How to Normalize Data with ParadeDB in PostgreSQL

How do I normalize text data in PostgreSQL using ParadeDB?

normalize() in ParadeDB cleans and standardizes text through configurable pipelines for consistent full-text and vector search.

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Description

Example H2

Example H3

What problem does normalize() solve?

Inconsistent casing, accents, and stop-words hurt full-text and vector search recall. The normalize() function lets you pre-process text with a single call, ensuring every row follows the same rules before indexing or embedding.

How does the basic syntax look?

The function accepts a text value plus an optional comma-separated pipeline string. Pipelines can include lowercase, asciifold, strip_accents, remove_stopwords, and custom steps you defined in ParadeDB.

Syntax Quick-View

SELECT normalize(input_text [, 'pipeline_step1, pipeline_step2']);

Which pipelines should I use for ecommerce text?

Product titles benefit from lowercase and asciifold. Customer reviews often add strip_accents and remove_stopwords. Test different combinations, then store the output in a dedicated column for fast retrieval.

Can I bulk-update existing rows?

Yes. Use an UPDATE with a WHERE filter to control scope. Wrap the call in a transaction when touching critical tables so you can roll back if the result looks wrong.

Why store normalized text separately?

Keeping both raw and normalized versions preserves the original wording for display while optimizing search and similarity joins on the processed column. The extra storage cost is negligible for most workloads.

Best practices for production

1) Index the normalized column with GIN for tsvector or IVFFLAT for vectors. 2) Normalize at write-time, not on every query. 3) Document the exact pipeline in your DDL so teammates replicate results.

Common pitfalls to avoid

Skipping a pipeline name returns the input unchanged. Always pass at least one step. Over-normalizing IDs strips essential characters; apply the function only to free-text columns.

Need to revert changes?

Because normalization is destructive, keep the raw column or use logical replication to recover. Otherwise, you must reload from backups.

Why How to Normalize Data with ParadeDB in PostgreSQL is important

How to Normalize Data with ParadeDB in PostgreSQL Example Usage


-- Find customers who mentioned “free shipping” in reviews
SELECT c.id,
       c.name,
       normalize(r.review_text, 'lowercase, remove_stopwords') AS normalized_review
FROM Customers c
JOIN Reviews r ON r.customer_id = c.id
WHERE normalize(r.review_text, 'lowercase, remove_stopwords') @@ 'free & shipping';

How to Normalize Data with ParadeDB in PostgreSQL Syntax


-- Basic function call
SELECT normalize('Galaxy Is GREAT!');
-- With custom pipeline
SELECT normalize('Galaxy Is GREAT!', 'lowercase, asciifold');

-- Update every product title and store the result
ALTER TABLE Products ADD COLUMN title_normalized text;
UPDATE Products
SET title_normalized = normalize(name, 'lowercase, asciifold');

-- Index for fast search
CREATE INDEX idx_products_title_norm ON Products USING gin (to_tsvector('simple', title_normalized));

Common Mistakes

Omitting the pipeline string leaves data unchanged. Always pass at least one pipeline step to trigger transformation.
Applying normalize() to numeric or ID columns removes meaningful characters. Limit usage to free-text fields only.