diff --git a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/BaseLiaison.java b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/BaseLiaison.java
index f9451c58..ea01fe73 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/BaseLiaison.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/BaseLiaison.java
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import java.sql.Connection;
 import java.sql.ResultSet;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
 import java.sql.Statement;
+import java.util.List;
 
 import com.samskivert.util.StringUtil;
 
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         super();
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean tableExists (Connection conn, String name) throws SQLException
     {
         ResultSet rs = conn.getMetaData().getTables(null, null, name, null);
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return false;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean tableContainsColumn (Connection conn, String table, String column)
         throws SQLException
     {
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return false;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean tableContainsIndex (Connection conn, String table, String index)
         throws SQLException
     {
@@ -69,15 +70,15 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return false;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
-    public boolean addIndexToTable (
-        Connection conn, String table, String[] columns, String ixName, boolean unique)
-        throws SQLException
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
+    public boolean addIndexToTable (Connection conn, String table, List<String> columns,
+                                    String ixName, boolean unique) throws SQLException
     {
         if (tableContainsIndex(conn, table, ixName)) {
             return false;
         }
-        ixName = (ixName != null ? ixName : StringUtil.join(columns, "_"));
+        ixName = (ixName != null ? ixName :
+                  StringUtil.join(columns.toArray(new String[columns.size()]), "_"));
 
         StringBuilder update = new StringBuilder("CREATE ");
         if (unique) {
@@ -85,12 +86,7 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         }
         update.append("INDEX ").append(indexSQL(ixName)).append(" ON ").
             append(tableSQL(table)).append(" (");
-        for (int ii = 0; ii < columns.length; ii ++) {
-            if (ii > 0) {
-                update.append(", ");
-            }
-            update.append(columnSQL(columns[ii]));
-        }
+        appendColumns(columns, update);
         update.append(")");
 
         executeQuery(conn, update.toString());
@@ -98,17 +94,12 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return true;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
-    public void addPrimaryKey (Connection conn, String table, String[] columns)
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
+    public void addPrimaryKey (Connection conn, String table, List<String> columns)
         throws SQLException
     {
         StringBuilder fields = new StringBuilder("(");
-        for (int ii = 0; ii < columns.length; ii ++) {
-            if (ii > 0) {
-                fields.append(", ");
-            }
-            fields.append(columnSQL(columns[ii]));
-        }
+        appendColumns(columns, fields);
         fields.append(")");
         String update = "ALTER TABLE " + tableSQL(table) + " ADD PRIMARY KEY " + fields.toString();
 
@@ -116,24 +107,22 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         log.info("Primary key " + fields + " added to table '" + table + "'");
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public void dropIndex (Connection conn, String table, String index) throws SQLException
     {
         executeQuery(conn, "DROP INDEX " + columnSQL(index));
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
-    public void dropPrimaryKey (Connection conn, String table, String pkName)
-        throws SQLException
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
+    public void dropPrimaryKey (Connection conn, String table, String pkName) throws SQLException
     {
         executeQuery(conn, "ALTER TABLE " + tableSQL(table) +
-            " DROP CONSTRAINT " + columnSQL(pkName));
+                     " DROP CONSTRAINT " + columnSQL(pkName));
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
-    public boolean addColumn (
-        Connection conn, String table, String column, String definition, boolean check)
-        throws SQLException
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
+    public boolean addColumn (Connection conn, String table, String column, String definition,
+                              boolean check) throws SQLException
     {
         if (check && tableContainsColumn(conn, table, column)) {
             return false;
@@ -145,7 +134,7 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return true;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean addColumn (Connection conn, String table, String column,
                               ColumnDefinition newColumnDef, boolean check)
         throws SQLException
@@ -160,14 +149,13 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return true;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean changeColumn (Connection conn, String table, String column, String type,
                                  Boolean nullable, Boolean unique, String defaultValue)
         throws SQLException
     {
-        String defStr = expandDefinition(
-            type, nullable != null ? nullable : false, unique != null ? unique : false,
-            defaultValue);
+        String defStr = expandDefinition(type, nullable != null ? nullable : false,
+                                         unique != null ? unique : false, defaultValue);
 
