PostgreSQL Support

This section covers the PostgreSQL-specific features that HoneySQL supports out of the box for which you previously needed the nilenso/honeysql-postgres library.

Everything that the nilenso library provided (in 0.4.112) is implemented directly in HoneySQL 2.x although a few things have a slightly different syntax.

If you are using HoneySQL with the Node.js PostgreSQL driver, it only accepts numbered placeholders, not positional placeholders, so you will need to specify the :numbered true option that was added in 2.4.962. You may find it convenient to set this option globally, via set-options!.

Code Examples

The code examples herein assume:

(refer-clojure :exclude '[update set])
(require '[honey.sql :as sql]
         '[honey.sql.helpers :refer [select from where
                                     update set
                                     insert-into values
                                     create-table with-columns create-view create-extension
                                     add-column alter-table add-index
                                     alter-column rename-column rename-table
                                     drop-table drop-column drop-index drop-extension
                                     upsert returning on-conflict on-constraint
                                     do-update-set do-nothing]])

Clojure users can opt for the shorter (require '[honey.sql :as sql] '[honey.sql.helpers :refer :all]) but this syntax is not available to ClojureScript users.

Working with Arrays

HoneySQL supports :array as special syntax to produce ARRAY[..] expressions:

user=> (sql/format {:select [[[:array [1 2 3]] :a]]})
["SELECT ARRAY[?, ?, ?] AS a" 1 2 3]

PostgreSQL also has an "array constructor" for creating arrays from subquery results.

SELECT ARRAY(SELECT oid FROM pg_proc WHERE proname LIKE 'bytea%');

As of 2.5.1091, HoneySQL supports this syntax directly:

user=> (sql/format {:select [[[:array {:select :oid :from :pg_proc :where [:like :proname [:inline "bytea%"]]}]]]})
["SELECT ARRAY(SELECT oid FROM pg_proc WHERE proname LIKE 'bytea%')"]

Prior to 2.5.1091, you had to use HoneySQL's "as-is" function syntax to circumvent the special syntax:

user=> (sql/format {:select [[[:'ARRAY {:select :oid :from :pg_proc :where [:like :proname [:inline "bytea%"]]}]]]})
["SELECT ARRAY (SELECT oid FROM pg_proc WHERE proname LIKE 'bytea%')"]

Operators with @, #, and ~

A number of PostgreSQL operators contain @, #, or ~ which are not legal in a Clojure keyword or symbol (as literal syntax). The namespace honey.sql.pg-ops provides convenient symbolic names for these JSON and regex operators, substituting at for @, hash for #, and tilde for ~.

The regex operators also have more memorable aliases: regex for ~, iregex for ~*, !regex for !~, and !iregex for !~*.

Requiring the namespace automatically registers these operators for use in expressions:

user=> (require '[honey.sql.pg-ops :refer [regex]])
nil
user=> (sql/format {:select [[[regex :straw [:inline "needle"]] :match]] :from :haystack})
["SELECT straw ~ 'needle' AS match FROM haystack"]

Named Parameter Operator

PostgreSQL supports named parameters in function calls using the => operator. The honey.sql.pg-ops namespace provides the => operator for this purpose:

user=> (require '[honey.sql.pg-ops :refer [=>]])
nil
user=> (sql/format {:select [[[:make_interval [:=> :secs 10]]]]})
["SELECT MAKE_INTERVAL(secs => ?)" 10]
user=> (sql/format {:select [[[:make_interval [:=> :secs 10] [:=> :mins 5]]]]})
["SELECT MAKE_INTERVAL(secs => ?, mins => ?)" 10 5]
user=> (sql/format {:select [[[:date_trunc [:=> :field "month"] [:=> :source "2023-06-15"]]]]})
["SELECT DATE_TRUNC(field => ?, source => ?)" "month" "2023-06-15"]

This is particularly useful for PostgreSQL functions that accept multiple parameters where you want to specify them by name for clarity, or when you want to pass only some of the optional parameters.

JSON/JSONB

If you are using JSON with PostgreSQL, you will probably try to pass Clojure data structures as values into your HoneySQL DSL -- but HoneySQL will see those vectors as function calls and hash maps as SQL statements, so you need to tell HoneySQL not to do that. There are two possible approaches:

1. Use named parameters (e.g., [:param :myval]) instead of having the values directly in the DSL structure and then pass {:params {:myval some-json}} as part of the options in the call to format, or
2. Use [:lift ..] wrapped around any structured values which tells HoneySQL not to interpret the vector or hash map value as a DSL: [:lift some-json].

Upsert

Upserting data is relatively easy in PostgreSQL because of the ON CONFLICT, ON CONSTRAINT, DO NOTHING, and DO UPDATE SET parts of the INSERT statement.

