2 .\" Title: CREATE OPERATOR FAMILY
3 .\" Author: The PostgreSQL Global Development Group
4 .\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets vsnapshot <http://docbook.sf.net/>
6 .\" Manual: PostgreSQL 18.0 Documentation
7 .\" Source: PostgreSQL 18.0
10 .TH "CREATE OPERATOR FAMILY" "7" "2025" "PostgreSQL 18.0" "PostgreSQL 18.0 Documentation"
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31 CREATE_OPERATOR_FAMILY \- define a new operator family
35 CREATE OPERATOR FAMILY \fIname\fR USING \fIindex_method\fR
39 \fBCREATE OPERATOR FAMILY\fR
40 creates a new operator family\&. An operator family defines a collection of related operator classes, and perhaps some additional operators and support functions that are compatible with these operator classes but not essential for the functioning of any individual index\&. (Operators and functions that are essential to indexes should be grouped within the relevant operator class, rather than being
42 in the operator family\&. Typically, single\-data\-type operators are bound to operator classes, while cross\-data\-type operators can be loose in an operator family containing operator classes for both data types\&.)
44 The new operator family is initially empty\&. It should be populated by issuing subsequent
45 \fBCREATE OPERATOR CLASS\fR
46 commands to add contained operator classes, and optionally
47 \fBALTER OPERATOR FAMILY\fR
50 operators and their corresponding support functions\&.
52 If a schema name is given then the operator family is created in the specified schema\&. Otherwise it is created in the current schema\&. Two operator families in the same schema can have the same name only if they are for different index methods\&.
54 The user who defines an operator family becomes its owner\&. Presently, the creating user must be a superuser\&. (This restriction is made because an erroneous operator family definition could confuse or even crash the server\&.)
58 for further information\&.
63 The name of the operator family to be created\&. The name can be schema\-qualified\&.
68 The name of the index method this operator family is for\&.
72 \fBCREATE OPERATOR FAMILY\fR
75 extension\&. There is no
76 \fBCREATE OPERATOR FAMILY\fR
77 statement in the SQL standard\&.
79 ALTER OPERATOR FAMILY (\fBALTER_OPERATOR_FAMILY\fR(7)), DROP OPERATOR FAMILY (\fBDROP_OPERATOR_FAMILY\fR(7)), CREATE OPERATOR CLASS (\fBCREATE_OPERATOR_CLASS\fR(7)), ALTER OPERATOR CLASS (\fBALTER_OPERATOR_CLASS\fR(7)), DROP OPERATOR CLASS (\fBDROP_OPERATOR_CLASS\fR(7))