         executeQuery(conn, "ALTER TABLE " + tableSQL(table) + " CHANGE " +
                      columnSQL(column) + " " + columnSQL(column) + " " + defStr);
@@ -176,10 +164,9 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return true;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean renameColumn (Connection conn, String table, String from, String to,
-                                 ColumnDefinition newColumnDef)
-        throws SQLException
+                                 ColumnDefinition newColumnDef) throws SQLException
     {
         executeQuery(conn, "ALTER TABLE " + tableSQL(table) + " RENAME COLUMN " +
                      columnSQL(from) + " TO " + columnSQL(to));
@@ -187,7 +174,7 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return true;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean dropColumn (Connection conn, String table, String column) throws SQLException
     {
         if (!tableContainsColumn(conn, table, column)) {
@@ -198,50 +185,39 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return true;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
-    public boolean createTableIfMissing (
-        Connection conn, String table, String[] columns, ColumnDefinition[] definitions,
-        String[][] uniqueConstraintColumns, String[] primaryKeyColumns)
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
+        public boolean createTableIfMissing (Connection conn, String table, List<String> columns,
+                                         List<ColumnDefinition> definitions,
+                                         List<List<String>> uniqueConstraintColumns,
+                                         List<String> primaryKeyColumns)
         throws SQLException
     {
         if (tableExists(conn, table)) {
             return false;
         }
-        if (columns.length != definitions.length) {
+        if (columns.size() != definitions.size()) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Column name and definition number mismatch");
         }
 
-        StringBuilder builder =
-            new StringBuilder("CREATE TABLE ").append(tableSQL(table)).append(" (");
-        for (int ii = 0; ii < columns.length; ii ++) {
+        StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder("CREATE TABLE ").
+            append(tableSQL(table)).append(" (");
+        for (int ii = 0; ii < columns.size(); ii ++) {
             if (ii > 0) {
                 builder.append(", ");
             }
-            builder.append(columnSQL(columns[ii])).append(" ");
-            builder.append(expandDefinition(definitions[ii]));
+            builder.append(columnSQL(columns.get(ii))).append(" ");
+            builder.append(expandDefinition(definitions.get(ii)));
         }
 
-        if (uniqueConstraintColumns != null && uniqueConstraintColumns.length > 0) {
-            for (String[] uCols : uniqueConstraintColumns) {
-                builder.append(", UNIQUE (");
-                for (int ii = 0; ii < uCols.length; ii ++) {
-                    if (ii > 0) {
-                        builder.append(", ");
-                    }
-                    builder.append(columnSQL(uCols[ii]));
-                }
-                builder.append(")");
-            }
+        for (List<String> uCols : uniqueConstraintColumns) {
+            builder.append(", UNIQUE (");
+            appendColumns(uCols, builder);
+            builder.append(")");
         }
 
-        if (primaryKeyColumns != null && primaryKeyColumns.length > 0) {
+        if (!primaryKeyColumns.isEmpty()) {
             builder.append(", PRIMARY KEY (");
-            for (int ii = 0; ii < primaryKeyColumns.length; ii ++) {
-                if (ii > 0) {
-                    builder.append(", ");
-                }
-                builder.append(columnSQL(primaryKeyColumns[ii]));
-            }
+            appendColumns(primaryKeyColumns, builder);
             builder.append(")");
         }
 
@@ -252,8 +228,7 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         return true;
     }
 
-    public boolean dropTable (Connection conn, String name)
-        throws SQLException
+    public boolean dropTable (Connection conn, String name) throws SQLException
     {
         if (!tableExists(conn, name)) {
             return false;
@@ -264,17 +239,16 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
     }
 
     /**
-     * Create an SQL string that summarizes a column definition in that format generally
-     * accepted in table creation and column addition statements, e.g.
-     *          INTEGER UNIQUE NOT NULL DEFAULT 100
+     * Create an SQL string that summarizes a column definition in that format generally accepted
+     * in table creation and column addition statements, e.g. {@code INTEGER UNIQUE NOT NULL
+     * DEFAULT 100}.
      */
     public String expandDefinition (ColumnDefinition def)
     {
         return expandDefinition(def.type, def.nullable, def.unique, def.defaultValue);
     }
 
-    protected int executeQuery (Connection conn, String query)
-        throws SQLException
+    protected int executeQuery (Connection conn, String query) throws SQLException
     {
         Statement stmt = conn.createStatement();
         try {
@@ -284,23 +258,31 @@ public abstract class BaseLiaison implements DatabaseLiaison
         }
     }
 
