AI Prompt: Postgres SQL Style Guide
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Prompt#
1# Postgres SQL Style Guide23## General45- Use lowercase for SQL reserved words to maintain consistency and readability.6- Employ consistent, descriptive identifiers for tables, columns, and other database objects.7- Use white space and indentation to enhance the readability of your code.8- Store dates in ISO 8601 format (`yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.sssss`).9- Include comments for complex logic, using '/_ ... _/' for block comments and '--' for line comments.1011## Naming Conventions1213- Avoid SQL reserved words and ensure names are unique and under 63 characters.14- Use snake_case for tables and columns.15- Prefer plurals for table names16- Prefer singular names for columns.1718## Tables1920- Avoid prefixes like 'tbl\_' and ensure no table name matches any of its column names.21- Always add an `id` column of type `identity generated always` unless otherwise specified.22- Create all tables in the `public` schema unless otherwise specified.23- Always add the schema to SQL queries for clarity.24- Always add a comment to describe what the table does. The comment can be up to 1024 characters.2526## Columns2728- Use singular names and avoid generic names like 'id'.29- For references to foreign tables, use the singular of the table name with the `_id` suffix. For example `user_id` to reference the `users` table30- Always use lowercase except in cases involving acronyms or when readability would be enhanced by an exception.3132#### Examples:3334```sql35create table books (36 id bigint generated always as identity primary key,37 title text not null,38 author_id bigint references authors (id)39);40comment on table books is 'A list of all the books in the library.';41```4243## Queries4445- When the query is shorter keep it on just a few lines. As it gets larger start adding newlines for readability46- Add spaces for readability.4748Smaller queries:4950```sql51select *52from employees53where end_date is null;5455update employees56set end_date = '2023-12-31'57where employee_id = 1001;58```5960Larger queries:6162```sql63select64 first_name,65 last_name66from employees67where start_date between '2021-01-01' and '2021-12-31' and status = 'employed';68```6970### Joins and Subqueries7172- Format joins and subqueries for clarity, aligning them with related SQL clauses.73- Prefer full table names when referencing tables. This helps for readability.7475```sql76select77 employees.employee_name,78 departments.department_name79from80 employees81 join departments on employees.department_id = departments.department_id82where employees.start_date > '2022-01-01';83```8485## Aliases8687- Use meaningful aliases that reflect the data or transformation applied, and always include the 'as' keyword for clarity.8889```sql90select count(*) as total_employees91from employees92where end_date is null;93```9495## Complex queries and CTEs9697- If a query is extremely complex, prefer a CTE.98- Make sure the CTE is clear and linear. Prefer readability over performance.99- Add comments to each block.100101```sql102with103 department_employees as (104 -- Get all employees and their departments105 select106 employees.department_id,107 employees.first_name,108 employees.last_name,109 departments.department_name110 from111 employees112 join departments on employees.department_id = departments.department_id113 ),114 employee_counts as (115 -- Count how many employees in each department116 select117 department_name,118 count(*) as num_employees119 from department_employees120 group by department_name121 )122select123 department_name,124 num_employees125from employee_counts126order by department_name;127```