Question

Is this proper postgresql syntax to add a column to a table with a default value of false

ALTER TABLE users
ADD "priv_user" BIT
ALTER priv_user SET DEFAULT '0'

Thanks!

Answer 1

ALTER TABLE users
  ADD COLUMN "priv_user" BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE;

you can also directly specify NOT NULL

ALTER TABLE users
  ADD COLUMN "priv_user" BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT FALSE;

UPDATE: following is only true for versions before postgresql 11.

As Craig mentioned on filled tables it is more efficient to split it into steps:

ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN priv_user BOOLEAN;
UPDATE users SET priv_user = 'f';
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN priv_user SET NOT NULL;
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN priv_user SET DEFAULT FALSE;