-    protected String expandDefinition (
-        String type, boolean nullable, boolean unique, String defaultValue)
+    protected String expandDefinition (String type, boolean nullable, boolean unique,
+                                       String defaultValue)
     {
         StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder(type);
-
         if (!nullable) {
             builder.append(" NOT NULL");
         }
         if (unique) {
             builder.append(" UNIQUE");
         }
-
         // append the default value if one was specified
         if (defaultValue != null) {
             builder.append(" DEFAULT ").append(defaultValue);
         }
-
         return builder.toString();
     }
+
+    /** Escapes {@code columns} with {@link #columnSQL}, appends (comma-sepped) to {@code buf}. */
+    protected void appendColumns (Iterable<String> columns, StringBuilder buf) {
+        int ii = 0;
+        for (String column : columns) {
+            if (ii++ > 0) {
+                buf.append(", ");
+            }
+            buf.append(columnSQL(column));
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/DatabaseLiaison.java b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/DatabaseLiaison.java
index 7f1c5248..ed271ea1 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/DatabaseLiaison.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/DatabaseLiaison.java
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ package com.samskivert.jdbc;
 
 import java.sql.Connection;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
+import java.util.List;
 
 /**
  * Despite good intentions, JDBC and SQL do not provide a unified interface to all databases. There
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@ public interface DatabaseLiaison
      * should have no negative effect like resetting it).
      */
     public void createGenerator (Connection conn, String tableName, String columnName,
-                               int initialValue)
+                                 int initialValue)
         throws SQLException;
 
     /**
@@ -76,8 +77,8 @@ public interface DatabaseLiaison
      * Adds a named index to a table on the given columns. Returns true or false if the database
      * did or did not report a schema modification.
      */
-    public boolean addIndexToTable (
-        Connection conn, String table, String[] columns, String index, boolean unique)
+    public boolean addIndexToTable (Connection conn, String table, List<String> columns,
+                                    String index, boolean unique)
         throws SQLException;
 
     /**
@@ -90,7 +91,7 @@ public interface DatabaseLiaison
      * Adds a primary key to a table of the given name and on the given columns. Returns true or
      * false if the database did nor did not report a schema modification.
      */
-    public void addPrimaryKey (Connection conn, String table, String[] columns)
+    public void addPrimaryKey (Connection conn, String table, List<String> columns)
         throws SQLException;
 
     /**
@@ -103,16 +104,16 @@ public interface DatabaseLiaison
      * Adds a column to a table with the given definition. Tests for the previous existence of
      * the column iff 'check' is true.
      */
-    public boolean addColumn (
-        Connection conn, String table, String column, String definition, boolean check)
+    public boolean addColumn (Connection conn, String table, String column, String definition,
+                              boolean check)
         throws SQLException;
 
     /**
      * Adds a column to a table with the given definition. Tests for the previous existence of
      * the column iff 'check' is true.
      */
-    public boolean addColumn (
-        Connection conn, String table, String column, ColumnDefinition columnDef, boolean check)
+    public boolean addColumn (Connection conn, String table, String column,
+                              ColumnDefinition columnDef, boolean check)
         throws SQLException;
 
     /**
@@ -121,9 +122,8 @@ public interface DatabaseLiaison
      * unique and defaultValue arguments may be null, in which case the implementation will attempt
      * to leave that aspect of the column unchanged.
      */
-    public boolean changeColumn (
-        Connection conn, String table, String column, String type, Boolean nullable,
-        Boolean unique, String defaultValue)
+    public boolean changeColumn (Connection conn, String table, String column, String type,
+                                 Boolean nullable, Boolean unique, String defaultValue)
             throws SQLException;
 
     /**
@@ -133,9 +133,8 @@ public interface DatabaseLiaison
      * @param columnDef the full definition of the new column, including its new name (MySQL
      * requires this for a column rename).
      */
-    public boolean renameColumn (
-        Connection conn, String table, String oldColumn, String newColumn,
-        ColumnDefinition columnDef)
+    public boolean renameColumn (Connection conn, String table, String oldColumn, String newColumn,
+                                 ColumnDefinition columnDef)
         throws SQLException;
 
