On Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 11:05 PM, Sawada Masahiko <sawada.mshk@gmail.com> wrote:
> VACUUM has both syntax: with parentheses and without parentheses.
> I think we should have both syntax for REINDEX like VACUUM does
> because it would be pain to put parentheses whenever we want to do
> REINDEX.
> Are the parentheses optional in REINDEX command?
No. The unparenthesized VACUUM syntax was added back before we
realized that that kind of syntax is a terrible idea. It requires
every option to be a keyword, and those keywords have to be in a fixed
order. I believe the intention is to keep the old VACUUM syntax
around for backward-compatibility, but not to extend it. Same for
EXPLAIN and COPY.
I agree that it would be nice if the grammar problems could be solved
without adding parentheses. But there was a period during which many
good ideas for new EXPLAIN options died on the vine because we were
using an inextensible syntax for EXPLAIN options. I'm not keen to
repeat that experience.
--
Robert Haas
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