This usage is supported identically to the nilenso library:

user=> (-> (insert-into :distributors)
           (values [{:did 5 :dname "Gizmo Transglobal"}
                    {:did 6 :dname "Associated Computing, Inc"}])
           (upsert (-> (on-conflict :did)
                       (do-update-set :dname)))
           (returning :*)
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname)
VALUES (?, ?), (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (did)
DO UPDATE SET dname = EXCLUDED.dname
RETURNING *
"
5 "Gizmo Transglobal"
6 "Associated Computing, Inc"]

However, the nested upsert helper is no longer needed (and there is no corresponding :upsert clause in the DSL):

user=> (-> (insert-into :distributors)
           (values [{:did 5 :dname "Gizmo Transglobal"}
                    {:did 6 :dname "Associated Computing, Inc"}])
           (on-conflict :did)
           (do-update-set :dname)
           (returning :*)
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname)
VALUES (?, ?), (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (did)
DO UPDATE SET dname = EXCLUDED.dname
RETURNING *
"
5 "Gizmo Transglobal"
6 "Associated Computing, Inc"]

Similarly, the do-nothing helper behaves just the same as in the nilenso library:

user=> (-> (insert-into :distributors)
           (values [{:did 7 :dname "Redline GmbH"}])
           (upsert (-> (on-conflict :did)
                       do-nothing))
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (did)
DO NOTHING
"
7 "Redline GmbH"]

As above, the nested upsert helper is no longer needed:

user=> (-> (insert-into :distributors)
           (values [{:did 7 :dname "Redline GmbH"}])
           (on-conflict :did)
           do-nothing
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (did)
DO NOTHING
"
7 "Redline GmbH"]

ON CONSTRAINT is handled slightly differently to the nilenso library, which provided a single on-conflict-constraint helper (and clause):

user=> (-> (insert-into :distributors)
           (values [{:did 9 :dname "Antwerp Design"}])
           ;; can specify as a nested clause...
           (on-conflict (on-constraint :distributors_pkey))
           do-nothing
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT ON CONSTRAINT distributors_pkey
DO NOTHING
"
9 "Antwerp Design"]
user=> (-> (insert-into :distributors)
           (values [{:did 9 :dname "Antwerp Design"}])
           ;; ...or as two separate clauses
           on-conflict
           (on-constraint :distributors_pkey)
           do-nothing
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT
ON CONSTRAINT distributors_pkey
DO NOTHING
"
9 "Antwerp Design"]

As above, the upsert helper has been omitted here.

An upsert with where clauses is also possible, with a more compact syntax than the nilenso library used:

user=> (-> (insert-into :user)
           (values [{:phone "5555555" :name "John"}])
           (on-conflict :phone (where [:<> :phone nil]))
           (do-update-set :phone :name (where [:= :user.active false]))
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO user (phone, name)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (phone) WHERE phone IS NOT NULL
DO UPDATE SET phone = EXCLUDED.phone, name = EXCLUDED.name WHERE user.active = FALSE
"
"5555555" "John"]
;; using the DSL directly:
user=> (sql/format
        {:insert-into    :user
          :values        [{:phone "5555555" :name "John"}]
          :on-conflict   [:phone
                          {:where [:<> :phone nil]}]
          :do-update-set {:fields [:phone :name]
                          :where  [:= :user.active false]}}
        {:pretty true})
["
INSERT INTO user (phone, name)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (phone) WHERE phone IS NOT NULL
DO UPDATE SET phone = EXCLUDED.phone, name = EXCLUDED.name WHERE user.active = FALSE
"
"5555555" "John"]

By comparison, this is the DSL structure that nilenso would have required:

  ;; NOT VALID FOR HONEYSQL!
  {:insert-into :user
   :values      [{:phone "5555555" :name "John"}]
   ;; nested under :upsert
   :upsert      {:on-conflict   [:phone]
                 ;; but :where is at the same level as :on-conflict
                 :where         [:<> :phone nil]
                 ;; this is the same as in honeysql:
                 :do-update-set {:fields [:phone :name]
                                 :where  [:= :user.active false]}}}

All of the examples for :do-update-set so far provide one or more columns and generated SET clauses using EXCLUDED columns. You can also perform regular SET operations, where the right-hand side is a full SQL expression by specifying a hash map of column / expression pairs, like you would for a regular :set clause:

user=> (-> (insert-into :table)
           (values [{:id "id" :counter 1}])
           (on-conflict :id)
           (do-update-set {:counter [:+ :table.counter 1]})
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO table (id, counter)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (id)
DO UPDATE SET counter = table.counter + ?
" "id" 1 1]
;; using the DSL directly:
user=> (-> {:insert-into :table
            :values [{:id "id" :counter 1}]
            :on-conflict :id
            :do-update-set {:counter [:+ :table.counter 1]}}
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO table (id, counter)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (id)
DO UPDATE SET counter = table.counter + ?
" "id" 1 1]

You can use :EXCLUDED.column in a hash map to produce the same effect as :column in a vector:

user=> (-> (insert-into :table)
           (values [{:id "id" :counter 1}])
           (on-conflict :id)
           (do-update-set {:name    :EXCLUDED.name
                           :counter [:+ :table.counter 1]})
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO table (id, counter)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (id)
DO UPDATE SET name = EXCLUDED.name, counter = table.counter + ?
" "id" 1 1]

If you need to combine a DO UPDATE SET hash map expression with a WHERE clause, you need to explicitly use the :fields / :where format explained above. Here's how those two examples look with a WHERE clause added:

user=> (-> (insert-into :table)
           (values [{:id "id" :counter 1}])
           (on-conflict :id)
           (do-update-set {:fields {:counter [:+ :table.counter 1]}
                           :where [:> :table.counter 1]})
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO table (id, counter)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (id)
DO UPDATE SET counter = table.counter + ? WHERE table.counter > ?
" "id" 1 1 1]
;; using the DSL directly:
user=> (-> {:insert-into :table
            :values [{:id "id" :counter 1}]
            :on-conflict :id
            :do-update-set {:fields {:counter [:+ :table.counter 1]}
                            :where [:> :table.counter 1]}}
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
INSERT INTO table (id, counter)
VALUES (?, ?)
ON CONFLICT (id)
DO UPDATE SET counter = table.counter + ? WHERE table.counter > ?
" "id" 1 1 1]

For more examples, see the Clause Reference for on-conflict, on-constraint, do-nothing, do-update-set.

INSERT INTO AS

HoneySQL supports aliases directly in :insert-into so no special clause is needed for this any more:

user=> (sql/format (-> (insert-into :table :alias)
                       (values [[1 2 3] [4 5 6]])))
["INSERT INTO table AS alias VALUES (?, ?, ?), (?, ?, ?)" 1 2 3 4 5 6]
user=> (sql/format {:insert-into [:table :alias],
                    :values [[1 2 3] [4 5 6]]})
["INSERT INTO table AS alias VALUES (?, ?, ?), (?, ?, ?)" 1 2 3 4 5 6]

Returning

The RETURNING clause is supported identically to the nilenso library:

;; via the DSL:
user=> (sql/format {:delete-from :distributors
                    :where [:> :did 10]
                    :returning [:*]})
["DELETE FROM distributors WHERE did > ? RETURNING *" 10]
;; via the helpers:
user=> (-> (update :distributors)
           (set {:dname "Foo Bar Designs"})
           (where [:= :did 2])
           (returning :did :dname)
           sql/format)
["UPDATE distributors SET dname = ? WHERE did = ? RETURNING did, dname"
 "Foo Bar Designs" 2]

DDL Support

The following DDL statements are all supported by HoneySQL (these are mostly not PostgreSQL-specific but they were not supported by HoneySQL 1.x):

• CREATE VIEW
• CREATE TABLE
• DROP TABLE
• ALTER TABLE

These are mostly identical to what the nilenso library provides except that sql/call is never needed -- you can use the direct [:func ..] function call syntax instead:

;; create view:
user=> (-> (create-view :metro)
           (select :*)
           (from :cities)
           (where [:= :metroflag "Y"])
           sql/format)
["CREATE VIEW metro AS SELECT * FROM cities WHERE metroflag = ?" "Y"]
;; create table:
user=> (-> (create-table :cities)
           (with-columns [[:city [:varchar 80] [:primary-key]]
                          [:location :point]])
           sql/format)
;; values are inlined:
["CREATE TABLE cities (city VARCHAR(80) PRIMARY KEY, location POINT)"]
;; default values for columns:
user=> (-> (create-table :distributors)
           (with-columns [[:did :integer [:primary-key]
                                         ;; "serial" is inlined as 'serial':
                                         [:default [:nextval "serial"]]]
                          [:name [:varchar 40] [:not nil]]])
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
;; newlines inserted for readability:
["
CREATE TABLE distributors
(did INTEGER PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT NEXTVAL('serial'), name VARCHAR(40) NOT NULL)
"]
;; PostgreSQL CHECK constraint is supported:
user=> (-> (create-table :products)
           (with-columns [[:product_no :integer]
                          [:name :text]
                          [:price :numeric [:check [:> :price 0]]]
                          [:discounted_price :numeric]
                          [[:check [:and [:> :discounted_price 0] [:> :price :discounted_price]]]]])
           (sql/format {:pretty true}))
["
CREATE TABLE products
(product_no INTEGER, name TEXT, price NUMERIC CHECK(price > 0), discounted_price NUMERIC, CHECK((discounted_price > 0) AND (price > discounted_price)))
"]
;; conditional creation:
user=> (-> (create-table :products :if-not-exists)
           (with-columns [[:name :text]])
           sql/format)
["CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS products (name TEXT)"]
;; drop table:
user=> (sql/format (drop-table :cities))
["DROP TABLE cities"]
;; drop multiple tables:
user=> (sql/format (drop-table :cities :towns :vilages))
["DROP TABLE cities, towns, vilages"]
;; conditional drop:
user=> (sql/format (drop-table :if-exists :cities :towns :vilages))
["DROP TABLE IF EXISTS cities, towns, vilages"]
;; alter table add column:
user=> (-> (alter-table :fruit)
           (add-column :skin [:varchar 16] nil)
           sql/format)
["ALTER TABLE fruit ADD COLUMN skin VARCHAR(16) NULL"]
;; alter table drop column:
user=> (-> (alter-table :fruit)
           (drop-column :skin)
           sql/format)
["ALTER TABLE fruit DROP COLUMN skin"]
;; alter table rename column:
user=> (-> (alter-table :fruit)
           (rename-column :cost :price)
           sql/format)
["ALTER TABLE fruit RENAME COLUMN cost TO price"]
;; rename table:
user=> (-> (alter-table :fruit)
           (rename-table :vegetable)
           sql/format)
["ALTER TABLE fruit RENAME TO vegetable"]

The following does not work for PostgreSQL, but does work for several other databases:

;; alter table alter column:
user=> (-> (alter-table :fruit)
           (alter-column :name [:varchar 64] [:not nil])
           sql/format)
["ALTER TABLE fruit ALTER COLUMN name VARCHAR(64) NOT NULL"]

For PostgreSQL, you need separate statements:

user=> (-> (alter-table :fruit)
           (alter-column :name :type [:varchar 64])
           sql/format)
["ALTER TABLE fruit ALTER COLUMN name TYPE VARCHAR(64)"]
user=> (-> (alter-table :fruit)
           (alter-column :name :set [:not nil])
           sql/format)
["ALTER TABLE fruit ALTER COLUMN name SET NOT NULL"]

The following PostgreSQL-specific DDL statements are supported (with the same syntax as the nilenso library but sql/format takes slightly different options):

;; create extension:
user=> (-> (create-extension :uuid-ossp)
           (sql/format {:quoted true}))
;; quoting is required for a name containing a hyphen:
["CREATE EXTENSION \"uuid-ossp\""]
;; conditional creation:
user=> (-> (create-extension :uuid-ossp :if-not-exists)
           (sql/format {:quoted true}))
["CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS \"uuid-ossp\""]
;; drop extension:
user=> (-> (drop-extension :uuid-ossp)
           (sql/format {:quoted true}))
["DROP EXTENSION \"uuid-ossp\""]
;; drop multiple extensions:
user=> (-> (drop-extension :uuid-ossp :postgis)
           (sql/format {:quoted true}))
["DROP EXTENSION \"uuid-ossp\", \"postgis\""]
;; conditional drop:
user=> (-> (drop-extension :if-exists :uuid-ossp :postgis)
           (sql/format {:quoted true}))
["DROP EXTENSION IF EXISTS \"uuid-ossp\", \"postgis\""]

In addition, HoneySQL supports these DDL statements that were not supported by the nilenso library:

;; alter table add index:
user=> (-> (alter-table :fruit)
           (add-index :unique :fruit-name :name)
           sql/format)
["ALTER TABLE fruit ADD UNIQUE fruit_name(name)"]
;; alter table drop index:
user=> (-> (alter-table :fruit)
           (drop-index :fruit-name)
           sql/format)
["ALTER TABLE fruit DROP INDEX fruit_name"]
;; alter table with multiple clauses:
user=> (sql/format (alter-table :fruit
                                (add-column :skin [:varchar 16] nil)
                                (add-index :unique :fruit-name :name)))
["ALTER TABLE fruit ADD COLUMN skin VARCHAR(16) NULL, ADD UNIQUE fruit_name(name)"]

Filter / Within Group

honeysql-postgres added support for FILTER and WITHIN GROUP in its 0.4.112 release. Those features have been integrated into HoneySQL 2.x (as of 2.0.0-beta2), along with support for ORDER BY in expressions. :filter, :within-group, and :order-by are all available as "functions" in Special Syntax, and there are helpers for filter and within-group.

Window / Partition Support

HoneySQL supports :window, :partition-by, and :over directly now. See the Clause Reference for examples of WINDOW, PARTITION BY, and OVER.