     /**
@@ -143,15 +142,16 @@ public interface DatabaseLiaison
      * the given set of unique constraints (or null) and the given primary key columns (or null).
      * Returns true if the table was successfully created, false if it already existed.
      */
-    public boolean createTableIfMissing (
-        Connection conn, String table, String[] columns, ColumnDefinition[] declarations,
-        String[][] uniqueConstraintColumns, String[] primaryKeyColumns)
+    public boolean createTableIfMissing (Connection conn, String table, List<String> columns,
+                                         List<ColumnDefinition> declarations,
+                                         List<List<String>> uniqueConstraintColumns,
+                                         List<String> primaryKeyColumns)
         throws SQLException;
 
     /**
-     * Create an SQL string that summarizes a column definition in that format generally
-     * accepted in table creation and column addition statements, e.g.
-     *          INTEGER UNIQUE NOT NULL DEFAULT 100
+     * Create an SQL string that summarizes a column definition in that format generally accepted
+     * in table creation and column addition statements, e.g. {@code INTEGER UNIQUE NOT NULL
+     * DEFAULT 100}
      */
     public String expandDefinition (ColumnDefinition coldef);
 
@@ -173,13 +173,15 @@ public interface DatabaseLiaison
      * Returns true if the table with the specified name exists, false if it does not.
      * <em>Note:</em> the table name is case sensitive.
      */
-    public boolean tableExists (Connection conn, String name) throws SQLException;
+    public boolean tableExists (Connection conn, String name)
+        throws SQLException;
 
     /**
      * Drops the given table and returns true if the table exists, else returns false.
      * <em>Note:</em> the table name is case sensitive.
      */
-    public boolean dropTable (Connection conn, String name) throws SQLException;
+    public boolean dropTable (Connection conn, String name)
+        throws SQLException;
 
     /**
      * Returns the proper SQL to identify a table. Some databases require table names to be quoted.
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/DefaultLiaison.java b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/DefaultLiaison.java
index 5a1a59ac..d3590c1c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/DefaultLiaison.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/DefaultLiaison.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 package com.samskivert.jdbc;
 
+import java.util.List;
 import java.sql.Connection;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
 
@@ -14,58 +15,58 @@ import java.sql.SQLException;
  */
 public class DefaultLiaison extends BaseLiaison
 {
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean matchesURL (String url)
     {
         return true;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean isDuplicateRowException (SQLException sqe)
     {
         return false;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean isTransientException (SQLException sqe)
     {
         return false;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public void createGenerator (Connection conn, String tableName, String columnName, int initValue)
         throws SQLException
     {
         // nothing doing
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public void deleteGenerator (Connection conn, String tableName, String columnName)
         throws SQLException
     {
         // nothing doing
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public int lastInsertedId (Connection conn, String table, String column)
         throws SQLException
     {
         return -1;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public String columnSQL (String column)
     {
         return column;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public String tableSQL (String table)
     {
         return table;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public String indexSQL (String index)
     {
         return index;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/HsqldbLiaison.java b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/HsqldbLiaison.java
index bb73856a..234a1008 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/HsqldbLiaison.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/HsqldbLiaison.java
@@ -26,31 +26,31 @@ import static com.samskivert.Log.log;
  */
 public class HsqldbLiaison extends BaseLiaison
 {
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean matchesURL (String url)
     {
         return url.startsWith("jdbc:hsqldb");
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public String columnSQL (String column)
     {
         return "\"" + column + "\"";
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public String tableSQL (String table)
     {
         return "\"" + table + "\"";
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public String indexSQL (String index)
     {
         return "\"" + index + "\"";
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public void createGenerator (Connection conn, String tableName,
                                  String columnName, int initValue)
         throws SQLException
@@ -70,14 +70,14 @@ public class HsqldbLiaison extends BaseLiaison
         log.info("Initial value of " + tableName + ":" + columnName + " set to " + initValue + ".");
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public void deleteGenerator (Connection conn, String tableName, String columnName)
         throws SQLException
     {
         // HSQL's IDENTITY() does not create any database entities that we need to delete
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public int lastInsertedId (Connection conn, String table, String column) throws SQLException
     {
         // HSQL does not keep track of per-table-and-column insertion data, so we are pretty much
@@ -93,13 +93,13 @@ public class HsqldbLiaison extends BaseLiaison
          }
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean isTransientException (SQLException sqe)
     {
         return false; // no known transient exceptions for HSQLDB
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean isDuplicateRowException (SQLException sqe)
     {
         // Violation of unique constraint SYS_PK_51: duplicate value(s) for column(s) FOO
@@ -119,64 +119,59 @@ public class HsqldbLiaison extends BaseLiaison
     // TODO: Consider making this the general MO instead of a subclass override. In fact
     // it may be that uniqueness should be removed from ColumnDefinition.
     @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
-    public boolean createTableIfMissing (
-        Connection conn, String table, String[] columns, ColumnDefinition[] definitions,
-        String[][] uniqueConstraintColumns, String[] primaryKeyColumns)
+    public boolean createTableIfMissing (Connection conn, String table,
+                                         List<String> columns, List<ColumnDefinition> defns,
+                                         List<List<String>> uniqueColumns, List<String> pkColumns)
         throws SQLException
     {
-        if (columns.length != definitions.length) {
+        if (columns.size() != defns.size()) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Column name and definition number mismatch");
         }
 
