SQL and PL/pgSQL Programming Style Guide

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Style guidelines for SQL and in general

  • File names in lowercase_with_underscores, use UTF-8 encoding
  • Use Free Online version of the PostgreSQL SQL syntax beautifier pgFormatter
  • Indent with 4 spaces (don't use tabs)
  • Max line-length 80 characters (especially in comments)
  • IMPORTANT: Put keywords, datatypes and functions all-lowercase - opposite e.g. to Joe Celko’s - because they are _not_ the main content!
  • Else follow Sqlstyle.guide which is compatible with Joe Celko’s SQL Programming Style book

Style guidelines for PL/pgSQL

  • Same as above plus (inspired partially by PEP 8):
  • Naming conventions:
    • Function names in lowercase_with_underscores (handle ST_-functions insensitive).
    • Function parameter names in lowercase_with_underscores
    • All-uppercase for CONSTANT_VARIABLES
    • Local variables and functions start with _underscore (=> tbd.)
  • Whitespace and newlines:
    • Two blank lines before top-level functions
    • Use blank lines sparingly
    • Spaces around = for assignment and in mathematical operators
    • No spaces around = for default parameter values
    • Multiple statements on the same line are discouraged
  • Comments:
    • Use inline comments sparingly & avoid obvious comments
    • Write in whole sentence and in plain and easy-to-follow English
    • Add space after line comment (- a comment); no space for commented-out code (-raise notice)
    • Keep comments up to date - incorrect comments are worse than no comments
    • All "public" functions should have docstrings (""")
    • In docstrings, list each argument on a separate line
    • Docstrings should have a blank line after first line and before the final """

Best Practices for PL/pgSQL

Learning PL/pgSQL

General: