'\" t
.\"     Title: ALTER FOREIGN TABLE
.\"    Author: The PostgreSQL Global Development Group
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets vsnapshot <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 2023
.\"    Manual: PostgreSQL 11.22 Documentation
.\"    Source: PostgreSQL 11.22
.\"  Language: English
.\"
.TH "ALTER FOREIGN TABLE" "7" "2023" "PostgreSQL 11.22" "PostgreSQL 11.22 Documentation"
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.SH "NAME"
ALTER_FOREIGN_TABLE \- change the definition of a foreign table
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.sp
.nf
ALTER FOREIGN TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] [ ONLY ] \fIname\fR [ * ]
    \fIaction\fR [, \&.\&.\&. ]
ALTER FOREIGN TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] [ ONLY ] \fIname\fR [ * ]
    RENAME [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR TO \fInew_column_name\fR
ALTER FOREIGN TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] \fIname\fR
    RENAME TO \fInew_name\fR
ALTER FOREIGN TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] \fIname\fR
    SET SCHEMA \fInew_schema\fR

where \fIaction\fR is one of:

    ADD [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR \fIdata_type\fR [ COLLATE \fIcollation\fR ] [ \fIcolumn_constraint\fR [ \&.\&.\&. ] ]
    DROP [ COLUMN ] [ IF EXISTS ] \fIcolumn_name\fR [ RESTRICT | CASCADE ]
    ALTER [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR [ SET DATA ] TYPE \fIdata_type\fR [ COLLATE \fIcollation\fR ]
    ALTER [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR SET DEFAULT \fIexpression\fR
    ALTER [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR DROP DEFAULT
    ALTER [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR { SET | DROP } NOT NULL
    ALTER [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR SET STATISTICS \fIinteger\fR
    ALTER [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR SET ( \fIattribute_option\fR = \fIvalue\fR [, \&.\&.\&. ] )
    ALTER [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR RESET ( \fIattribute_option\fR [, \&.\&.\&. ] )
    ALTER [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR SET STORAGE { PLAIN | EXTERNAL | EXTENDED | MAIN }
    ALTER [ COLUMN ] \fIcolumn_name\fR OPTIONS ( [ ADD | SET | DROP ] \fIoption\fR [\*(Aq\fIvalue\fR\*(Aq] [, \&.\&.\&. ])
    ADD \fItable_constraint\fR [ NOT VALID ]
    VALIDATE CONSTRAINT \fIconstraint_name\fR
    DROP CONSTRAINT [ IF EXISTS ]  \fIconstraint_name\fR [ RESTRICT | CASCADE ]
    DISABLE TRIGGER [ \fItrigger_name\fR | ALL | USER ]
    ENABLE TRIGGER [ \fItrigger_name\fR | ALL | USER ]
    ENABLE REPLICA TRIGGER \fItrigger_name\fR
    ENABLE ALWAYS TRIGGER \fItrigger_name\fR
    SET WITH OIDS
    SET WITHOUT OIDS
    INHERIT \fIparent_table\fR
    NO INHERIT \fIparent_table\fR
    OWNER TO { \fInew_owner\fR | CURRENT_USER | SESSION_USER }
    OPTIONS ( [ ADD | SET | DROP ] \fIoption\fR [\*(Aq\fIvalue\fR\*(Aq] [, \&.\&.\&. ])
.fi
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
\fBALTER FOREIGN TABLE\fR
changes the definition of an existing foreign table\&. There are several subforms:
.PP
ADD COLUMN
.RS 4
This form adds a new column to the foreign table, using the same syntax as
CREATE FOREIGN TABLE (\fBCREATE_FOREIGN_TABLE\fR(7))\&. Unlike the case when adding a column to a regular table, nothing happens to the underlying storage: this action simply declares that some new column is now accessible through the foreign table\&.
.RE
.PP
DROP COLUMN [ IF EXISTS ]
.RS 4
This form drops a column from a foreign table\&. You will need to say
CASCADE
if anything outside the table depends on the column; for example, views\&. If
IF EXISTS
is specified and the column does not exist, no error is thrown\&. In this case a notice is issued instead\&.
.RE
.PP
SET DATA TYPE
.RS 4
This form changes the type of a column of a foreign table\&. Again, this has no effect on any underlying storage: this action simply changes the type that
PostgreSQL
believes the column to have\&.
.RE
.PP
SET/DROP DEFAULT
.RS 4
These forms set or remove the default value for a column\&. Default values only apply in subsequent
\fBINSERT\fR
or
\fBUPDATE\fR
commands; they do not cause rows already in the table to change\&.
.RE
.PP
SET/DROP NOT NULL
.RS 4
Mark a column as allowing, or not allowing, null values\&.
