Re: CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS AS

On Nov 16, 2013, at 4:40 PM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:

>> Co-worker asked a question I could not answer: Why is IF NOT EXISTS not supported by CREATE TABLE AS?
>
> That's an even worse idea than plain CREATE IF NOT EXISTS (which was
> put in over vocal objections from me and some other people).  Not only
> would you not have the faintest clue as to the properties of the table
> afterwards, but no clue as to its contents either.

You mean that, after running it, one cannot tell whether or not a new table was created or not without looking at it? I guess that makes sense, though sometimes I like to tell the system to assume that I know what I’m doing -- e.g., that either outcome works for me.

Not essential as a core feature, mind you; I can use DO to accomplish the same thing. It’s just a bit more work that way. And perhaps that’s for the best.