PostgreSQL, Second Edition

Character Values

There are three character (or, as they are more commonly known, string) data types offered by PostgreSQL. A string value is just that—a string of zero or more characters. The three string data types are CHARACTER(n), CHARACTER VARYING(n), and TEXT.

A value of type CHARACTER(n) can hold a fixed-length string of n characters. If you store a value that is shorter than n, the value is padded with spaces to increase the length to exactly n characters. You can abbreviate CHARACTER(n) to CHAR(n). If you omit the “(n)” when you create a CHARACTER column, the length is assumed to be 1.

The CHARACTER VARYING(n) type defines a variable-length string of at most n characters. VARCHAR(n) is a synonym for CHARACTER VARYING(n). If you omit the ...