pg_opfamily
The catalog pg_opfamily defines operator families.
Each operator family is a collection of operators and associated
support routines that implement the semantics specified for a particular
index access method. Furthermore, the operators in a family are all
“compatible”, in a way that is specified by the access method.
The operator family concept allows cross-data-type operators to be used
with indexes and to be reasoned about using knowledge of access method
semantics.
Operator families are described at length in Section 36.14, “Interfacing Extensions To Indexes”.
Table 50.35. pg_opfamily Columns
| Name | Type | References | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
oid | oid | Row identifier (hidden attribute; must be explicitly selected) | |
opfmethod | oid | | Index access method operator family is for |
opfname | name | Name of this operator family | |
opfnamespace | oid | | Namespace of this operator family |
opfowner | oid | | Owner of the operator family |
The majority of the information defining an operator family is not in its
pg_opfamily row, but in the associated rows in
pg_amop,
pg_amproc,
and
pg_opclass.