.RE
.PP
SET STATISTICS
.RS 4
This form sets the per\-column statistics\-gathering target for subsequent
\fBANALYZE\fR(7)
operations\&. See the similar form of
ALTER TABLE (\fBALTER_TABLE\fR(7))
for more details\&.
.RE
.PP
SET ( \fIattribute_option\fR = \fIvalue\fR [, \&.\&.\&. ] )
.br
RESET ( \fIattribute_option\fR [, \&.\&.\&. ] )
.RS 4
This form sets or resets per\-attribute options\&. See the similar form of
ALTER TABLE (\fBALTER_TABLE\fR(7))
for more details\&.
.RE
.PP
SET STORAGE
.RS 4
This form sets the storage mode for a column\&. See the similar form of
ALTER TABLE (\fBALTER_TABLE\fR(7))
for more details\&. Note that the storage mode has no effect unless the table\*(Aqs foreign\-data wrapper chooses to pay attention to it\&.
.RE
.PP
ADD \fItable_constraint\fR [ NOT VALID ]
.RS 4
This form adds a new constraint to a foreign table, using the same syntax as
CREATE FOREIGN TABLE (\fBCREATE_FOREIGN_TABLE\fR(7))\&. Currently only
CHECK
constraints are supported\&.
.sp
Unlike the case when adding a constraint to a regular table, nothing is done to verify the constraint is correct; rather, this action simply declares that some new condition should be assumed to hold for all rows in the foreign table\&. (See the discussion in
CREATE FOREIGN TABLE (\fBCREATE_FOREIGN_TABLE\fR(7))\&.) If the constraint is marked
NOT VALID, then it isn\*(Aqt assumed to hold, but is only recorded for possible future use\&.
.RE
.PP
VALIDATE CONSTRAINT
.RS 4
This form marks as valid a constraint that was previously marked as
NOT VALID\&. No action is taken to verify the constraint, but future queries will assume that it holds\&.
.RE
.PP
DROP CONSTRAINT [ IF EXISTS ]
.RS 4
This form drops the specified constraint on a foreign table\&. If
IF EXISTS
is specified and the constraint does not exist, no error is thrown\&. In this case a notice is issued instead\&.
.RE
.PP
DISABLE/ENABLE [ REPLICA | ALWAYS ] TRIGGER
.RS 4
These forms configure the firing of trigger(s) belonging to the foreign table\&. See the similar form of
ALTER TABLE (\fBALTER_TABLE\fR(7))
for more details\&.
.RE
.PP
SET WITH OIDS
.RS 4
This form adds an
oid
system column to the table (see
Section\ \&5.4)\&. It does nothing if the table already has OIDs\&. Unless the table\*(Aqs foreign\-data wrapper supports OIDs, this column will simply read as zeroes\&.
.sp
Note that this is not equivalent to
ADD COLUMN oid oid; that would add a normal column that happened to be named
oid, not a system column\&.
.RE
.PP
SET WITHOUT OIDS
.RS 4
This form removes the
oid
system column from the table\&. This is exactly equivalent to
DROP COLUMN oid RESTRICT, except that it will not complain if there is already no
oid
column\&.
.RE
.PP
INHERIT \fIparent_table\fR
.RS 4
This form adds the target foreign table as a new child of the specified parent table\&. See the similar form of
ALTER TABLE (\fBALTER_TABLE\fR(7))
for more details\&.
.RE
.PP
NO INHERIT \fIparent_table\fR
.RS 4
This form removes the target foreign table from the list of children of the specified parent table\&.
.RE
.PP
OWNER
.RS 4
This form changes the owner of the foreign table to the specified user\&.
.RE
.PP
OPTIONS ( [ ADD | SET | DROP ] \fIoption\fR [\*(Aq\fIvalue\fR\*(Aq] [, \&.\&.\&. ] )
.RS 4
Change options for the foreign table or one of its columns\&.
ADD,
SET, and
DROP
specify the action to be performed\&.
ADD
is assumed if no operation is explicitly specified\&. Duplicate option names are not allowed (although it\*(Aqs OK for a table option and a column option to have the same name)\&. Option names and values are also validated using the foreign data wrapper library\&.
.RE
.PP
RENAME
.RS 4
The
RENAME
forms change the name of a foreign table or the name of an individual column in a foreign table\&.
.RE
.PP
SET SCHEMA
.RS 4
This form moves the foreign table into another schema\&.
.RE
.PP
All the actions except
RENAME
and
SET SCHEMA
can be combined into a list of multiple alterations to apply in parallel\&. For example, it is possible to add several columns and/or alter the type of several columns in a single command\&.
