Table 8.1 shows all the built-in general-purpose data types. Most of the alternative names listed in the “[.quote]#Aliases”# column are the names used internally by PostgreSQL for historical reasons. In addition, some internally used or deprecated types are available, but are not listed here.

Table 8.1. Data Types

Name Aliases Description

Name	Aliases	Description
`bigint`	`int8`	signed eight-byte integer
`bigserial`	`serial8`	autoincrementing eight-byte integer
bit [ (`n) ]`		fixed-length bit string
bit varying [ (`n) ]`	varbit [ (`n) ]`	variable-length bit string
`boolean`	`bool`	logical Boolean (true/false)
`box`		rectangular box on a plane
`bytea`		binary data (“[.quote]#byte array”#)
character [ (`n) ]`	char [ (`n) ]`	fixed-length character string
character varying [ (`n) ]`	varchar [ (`n) ]`	variable-length character string
`cidr`		IPv4 or IPv6 network address
`circle`		circle on a plane
`date`		calendar date (year, month, day)
`double precision`	`float8`	double precision floating-point number (8 bytes)
`inet`		IPv4 or IPv6 host address
`integer`	`int`, `int4`	signed four-byte integer
interval [ +`_`+fields`+ ] [ (`_`+p) ]`		time span
`json`		textual JSON data
`jsonb`		binary JSON data, decomposed
`line`		infinite line on a plane
`lseg`		line segment on a plane
`macaddr`		MAC (Media Access Control) address
`macaddr8`		MAC (Media Access Control) address (EUI-64 format)
`money`		currency amount
numeric [ (`p, +`_`+s`_`) ]`	decimal [ (`p, +`_`+s`_`) ]`	exact numeric of selectable precision
`path`		geometric path on a plane
`pg_lsn`		PostgreSQL Log Sequence Number
`point`		geometric point on a plane
`polygon`		closed geometric path on a plane
`real`	`float4`	single precision floating-point number (4 bytes)
`smallint`	`int2`	signed two-byte integer
`smallserial`	`serial2`	autoincrementing two-byte integer
`serial`	`serial4`	autoincrementing four-byte integer
`text`		variable-length character string
time [ (`p) ] [ without time zone ]`		time of day (no time zone)
time [ (`p) ] with time zone`	`timetz`	time of day, including time zone
timestamp [ (`p) ] [ without time zone ]`		date and time (no time zone)
timestamp [ (`p) ] with time zone`	`timestamptz`	date and time, including time zone
`tsquery`		text search query
`tsvector`		text search document
`txid_snapshot`		user-level transaction ID snapshot
`uuid`		universally unique identifier
`xml`		XML data

bigint

int8

signed eight-byte integer

bigserial

serial8

autoincrementing eight-byte integer

bit [ (`n) ]`

fixed-length bit string

bit varying [ (`n) ]`

varbit [ (`n) ]`

variable-length bit string

boolean

bool

logical Boolean (true/false)

box

rectangular box on a plane

bytea

binary data (“[.quote]#byte array”#)

character [ (`n) ]`

char [ (`n) ]`

fixed-length character string

character varying [ (`n) ]`

varchar [ (`n) ]`

variable-length character string

cidr

IPv4 or IPv6 network address

circle

circle on a plane

date

calendar date (year, month, day)

double precision

float8

double precision floating-point number (8 bytes)

inet

IPv4 or IPv6 host address

integer

int, int4

signed four-byte integer

interval [ +`_`+fields`+ ] [ (`_`+p) ]`

time span

json

textual JSON data

jsonb

binary JSON data, decomposed

line

infinite line on a plane

lseg

line segment on a plane

macaddr

MAC (Media Access Control) address

macaddr8

MAC (Media Access Control) address (EUI-64 format)

money

currency amount

numeric [ (`p, +`_`+s_) ]`

decimal [ (`p, +`_`+s_) ]`

exact numeric of selectable precision

path

geometric path on a plane

pg_lsn

PostgreSQL Log Sequence Number

point

geometric point on a plane

polygon

closed geometric path on a plane

real

float4

single precision floating-point number (4 bytes)

smallint

int2

signed two-byte integer

smallserial

serial2

autoincrementing two-byte integer

serial

serial4

autoincrementing four-byte integer

text

variable-length character string

time [ (`p) ] [ without time zone ]`

time of day (no time zone)

time [ (`p) ] with time zone`

timetz

time of day, including time zone

timestamp [ (`p) ] [ without time zone ]`

date and time (no time zone)

timestamp [ (`p) ] with time zone`

timestamptz

date and time, including time zone

tsquery

text search query

tsvector

text search document

txid_snapshot

user-level transaction ID snapshot

uuid

universally unique identifier

xml

XML data

Compatibility

The following types (or spellings thereof) are specified by SQL: bigint, bit, bit varying, boolean, char, character varying, character, varchar, date, double precision, integer, interval, numeric, decimal, real, smallint, time (with or without time zone), timestamp (with or without time zone), xml.

Each data type has an external representation determined by its input and output functions. Many of the built-in types have obvious external formats. However, several types are either unique to PostgreSQL, such as geometric paths, or have several possible formats, such as the date and time types. Some of the input and output functions are not invertible, i.e., the result of an output function might lose accuracy when compared to the original input.

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