CREATE TABLE

CREATE TABLE defines a new table.

CREATE TABLE [ IF NOT EXISTS ] table_name ( [
  { column_name data_type [ column_constraint [ ... ] ]
    | table_constraint
    | LIKE source_table [ like_option ... ] }
    [, ... ]
] )

where column_constraint is:

[ CONSTRAINT constraint_name ]
{ NOT NULL |
  NULL |
  CHECK ( expression )|
  DEFAULT default_expr |
  GENERATED ALWAYS AS ( generation_expr ) STORED |
  GENERATED { ALWAYS | BY DEFAULT } AS IDENTITY ( sequence_options ) |
  UNIQUE [ NULLS [ NOT ] DISTINCT ] index_parameters |
  PRIMARY KEY index_parameters |

and table_constraint is:

[ CONSTRAINT constraint_name ]
{ CHECK ( expression ) |
  UNIQUE [ NULLS [ NOT ] DISTINCT ] ( column_name [, ... ] ) index_parameters |
  PRIMARY KEY ( column_name [, ... ] ) index_parameters |

and like_option is:

{ INCLUDING | EXCLUDING } { COMMENTS | CONSTRAINTS | DEFAULTS | GENERATED | IDENTITY | INDEXES | STATISTICS | ALL }

index_parameters in UNIQUE, and PRIMARY KEY constraints are:
[ INCLUDE ( column_name [, ... ] ) ]

Identity columns

The GENERATED { ALWAYS | BY DEFAULT } AS IDENTITY ( sequence_options ) clause creates the column as an identity column. It will have an implicit sequence attached to it and in newly-inserted rows the column will automatically have values from the sequence assigned to it. Such a column is implicitly NOT NULL.

The clauses ALWAYS and BY DEFAULT determine how explicitly user-specified values are handled in INSERT and UPDATE commands.

In an INSERT command, if ALWAYS is selected, a user-specified value is only accepted if the INSERT statement specifies OVERRIDING SYSTEM VALUE. If BY DEFAULT is selected, then the user-specified value takes precedence.

In an UPDATE command, if ALWAYS is selected, any update of the column to any value other than DEFAULT will be rejected. If BY DEFAULT is selected, the column can be updated normally. (There is no OVERRIDING clause for the UPDATE command.)

The sequence_options clause can be used to override the parameters of the sequence. The available options include those shown for CREATE SEQUENCE, plus SEQUENCE NAME name. Without SEQUENCE NAME, the system chooses an unused name for the sequence.