NULLs and sort order

I'm forwarding this information from Peter Eisentraut on
pgsql-hackers about NULLs and sort order. I couldn't find this
in the documentation.

I guess it should be in "ORDER BY Clause" of "SELECT" in the
Reference Manual, and in the 7.2 release notes.

Can someone add this to the documentation?

Or am I expected to submit a patch on the Docbook sources?

On Sun, 9 Sep 2001 15:25:17 +0200 (CEST), Peter Eisentraut
<peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net> wrote:
>Rene Pijlman writes:
>> Currently the JDBC driver says:
>> - Backend >= 7.2 sorts nulls higher than any other value in a
>> domain. In other words: ascending means nulls at the end,
>> descending means nulls at the start.
>> - Backend < 7.2 puts nulls at the end regardless of sort order.
>
>That is correct.
>
>--
>Peter Eisentraut peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net http://funkturm.homeip.net/~peter

Regards,
René Pijlman <rene(at)lab(dot)applinet(dot)nl>

...
> Or am I expected to submit a patch on the Docbook sources?
...

"Expected"? No. But it sure would be preferable since you would get it
the way you think it should be, and others could spend time on other
things.

An alternative, if you are not comfortable diving into sgml markup, is
to find the place in the sgml where the changes should be, but just put
them in without markup. Someone else like Peter or myself would be happy
to fix up the markup.

- Thomas

Attached is a small patch for the Reference Manual which adds
information about nulls and sort order.

This is based on information obtained from Peter Eisentraut and
Tom Lane on pgsql-hackers.

Please check my English and Docbook markup, as both are a second
language to me.

On Sun, 09 Sep 2001 16:58:18 +0200, I wrote:
>I'm forwarding this information from Peter Eisentraut on
>pgsql-hackers about NULLs and sort order. I couldn't find this
>in the documentation.
>
>I guess it should be in "ORDER BY Clause" of "SELECT" in the
>Reference Manual, and in the 7.2 release notes.
>
>Can someone add this to the documentation?
>
>Or am I expected to submit a patch on the Docbook sources?
>
>On Sun, 9 Sep 2001 15:25:17 +0200 (CEST), Peter Eisentraut
><peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net> wrote:
>>Rene Pijlman writes:
>>> Currently the JDBC driver says:
>>> - Backend >= 7.2 sorts nulls higher than any other value in a
>>> domain. In other words: ascending means nulls at the end,
>>> descending means nulls at the start.
>>> - Backend < 7.2 puts nulls at the end regardless of sort order.
>>
>>That is correct.
>>
>>--
>>Peter Eisentraut peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net http://funkturm.homeip.net/~peter

Regards,
René Pijlman <rene(at)lab(dot)applinet(dot)nl>

Your patch has been added to the PostgreSQL unapplied patches list at:

http://candle.pha.pa.us/cgi-bin/pgpatches

I will try to apply it within the next 48 hours.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Attached is a small patch for the Reference Manual which adds
> information about nulls and sort order.
>
> This is based on information obtained from Peter Eisentraut and
> Tom Lane on pgsql-hackers.
>
> Please check my English and Docbook markup, as both are a second
> language to me.
>
> On Sun, 09 Sep 2001 16:58:18 +0200, I wrote:
> >I'm forwarding this information from Peter Eisentraut on
> >pgsql-hackers about NULLs and sort order. I couldn't find this
> >in the documentation.
> >
> >I guess it should be in "ORDER BY Clause" of "SELECT" in the
> >Reference Manual, and in the 7.2 release notes.
> >
> >Can someone add this to the documentation?
> >
> >Or am I expected to submit a patch on the Docbook sources?
> >
> >On Sun, 9 Sep 2001 15:25:17 +0200 (CEST), Peter Eisentraut
> ><peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net> wrote:
> >>Rene Pijlman writes:
> >>> Currently the JDBC driver says:
> >>> - Backend >= 7.2 sorts nulls higher than any other value in a
> >>> domain. In other words: ascending means nulls at the end,
> >>> descending means nulls at the start.
> >>> - Backend < 7.2 puts nulls at the end regardless of sort order.
> >>
> >>That is correct.
> >>
> >>--
> >>Peter Eisentraut peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net http://funkturm.homeip.net/~peter
>
> Regards,
> Ren? Pijlman <rene(at)lab(dot)applinet(dot)nl>

[ Attachment, skipping... ]

>
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
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>
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--
Bruce Momjian | http://candle.pha.pa.us
pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us | (610) 853-3000
+ If your life is a hard drive, | 830 Blythe Avenue
+ Christ can be your backup. | Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026

Patch applied. Thanks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Attached is a small patch for the Reference Manual which adds
> information about nulls and sort order.
>
> This is based on information obtained from Peter Eisentraut and
> Tom Lane on pgsql-hackers.
>
> Please check my English and Docbook markup, as both are a second
> language to me.
>
> On Sun, 09 Sep 2001 16:58:18 +0200, I wrote:
> >I'm forwarding this information from Peter Eisentraut on
> >pgsql-hackers about NULLs and sort order. I couldn't find this
> >in the documentation.
> >
> >I guess it should be in "ORDER BY Clause" of "SELECT" in the
> >Reference Manual, and in the 7.2 release notes.
> >
> >Can someone add this to the documentation?
> >
> >Or am I expected to submit a patch on the Docbook sources?
> >
> >On Sun, 9 Sep 2001 15:25:17 +0200 (CEST), Peter Eisentraut
> ><peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net> wrote:
> >>Rene Pijlman writes:
> >>> Currently the JDBC driver says:
> >>> - Backend >= 7.2 sorts nulls higher than any other value in a
> >>> domain. In other words: ascending means nulls at the end,
> >>> descending means nulls at the start.
> >>> - Backend < 7.2 puts nulls at the end regardless of sort order.
> >>
> >>That is correct.
> >>
> >>--
> >>Peter Eisentraut peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net http://funkturm.homeip.net/~peter
>
> Regards,
> Ren? Pijlman <rene(at)lab(dot)applinet(dot)nl>

[ Attachment, skipping... ]

>
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 5: Have you checked our extensive FAQ?
>
> http://www.postgresql.org/users-lounge/docs/faq.html

--
Bruce Momjian | http://candle.pha.pa.us
pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us | (610) 853-3000
+ If your life is a hard drive, | 830 Blythe Avenue
+ Christ can be your backup. | Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026