-        // turn this into something less fiddly to work with
-        List<String[]> uniqueCsts = new ArrayList<String[]>();
-        if (uniqueConstraintColumns != null) {
-            uniqueCsts.addAll(Arrays.asList(uniqueConstraintColumns));
-        }
-
         // note the set of single column unique constraints already provided (see method comment)
         Set<String> seenUniques = new HashSet<String>();
-        for (String[] uCols : uniqueCsts) {
-            if (uCols.length == 1) {
-                seenUniques.add(uCols[0]);
+        for (List<String> udef : uniqueColumns) {
+            if (udef.size() == 1) {
+                seenUniques.addAll(udef);
             }
         }
         // primary key columns are also considered implicitly unique as of HSQL 2.2.4, and it will
         // freak out if we also try to include them in the UNIQUE clause, so add those too
-        if (primaryKeyColumns != null) {
-            for (String pkCol : primaryKeyColumns) {
-                seenUniques.add(pkCol);
-            }
-        }
+        seenUniques.addAll(pkColumns);
 
-        // go through the columns and find any that are unique; these we replace with a
-        // non-unique variant, and instead add a new entry to the table unique constraint
-        ColumnDefinition[] newDefinitions = new ColumnDefinition[definitions.length];
-        for (int ii = 0; ii < definitions.length; ii ++) {
-            ColumnDefinition def = definitions[ii];
-            if (def.unique) {
-                // let's be nice and not mutate the caller's object
-                newDefinitions[ii] = new ColumnDefinition(
-                    def.type, def.nullable, false, def.defaultValue);
-                // if a uniqueness constraint for this column was not in the primaryKeys or
-                // uniqueConstraintColumns parameters, add the column to uniqueCsts
-                if (!seenUniques.contains(columns[ii])) {
-                    uniqueCsts.add(new String[] { columns[ii] });
+        // lazily create a copy of uniqueColumns, if needed
+        List<List<String>> newUniques = uniqueColumns;
+
+        // go through the columns and find any that are unique; these we replace with a non-unique
+        // variant, and instead add a new entry to the table unique constraint
+        List<ColumnDefinition> newDefns = new ArrayList<ColumnDefinition>(defns.size());
+        for (int ii = 0; ii < defns.size(); ii ++) {
+            ColumnDefinition def = defns.get(ii);
+            if (!def.unique) {
+                newDefns.add(def);
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            // let's be nice and not mutate the caller's object
+            newDefns.add(
+                new ColumnDefinition(def.type, def.nullable, false, def.defaultValue));
+            // if a uniqueness constraint for this column was not in the primaryKeys or
+            // uniqueColumns parameters, add the column to uniqueCsts
+            if (!seenUniques.contains(columns.get(ii))) {
+                if (newUniques == uniqueColumns) {
+                    newUniques = new ArrayList<List<String>>(uniqueColumns);
                 }
-            } else {
-                newDefinitions[ii] = def;
+                newUniques.add(Collections.singletonList(columns.get(ii)));
             }
         }
 
         // now call the real implementation with our modified data
-        return super.createTableIfMissing(conn, table, columns, newDefinitions,
-                                          uniqueCsts.toArray(new String[uniqueCsts.size()][]),
-                                          primaryKeyColumns);
+        return super.createTableIfMissing(conn, table, columns, newDefns, newUniques, pkColumns);
     }
 
