Nordic PGDay 2017
Schedule - Nordic PGDay 2017
Time Related Range Types Revisited
Date: 2017-03-21
Time: 09:15–10:05
Room: Drottningholm
PostgreSQL has built in support for a number of range data types, including number, date and timestamp ranges. In this presentation I will focus on the latter two. The need for date and time ranges, or ranges in general has always existed. First intents were done using two table fields for the limits and trigger functions to manage their values. The PostgreSQL implementation of the built in range types is a much more valid and flexible option that simplifies their usage and includes very efficient operators. They can be used in indexes for simple searches or exclusion requirements. So it becomes very simple to implement portions of business logic within the database, profiting from its advantages, such as reliability, efficient queries and, in particular, data integrity.
After a brief introduction to the data types and their functions and operators, I will show a set of real use cases from our daily business at the Institute for Economic Research in Zurich and from the Swiss PostgreSQL Users Group. The use cases make the main part of the presentation and include besides the usage of the range types, at least in one case, its combination with other PostgreSQL features.
Temporary agenda (may still change slightly till event): - Brief introduction to range types - Audit or History? - Plan and forget - Just in time delivery or Ranges and RLS in sync - Conclusions - Q&A