On Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 11:29 AM, Richard Broersma < richard.broer...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 8:00 AM, Tarlika Elisabeth Schmitz > <postgres...@numerixtechnology.de> wrote: > > Interesting. I have previously used the information_schema for similar > > queries. > > > > What are the pros and cons for using either pg_catalog or > > information_schema? > > My understanding is that pg_catalog tables and views *can* change > between major releases while the information_schema is expected to be > more stable between major releases. > > Applications that depend upon the information_schema rather than > pg_catalog are less likely to break when the PostgreSQL server is > upgraded. > > -- > Regards, > Richard Broersma Jr. > > -- > Sent via pgsql-general mailing list (pgsql-general@postgresql.org) > To make changes to your subscription: > http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-general > The reason for this is that the pg_* tables are obviously specific to Postgres, and do change between versions. The information_schema tables are actually part of the SQL standard so it is a portable way to get information about the database structure. -Adam Cornett
