How do I read the documentation syntax for PostgreSQL commands?

Question

I want to create a table in database A from several tables in database B. I went to the PostgreSQL's documentation here to figure out how and the documentation for the command is decorated with brackets, bars, curly brackets, parenthesis, bold words and all-caps words, etc.

What do all of these symbols denote about the command and could somebody please show how I would read the documentation to determine what the correct syntax for creating a table in database A from a select query on a table in database B.

The internet has been a great resource for basic PostgreSQL formulas to copy and paste, but I'd like to move beyond copying and pasting formulas that just magically work.

{ a | b } means a or b, [ stuff ] means that stuff is optional, bold is for something you have to fill in, fixed width is for literal parts of the syntax. postgresql.org/docs/current/static/notation.html — mu is too short
– mu is too short, Commented Sep 28, 2014 at 17:52
@muistooshort Please post as an answer? Otherwise I'd have to basically copy and paste what you said, and that gives me the twitches. — Craig Ringer
– Craig Ringer, Commented Sep 29, 2014 at 2:21

mu is too short · Accepted Answer · 2014-09-29 02:26:33Z

17

The conventions are covered in the Conventions chapter of the manual:

The following conventions are used in the synopsis of a command: brackets ([ and ]) indicate optional parts. (In the synopsis of a Tcl command, question marks (?) are used instead, as is usual in Tcl.) Braces ({ and }) and vertical lines (|) indicate that you must choose one alternative. Dots (...) mean that the preceding element can be repeated.

So { a | b } means a or b and [ stuff ] means that stuff is optional. Furthermore, bold text in an example command represents something you need to fill in and fixed-width text is a literal part of the syntax in question.

answered Sep 29, 2014 at 2:26

mu is too short

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