The pg_depend table records the dependency
relationships between database objects. This information allows
DROP commands to find which other objects must be dropped
by DROP CASCADE, or prevent dropping in the DROP
RESTRICT case.
Table 3-13. pg_depend Columns
| Name | Type | References | Description |
|---|
| classid | oid | pg_class.oid | The oid of the system catalog the dependent object is in |
| objid | oid | any oid attribute | The oid of the specific dependent object |
| objsubid | int4 | | For a table attribute, this is the attribute's
column number (the objid and classid refer to the table itself).
For all other object types, this field is presently zero.
|
| refclassid | oid | pg_class.oid | The oid of the system catalog the referenced object is in |
| refobjid | oid | any oid attribute | The oid of the specific referenced object |
| refobjsubid | int4 | | For a table attribute, this is the attribute's
column number (the refobjid and refclassid refer to the table itself).
For all other object types, this field is presently zero.
|
| deptype | char | | A code defining the specific semantics of this dependency relationship.
|
In all cases, a pg_depend entry indicates that the
referenced object may not be dropped without also dropping the dependent
object. However, there are several subflavors identified by
deptype:
DEPENDENCY_NORMAL ('n'): normal relationship between separately-created
objects. The dependent object may be dropped without affecting the
referenced object. The referenced object may only be dropped by
specifying CASCADE, in which case the dependent object is dropped too.
Example: a table column has a normal dependency on its datatype.
DEPENDENCY_AUTO ('a'): the dependent object can be dropped separately
from the referenced object, and should be automatically dropped
(regardless of RESTRICT or CASCADE mode) if the referenced object
is dropped.
Example: a named constraint on a table is made auto-dependent on
the table, so that it will go away if the table is dropped.
DEPENDENCY_INTERNAL ('i'): the dependent object was created as part
of creation of the referenced object, and is really just a part of
its internal implementation. A DROP of the dependent object will be
disallowed outright (we'll tell the user to issue a DROP against the
referenced object, instead). A DROP of the referenced object will be
propagated through to drop the dependent object whether CASCADE is
specified or not.
Example: a trigger that's created to enforce a foreign-key constraint
is made internally dependent on the constraint's pg_constraint entry.
DEPENDENCY_PIN ('p'): there is no dependent object; this type of entry
is a signal that the system itself depends on the referenced object,
and so that object must never be deleted. Entries of this type are
created only during initdb. The fields for the dependent object
contain zeroes.
Other dependency flavors may be needed in future.
