Find columns of base tables and foreign tables where the requirement that there should not be empty strings or strings that consist of only spaces in the column has been implemented incorrectly - by using the constraint trim(column_name) IS NOT NULL. PostgreSQL (differently from Oracle) does not replace the empty string with NULL. Empty string is a value but NULL is a special marker that denotes a missing value. Thus, in case of such constraint the DBMS checks a proposition '' IS NOT NULL. This is a true proposition and the DBMS does not prevent registration of such a row.
Notes
The query takes into account constraints that are associated directly with the column as well as constraints that are associated with the column through a domain. The query does not find CHECK constraints of domains that are not associated with any table.
Type
Problem detection (Each row in the result could represent a flaw in the design)
Use instead the constraint trim(column_name)<>''. Also make sure as to whether there is instead a rule that prevents strings that consist of only whitespace characters in the column. If it is, then instead use the following constraint: (column_name|VALUE)!~'^[[:space:]]*$'.
Data Source
INFORMATION_SCHEMA only
SQL Query
WITH checks AS (SELECT ccu.table_schema, ccu.table_name, t.table_type, ccu.column_name, cc.check_clause, cc.constraint_name, 'TABLE CHECK' AS check_type
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.constraint_column_usage AS ccu INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.check_constraints AS cc USING (constraint_schema, constraint_name)
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.tables AS t USING (table_schema, table_name)
WHERE cc.check_clause NOT LIKE '%IS NOT NULL' AND
ccu.table_schema NOT IN (SELECT schema_name
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.schemata
WHERE schema_name<>'public' AND
schema_owner='postgres' AND schema_name IS NOT NULL)
UNION SELECT cdu.table_schema, cdu.table_name, t.table_type, cdu.column_name, cc.check_clause, cc.constraint_name, 'DOMAIN CHECK' AS check_type
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.column_domain_usage AS cdu INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.tables AS t USING (table_schema, table_name)
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.domain_constraints AS dc USING (domain_schema, domain_name)
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.check_constraints AS cc USING (constraint_schema, constraint_name)
WHERE t.table_type IN ('BASE TABLE','FOREIGN') AND cc.check_clause NOT LIKE '%IS NOT NULL' AND
cdu.table_schema NOT IN (SELECT schema_name
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.schemata
WHERE schema_name<>'public' AND
schema_owner='postgres' AND schema_name IS NOT NULL))
SELECT table_schema, table_name, table_type, column_name, check_clause, constraint_name, check_type
FROM checks
WHERE check_clause ~* 'btrim[(].+[)] IS NOT NULL'
ORDER BY table_schema, table_name, column_name;
SQL statements that help generate fixes for the identified problem.
SQL Query to Generate Fix
Description
WITH checks AS (SELECT ccu.table_schema, ccu.table_name, t.table_type, cc.constraint_name, cc.check_clause
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.constraint_column_usage AS ccu INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.check_constraints AS cc USING (constraint_schema, constraint_name)
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.tables AS t USING (table_schema, table_name)
WHERE cc.check_clause NOT LIKE '%IS NOT NULL' AND
ccu.table_schema NOT IN (SELECT schema_name
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.schemata
WHERE schema_name<>'public' AND
schema_owner='postgres' AND schema_name IS NOT NULL))
SELECT DISTINCT format('ALTER %4$s TABLE %1$I.%2$I DROP CONSTRAINT %3$I;', table_schema, table_name, constraint_name, CASE WHEN table_type='FOREIGN' THEN table_type END) AS statements
FROM checks
WHERE check_clause ~* 'btrim[(].+[)] IS NOT NULL'
ORDER BY statements;
Drop the constraint that is directly associated with the table.
WITH checks AS (SELECT ccu.table_schema, ccu.table_name, t.table_type, ccu.column_name, cc.constraint_name, cc.check_clause
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.constraint_column_usage AS ccu INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.check_constraints AS cc USING (constraint_schema, constraint_name)
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.tables AS t USING (table_schema, table_name)
WHERE cc.check_clause NOT LIKE '%IS NOT NULL' AND
ccu.table_schema NOT IN (SELECT schema_name
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.schemata
WHERE schema_name<>'public' AND
schema_owner='postgres' AND schema_name IS NOT NULL))
SELECT DISTINCT format('ALTER %5$s TABLE %1$I.%2$I ADD CONSTRAINT %3$I CHECK (trim(%4$I)<>'''');', table_schema, table_name, constraint_name, column_name, CASE WHEN table_type='FOREIGN' THEN table_type END) AS statements
FROM checks
WHERE check_clause ~* 'btrim[(].+[)] IS NOT NULL'
ORDER BY statements;
Add the constraint that is directly associated with the table.
WITH checks AS (SELECT cdu.domain_schema, cdu.domain_name, cc.check_clause, cc.constraint_name
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.column_domain_usage AS cdu INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.tables AS t USING (table_schema, table_name)
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.domain_constraints AS dc USING (domain_schema, domain_name)
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.check_constraints AS cc USING (constraint_schema, constraint_name)
WHERE t.table_type IN ('BASE TABLE','FOREIGN') AND cc.check_clause NOT LIKE '%IS NOT NULL' AND
cdu.table_schema NOT IN (SELECT schema_name
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.schemata
WHERE schema_name<>'public' AND
schema_owner='postgres' AND schema_name IS NOT NULL))
SELECT format('ALTER DOMAIN %1$I.%2$I DROP CONSTRAINT %3$I;', domain_schema, domain_name, constraint_name) AS statements
FROM checks
WHERE check_clause ~* 'btrim[(].+[)] IS NOT NULL'
ORDER BY domain_schema, domain_name, constraint_name;
Drop the constraint that is associated with the domain.
WITH checks AS (SELECT cdu.domain_schema, cdu.domain_name, cc.check_clause, cc.constraint_name
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.column_domain_usage AS cdu INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.tables AS t USING (table_schema, table_name)
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.domain_constraints AS dc USING (domain_schema, domain_name)
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.check_constraints AS cc USING (constraint_schema, constraint_name)
WHERE t.table_type IN ('BASE TABLE','FOREIGN') AND cc.check_clause NOT LIKE '%IS NOT NULL' AND
cdu.table_schema NOT IN (SELECT schema_name
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.schemata
WHERE schema_name<>'public' AND
schema_owner='postgres' AND schema_name IS NOT NULL))
SELECT format('ALTER DOMAIN %1$I.%2$I ADD CONSTRAINT %3$I CHECK (trim(VALUE)<>'''');', domain_schema, domain_name, constraint_name) AS statements
FROM checks
WHERE check_clause ~* 'btrim[(].+[)] IS NOT NULL'
ORDER BY domain_schema, domain_name, constraint_name;
Add the constraint that is associated with the domain.
Collections
This query belongs to the following collections:
Name
Description
Find problems automatically
Queries, that results point to problems in the database. Each query in the collection produces an initial assessment. However, a human reviewer has the final say as to whether there is a problem or not .
Categories
This query is classified under the following categories:
Name
Description
CHECK constraints
Queries of this category provide information about CHECK constraints.