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The isn extension provides data types for international product and publication numbering standards, including ISBN (books), ISMN (music), ISSN (serials), EAN13 (products), and UPC (products). It handles validation, formatting, and conversion between different standards. Your Nile database arrives with the isn extension already enabled.

Data Types

The extension provides several data types:
  • isbn - International Standard Book Number (ISBN-13 and ISBN-10)
  • ismn - International Standard Music Number
  • issn - International Standard Serial Number
  • ean13 - European Article Number (includes UPC)
  • upc - Universal Product Code

Basic Usage

Here’s how to use the ISN types with a product catalog:

Number Validation and Formatting

The ISN types automatically validate check digits and can handle various input formats:

Common Use Cases

Product Lookup

ISBN Range Management

Performance Considerations

  • ISN types are stored efficiently as 64-bit integers internally
  • Validation and check digit calculation is performed on input
  • Indexes work efficiently with all ISN types
  • Conversion between formats (e.g., ISBN-10/13) is fast

Best Practices

  1. Always use the appropriate type for each standard
  2. Handle input format variations in your application
  3. Use the built-in conversion functions rather than implementing your own
  4. Consider indexing frequently searched ISN columns
For more details, refer to the PostgreSQL ISN documentation and the relevant standards: