I. SQL Commands

This part contains reference information for the SQL commands supported by PostgreSQL. By "SQL" the language in general is meant; information about the standards conformance and compatibility of each command can be found on the respective reference page.

Table of Contents

ABORT -- abort the current transaction

ALTER DATABASE -- change a database

ALTER GROUP -- add users to a group or remove users from a group

ALTER TABLE -- change the definition of a table

ALTER TRIGGER -- change the definition of a trigger

ALTER USER -- change a database user account

ANALYZE -- collect statistics about a database

BEGIN -- start a transaction block

CHECKPOINT -- force a transaction log checkpoint

CLOSE -- close a cursor

CLUSTER -- cluster a table according to an index

COMMENT -- define or change the comment of an object

COMMIT -- commit the current transaction

COPY -- copy data between files and tables

CREATE AGGREGATE -- define a new aggregate function

CREATE CAST -- define a user-defined cast

CREATE CONSTRAINT TRIGGER -- define a new constraint trigger

CREATE CONVERSION -- define a user-defined encoding conversion

CREATE DATABASE -- create a new database

CREATE DOMAIN -- define a new domain

CREATE FUNCTION -- define a new function

CREATE GROUP -- define a new user group

CREATE INDEX -- define a new index

CREATE LANGUAGE -- define a new procedural language

CREATE OPERATOR -- define a new operator

CREATE OPERATOR CLASS -- define a new operator class for indexes

CREATE RULE -- define a new rewrite rule

CREATE SCHEMA -- define a new schema

CREATE SEQUENCE -- define a new sequence generator

CREATE TABLE -- define a new table

CREATE TABLE AS -- create a new table from the results of a query

CREATE TRIGGER -- define a new trigger

CREATE TYPE -- define a new data type

CREATE USER -- define a new database user account

CREATE VIEW -- define a new view

DEALLOCATE -- remove a prepared query

DECLARE -- define a cursor

DELETE -- delete rows of a table

DROP AGGREGATE -- remove a user-defined aggregate function

DROP CAST -- remove a user-defined cast

DROP CONVERSION -- remove a user-defined conversion

DROP DATABASE -- remove a database

DROP DOMAIN -- remove a user-defined domain

DROP FUNCTION -- remove a user-defined function

DROP GROUP -- remove a user group

DROP INDEX -- remove an index

DROP LANGUAGE -- remove a user-defined procedural language

DROP OPERATOR -- remove a user-defined operator

DROP OPERATOR CLASS -- remove a user-defined operator class

DROP RULE -- remove a rewrite rule

DROP SCHEMA -- remove a schema

DROP SEQUENCE -- remove a sequence

DROP TABLE -- remove a table

DROP TRIGGER -- remove a trigger

DROP TYPE -- remove a user-defined data type

DROP USER -- remove a database user account

DROP VIEW -- remove a view

END -- commit the current transaction

EXECUTE -- execute a prepared query

EXPLAIN -- show the execution plan of a statement

FETCH -- retrieve rows from a table using a cursor

GRANT -- define access privileges

INSERT -- create new rows in a table

LISTEN -- listen for a notification

LOAD -- load or reload a shared library file

LOCK -- explicitly lock a table

MOVE -- position a cursor on a specified row of a table

NOTIFY -- generate a notification

PREPARE -- create a prepared query

REINDEX -- rebuild corrupted indexes

RESET -- restore the value of a run-time parameter to a default value

REVOKE -- remove access privileges

ROLLBACK -- abort the current transaction

SELECT -- retrieve rows from a table or view

SELECT INTO -- create a new table from the results of a query

SET -- change a run-time parameter

SET CONSTRAINTS -- set the constraint mode of the current transaction

SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION -- set the session user identifier and the current user identifier of the current session

SET TRANSACTION -- set the characteristics of the current transaction

SHOW -- show the value of a run-time parameter

START TRANSACTION -- start a transaction block

TRUNCATE -- empty a table

UNLISTEN -- stop listening for a notification

UPDATE -- update rows of a table

VACUUM -- garbage-collect and optionally analyze a database