* functions with JSONB data  (Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>)
List pgsql-hackers
On Mon, May 23, 2016 at 4:37 PM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
Peter van Hardenberg <pvh@pvh.ca> writes:
> Great question, Marko. If you can point me towards an example I'll take a
> look, but I'll proceed with the current understanding and suggestions and
> see what people have to say.

I believe Marko's just complaining about the case for unknown-type
arguments, for example:

regression=# select json_array_length('[1,2,3]');
 json_array_length
-------------------
                 3
(1 row)

The parser has no trouble resolving this because there is only one
json_array_length(); but if there were two, it would fail to make a
determination of which one you meant.

AFAICS the only way to fix that would be to introduce some preference
between the two types.  For example, we could move both 'json' and 'jsonb'
into their own typcategory ('J' is unused...) and then mark 'jsonb' as
the preferred type in that category.  This would require a fair amount of
experimentation to determine if it upsets any cases that work conveniently
today; but right offhand I don't see any fatal problems with such an idea.

                        regards, tom lane

I
​ guess the relevant point in the documentation is the parenthetical sentence:


(The processing functions consider the last value as the operative one.)

​Which normalizes the behaviors of jsonb and json as they pass through one of these functions.  Though only the multi-key is noted which means white-space (immaterial) and key-order (potentially material) behaviors differ; though the later coming through the function unscathed is not something that user's should be relying upon.  Specifically I'm thinking of the behavior that "json_each(...)" would exhibit.

David J.

pgsql-hackers by date:

Previous
From: Peter van Hardenberg
Date:
Subject: Re: Calling json_* functions with JSONB data
Next
From: "David G. Johnston"
Date:
Subject: Re: Changed SRF in targetlist handling