yes, ish. But Postgresql has no reordering of table columns builtin, mostly due to the limitations of the internal representation of its schema (also called fea

yes, ish. But Postgresql has no reordering of table columns builtin, mostly due to the limitations of the internal representation of its schema (also called features) and in how the DLL is performed. Adding or removing a column in this system does not require postgres to rewrite the whole table, which means that old data can stay in the table effectively forever, as long as there are no other rewrite-required DDLs performed. Additionally, columns can be updated to SET NOT NULL / DROP NOT NULL, further complicating the whole system you're trying to optimize. Eventually postgresql might support some form of table column reordering that permanently optimizes out deleted columns, but I think it's unlikely to happen anytime soon. There are lower hanging fruits on the tree; altering existing table definitions in a backwards-incompatible manner is a lot of effort for likely very little gain. As for column packing: Maybe this can be implemented for CREATE TABLE with an option, but in the current transactional DDL framework this cannot be implemented for ADD COLUMN, because we can't reorder columns.