acrolink
Storing an ISBN-13 as string or integer (PostgreSQL)
I want to store books details in a PostgreSQL table. There will be a field with unique constraint holding book’s ISBN-13 number (example formatted as string as: 978-0-545-01022-1). This field can be the primary key field and would be indexed.
My question, should I store it as:
978-0-545-01022-1 i.e. string
or
9780545010221 i.e. integer ?
Performance wise and/or due to other considerations, what do you think? Thank you.
Most Liked
kip
I think the answer partly depends on whether you care about the sub parts of of the ISBN-13, for example searching on books in a certain country or publisher. it also depends on whether you need to support ISBN-10 which allows for the character X as the check digit.
If you store as a string then I would suggest you remove any non-digits to formatting separate from validation.
There is a GTIN validation lib you might find useful too since an ISBN-13 is a subset of a GTIN.
hauleth
As ISBN numbers can start with 0 the only proper way to store it is to use string or array of digits.
LostKobrakai
An isbn is an identifier not a number. You’ll never want to perform arithmetic with isbns. Therefore you probably should use a string column and a canonical format for the isbn. I see many identifiers more like names, which just happen to be only comprised of digits.
Last Post!
ArthurClemens
For the archives: GitHub - Frost/isn: Postgrex.Extension and Ecto.Type for PostgreSQL isn module · GitHub handles the isn Postgres extension for Postgrex. It accepts both strings (with or without dashes) and integers.
Popular in Questions
Other popular topics
Latest Phoenix Threads
Latest on Elixir Forum
Sponsor Spotlight
Supporting innovation across the BEAM ecosystem.
Categories:
Sub Categories:
Forums
Popular Tags
- #ecto
- #liveview
- #troubleshooting
- #learning-elixir
- #deployment
- #library
- #erlang
- #testing
- #genserver
- #mix
- #absinthe
- #remote-other
- #otp
- #plug
- #how-to-question
- #macros
- #postgres
- #channels
- #elixirconf
- #exunit
- #discussion
- #code-sync
- #javascript
- #podcasts
- #onsite
- #dialyzer
- #docker
- #authentication
- #umbrella
- #full-time-contract
- #podcasts-by-brainlid
- #ecto-query
- #elixir-ls
- #phoenix_html
- #iex
- #blog-post
- #graphql
- #genstage
- #ai
- #websockets
- #supervisor
- #elixirconf-us
- #advent-of-code
- #distillery
- #processes
- #api
- #forms
- #metaprogramming
- #security
- #hex
Our Sponsors
Build Elixir applications with speed and confidence.
Supporting innovation across the BEAM ecosystem.
We build reliable cloud platforms for business-critical systems.
Catch errors, track performance, monitor hosts and more.
Error tracking, logs, uptime, and Just Enough APM. Built for developers.
Practical resources that improve the lives of professional developers.
Enabling companies to succeed by building software people love.
The deployment platform built for Elixir: PaaS ease, VPS control.
The team behind Membrane, Popcorn, LiveDebugger. Available for hire.
Courses that'll move you from confusion to "Aha, now I get it!"