PostgreSQL – JSONB Data Type
The jsonb data type is an extension of the json data type that provides a more efficient and flexible way to store and query JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) data in postgreSQL database. jsonb stands for “JSON binary,” and it stores JSON data in a binary format that allows for improved storage and indexing. Here are some key points about the jsonb data type:
Storing JSON Data: Like the json data type, the jsonb data type allows you to store JSON-formatted data in columns. JSON data can represent objects, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans, and null values.
Binary Storage: The key difference between json and jsonb is in how the data is stored internally. jsonb stores data in a binary format, which offers benefits in terms of storage size and indexing performance.
Querying and Manipulating JSON Data: PostgreSQL provides various functions and operators to query, manipulate, and extract data from jsonb values stored in jsonb columns. These functions are similar to those used with the json data type.
Indexing: One of the major advantages of using jsonb is that it supports indexing, allowing for efficient querying of JSON data. Indexes can significantly improve the performance of queries that involve searching within JSON documents.
Here’s an example of using the jsonb data type:
CREATE TABLE product_catalog ( product_id serial PRIMARY KEY, product_data jsonb ); INSERT INTO product_catalog (product_data) VALUES ('{"name": "Widget B", "price": 29.99, "in_stock": true}'); SELECT product_data->>'name' AS name, product_data->>'price' AS price FROM product_catalog WHERE product_data->>'in_stock' = 'true';In this example, a product_data column of type jsonb is used to store product information in JSON format. The jsonb data type is especially useful when you need to store and query complex JSON data efficiently.