Drizzle raw sql expressions are typed unknown, and count returns a string on node-postgres

The sql template tag turns interpolated values into bound parameters, so interpolating a variable is safe, while sql.raw inlines the string verbatim and must never receive user input. What surprises people is the typing: an expression built with the tag has type unknown in the result, so an aggregate is unknown and arithmetic on it fails to compile.

Writing sql<number> before the template fixes compilation but is an assertion, not a conversion. The node-postgres driver returns bigint columns such as a row count as strings, so a value declared as a number is a lie at runtime and still needs converting. The count helper exported by drizzle-orm handles that cast. sql.placeholder marks a bind slot for a prepared statement created with prepare, which is the only way to reuse a compiled query across calls.