On Tue, 2022-10-04 at 09:41 +0200, Peter Eisentraut wrote: > In PostgreSQL 10, we added identity columns, as an alternative to serial > columns (since 6.something). They mostly work the same. Identity > columns are SQL-conforming, have some more features (e.g., overriding > clause), and are a bit more robust in schema management. Some of that > was described in [0]. AFAICT, there have been no complaints since that > identity columns lack features or are somehow a regression over serial > columns. > > But clearly, the syntax "serial" is more handy, and most casual examples > use that syntax. So it seems like we are stuck with maintaining these > two variants in parallel forever. I was thinking we could nudge this a > little by remapping "serial" internally to create an identity column > instead. At least then over time, the use of the older serial > mechanisms would go away.
I think that would be great. That might generate some confusion among users who follow old tutorials and are surprised that the eventual table definition differs, but I'd say that is a good thing. Yours, Laurenz Albe
