OT postgres: bitwise testing & setting?

[will trillich <will@serensoft.com>]

this is way OT, but debian-user has the Folks Who Know...

i'm using 6.3 postgresql on potato, and would like to compress
a wee bit-o-space out of each record by using bitwise booleans,
instead of bytewise.

there seems to be no bitwise operators to facilitate such
testing (nor even an numerative dataset type) so i was trying

	CREATE TABLE
		mytable
	(
		-- otherfields
		flags int2
		-- otherfields
	);

	CREATE VIEW
		myflags
	AS
	SELECT
		-- otherfields, yada yada
		((flags % 2) / 1) = 1 as first,
		((flags % 4) / 2) = 1 as second,
		((flags % 8) / 4) = 1 as third
	FROM
		mytable
	;

which works to a point ... but when you try to establish all
16 bits (using < 0 for -32768 :) i gripes about

	ERROR:  DefineQueryRewrite: rule plan string too big.

what are the alternatives?  create function? [care to give a gentle intro?]

and this is just for bitwise TESTING.  i haven't even GOT to the
'bitwise SETTING' part yet...!

-- 
There are only two places in the world where time takes
precedence over the job to be done.  School and prison. 
					--William Glasser 
three: union labor. -- will trillich

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