Hello I would like to change the type of a column. At the moment, it is varchar(4) but I would like it to be int. All values in the field at the moment are actually integer.
I tried a way I had seen in the archives - it foes along the lines of adding a column, using update, drop the old column and rename the new one. alter table tab add column new_col int4; update tab set new_col = "OLD_COL"; ERROR: column "new_col" is of type integer but expression is of type characte r You will need to rewrite or cast the expression OK - so I tried casting. template1=# update tab set new_col = "OLD_COL"::int4; ERROR: Cannot cast type character to integer I understand this - some tables might have characters in the varchar but how to get around it in my case ? I know that my character field has only integers in it ? Thanks Chris ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 5: Have you checked our extensive FAQ? http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faqs/FAQ.html