postgresql-table-design

# PostgreSQL Table Design ## Core Rules - Define a **PRIMARY KEY** for reference tables (users, orders, etc.). Not always needed for time-series/event/log data. When used, prefer `BIGINT GENERATED ALWAYS AS IDENTITY`; use `UUID` only when global uniqueness/opacity is needed. - **Normalize first (to 3NF)** to eliminate data redundancy and update anomalies; denormalize **only** for measured, high-ROI reads where join performance is proven problematic. Premature denormalization creates maintenance burden. - Add **NOT NULL** everywhere it’s semantically required; use **DEFAULT**s for common values. - Create **indexes for access paths you actually query**: PK/unique (auto), **FK columns (manual!)**, frequent filters/sorts, and join keys. - Prefer **TIMESTAMPTZ** for event time; **NUMERIC** for money; **TEXT** for strings; **BIGINT** for integer values, **DOUBLE PRECISION** for floats (or `NUMERIC` for exact decimal arithmetic). ## PostgreSQL “Gotchas” - **Identifiers**: unquoted → lowercased. Avoid quoted/mixed-case names. Convention: use `snake_case` for table/column names. - **Unique + NULLs**: UNIQUE allows multiple NULLs. Use `UNIQUE (...) NULLS NOT DISTINCT` (PG15+) to restrict to one NULL. - **FK indexes**: PostgreSQL **does not** auto-index FK columns. Add them. - **No silent coercions**: length/precision overflows error out (no truncation). Example: inserting 999 into `NUMERIC(2,0)` fails with error, unlike some databases that silently truncate or round. - **Sequences/...