.PP
If the command is written as
ALTER FOREIGN TABLE IF EXISTS \&.\&.\&.
and the foreign table does not exist, no error is thrown\&. A notice is issued in this case\&.
.PP
You must own the table to use
\fBALTER FOREIGN TABLE\fR\&. To change the schema of a foreign table, you must also have
CREATE
privilege on the new schema\&. To alter the owner, you must also be a direct or indirect member of the new owning role, and that role must have
CREATE
privilege on the table\*(Aqs schema\&. (These restrictions enforce that altering the owner doesn\*(Aqt do anything you couldn\*(Aqt do by dropping and recreating the table\&. However, a superuser can alter ownership of any table anyway\&.) To add a column or alter a column type, you must also have
USAGE
privilege on the data type\&.
.SH "PARAMETERS"
.PP
\fIname\fR
.RS 4
The name (possibly schema\-qualified) of an existing foreign table to alter\&. If
ONLY
is specified before the table name, only that table is altered\&. If
ONLY
is not specified, the table and all its descendant tables (if any) are altered\&. Optionally,
*
can be specified after the table name to explicitly indicate that descendant tables are included\&.
.RE
.PP
\fIcolumn_name\fR
.RS 4
Name of a new or existing column\&.
.RE
.PP
\fInew_column_name\fR
.RS 4
New name for an existing column\&.
.RE
.PP
\fInew_name\fR
.RS 4
New name for the table\&.
.RE
.PP
\fIdata_type\fR
.RS 4
Data type of the new column, or new data type for an existing column\&.
.RE
.PP
\fItable_constraint\fR
.RS 4
New table constraint for the foreign table\&.
.RE
.PP
\fIconstraint_name\fR
.RS 4
Name of an existing constraint to drop\&.
.RE
.PP
CASCADE
.RS 4
Automatically drop objects that depend on the dropped column or constraint (for example, views referencing the column), and in turn all objects that depend on those objects (see
Section\ \&5.13)\&.
.RE
.PP
RESTRICT
.RS 4
Refuse to drop the column or constraint if there are any dependent objects\&. This is the default behavior\&.
.RE
.PP
\fItrigger_name\fR
.RS 4
Name of a single trigger to disable or enable\&.
.RE
.PP
ALL
.RS 4
Disable or enable all triggers belonging to the foreign table\&. (This requires superuser privilege if any of the triggers are internally generated triggers\&. The core system does not add such triggers to foreign tables, but add\-on code could do so\&.)
.RE
.PP
USER
.RS 4
Disable or enable all triggers belonging to the foreign table except for internally generated triggers\&.
.RE
.PP
\fIparent_table\fR
.RS 4
A parent table to associate or de\-associate with this foreign table\&.
.RE
.PP
\fInew_owner\fR
.RS 4
The user name of the new owner of the table\&.
.RE
.PP
\fInew_schema\fR
.RS 4
The name of the schema to which the table will be moved\&.
.RE
.SH "NOTES"
.PP
The key word
COLUMN
is noise and can be omitted\&.
.PP
Consistency with the foreign server is not checked when a column is added or removed with
ADD COLUMN
or
DROP COLUMN, a
NOT NULL
or
CHECK
constraint is added, or a column type is changed with
SET DATA TYPE\&. It is the user\*(Aqs responsibility to ensure that the table definition matches the remote side\&.
.PP
Refer to
CREATE FOREIGN TABLE (\fBCREATE_FOREIGN_TABLE\fR(7))
for a further description of valid parameters\&.
.SH "EXAMPLES"
.PP
To mark a column as not\-null:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
ALTER FOREIGN TABLE distributors ALTER COLUMN street SET NOT NULL;
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.PP
To change options of a foreign table:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
ALTER FOREIGN TABLE myschema\&.distributors OPTIONS (ADD opt1 \*(Aqvalue\*(Aq, SET opt2 \*(Aqvalue2\*(Aq, DROP opt3);
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.SH "COMPATIBILITY"
.PP
The forms
ADD,
DROP, and
SET DATA TYPE
conform with the SQL standard\&. The other forms are
PostgreSQL
extensions of the SQL standard\&. Also, the ability to specify more than one manipulation in a single
\fBALTER FOREIGN TABLE\fR
command is an extension\&.
.PP
\fBALTER FOREIGN TABLE DROP COLUMN\fR
can be used to drop the only column of a foreign table, leaving a zero\-column table\&. This is an extension of SQL, which disallows zero\-column foreign tables\&.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
CREATE FOREIGN TABLE (\fBCREATE_FOREIGN_TABLE\fR(7)), DROP FOREIGN TABLE (\fBDROP_FOREIGN_TABLE\fR(7))