Appendix C. SQL Key Words

Table C-1 lists all tokens that are key words in the SQL standard and in PostgreSQL 8.1.3. Background information can be found in Section 4.1.1.

SQL distinguishes between reserved and non-reserved key words. According to the standard, reserved key words are the only real key words; they are never allowed as identifiers. Non-reserved key words only have a special meaning in particular contexts and can be used as identifiers in other contexts. Most non-reserved key words are actually the names of built-in tables and functions specified by SQL. The concept of non-reserved key words essentially only exists to declare that some predefined meaning is attached to a word in some contexts.

In the PostgreSQL parser life is a bit more complicated. There are several different classes of tokens ranging from those that can never be used as an identifier to those that have absolutely no special status in the parser as compared to an ordinary identifier. (The latter is usually the case for functions specified by SQL.) Even reserved key words are not completely reserved in PostgreSQL, but can be used as column labels (for example, SELECT 55 AS CHECK, even though CHECK is a reserved key word).

In Table C-1 in the column for PostgreSQL we classify as "non-reserved" those key words that are explicitly known to the parser but are allowed in most or all contexts where an identifier is expected. Some key words that are otherwise non-reserved cannot be used as function or data type names and are marked accordingly. (Most of these words represent built-in functions or data types with special syntax. The function or type is still available but it cannot be redefined by the user.) Labeled "reserved" are those tokens that are only allowed as "AS" column label names (and perhaps in very few other contexts). Some reserved key words are allowable as names for functions; this is also shown in the table.

As a general rule, if you get spurious parser errors for commands that contain any of the listed key words as an identifier you should try to quote the identifier to see if the problem goes away.

It is important to understand before studying Table C-1 that the fact that a key word is not reserved in PostgreSQL does not mean that the feature related to the word is not implemented. Conversely, the presence of a key word does not indicate the existence of a feature.