     @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
-    protected String expandDefinition (
-        String type, boolean nullable, boolean unique, String defaultValue)
+    protected String expandDefinition (String type, boolean nullable, boolean unique,
+                                       String defaultValue)
     {
         StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder(type);
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/MySQLLiaison.java b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/MySQLLiaison.java
index 0dd8ae84..1a20e94a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/MySQLLiaison.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/MySQLLiaison.java
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 package com.samskivert.jdbc;
 
 import java.sql.*;
+import java.util.List;
 
 import static com.samskivert.Log.log;
 
@@ -14,20 +15,20 @@ import static com.samskivert.Log.log;
  */
 public class MySQLLiaison extends BaseLiaison
 {
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean matchesURL (String url)
     {
         return url.startsWith("jdbc:mysql");
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean isDuplicateRowException (SQLException sqe)
     {
         String msg = sqe.getMessage();
         return (msg != null && msg.indexOf("Duplicate entry") != -1);
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public boolean isTransientException (SQLException sqe)
     {
         String msg = sqe.getMessage();
@@ -36,21 +37,21 @@ public class MySQLLiaison extends BaseLiaison
                                 msg.indexOf("Broken pipe") != -1));
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public void createGenerator (Connection conn, String tableName, String columnName, int initValue)
         throws SQLException
     {
         // TODO: is there any way we can set the initial AUTO_INCREMENT value?
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public void deleteGenerator (Connection conn, String tableName, String columnName)
         throws SQLException
     {
         // AUTO_INCREMENT does not create any database entities that we need to delete
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public int lastInsertedId (Connection conn, String table, String column) throws SQLException
     {
         // MySQL does not keep track of per-table-and-column insertion data, so we are pretty much
@@ -67,9 +68,8 @@ public class MySQLLiaison extends BaseLiaison
     }
 
     @Override // from BaseLiaison
-    public boolean addIndexToTable (
-        Connection conn, String table, String[] columns, String ixName, boolean unique)
-        throws SQLException
+    public boolean addIndexToTable (Connection conn, String table, List<String> columns,
+                                    String ixName, boolean unique) throws SQLException
     {
         if (tableContainsIndex(conn, table, ixName)) {
             return false;
@@ -82,12 +82,7 @@ public class MySQLLiaison extends BaseLiaison
             update.append("UNIQUE ");
         }
         update.append("INDEX ").append(indexSQL(ixName)).append(" (");
-        for (int ii = 0; ii < columns.length; ii ++) {
-            if (ii > 0) {
-                update.append(", ");
-            }
-            update.append(columnSQL(columns[ii]));
-        }
+        appendColumns(columns, update);
         update.append(")");
 
         executeQuery(conn, update.toString());
@@ -96,15 +91,13 @@ public class MySQLLiaison extends BaseLiaison
     }
 
     @Override // from BaseLiaison
-    public void dropIndex (Connection conn, String table, String index)
-        throws SQLException
+    public void dropIndex (Connection conn, String table, String index) throws SQLException
     {
         executeQuery(conn, "ALTER TABLE " + tableSQL(table) + " DROP INDEX " + columnSQL(index));
     }
 
     @Override // from BaseLiaison
-    public void dropPrimaryKey (Connection conn, String table, String pkName)
-        throws SQLException
+    public void dropPrimaryKey (Connection conn, String table, String pkName) throws SQLException
     {
         executeQuery(conn, "ALTER TABLE " + tableSQL(table) + " DROP PRIMARY KEY");
     }
@@ -124,19 +117,19 @@ public class MySQLLiaison extends BaseLiaison
         return true;
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public String columnSQL (String column)
     {
         return "`" + column + "`";
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public String tableSQL (String table)
     {
         return "`" + table + "`";
     }
 
-    // from DatabaseLiaison
+    @Override // from DatabaseLiaison
     public String indexSQL (String index)
     {
         return "`" + index + "`";
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/TransitionRepository.java b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/TransitionRepository.java
index 95ebc3cf..f48c8fbf 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/TransitionRepository.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/TransitionRepository.java
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ import java.sql.PreparedStatement;
 import java.sql.ResultSet;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
 import java.sql.Timestamp;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.List;
 
 import com.samskivert.io.PersistenceException;
 
@@ -185,13 +188,11 @@ public class TransitionRepository extends SimpleRepository
         liaison.createTableIfMissing(
             conn,
             "TRANSITIONS",
-            new String[] { "CLASS", "NAME", "APPLIED" },
-            new ColumnDefinition[] {
-                new ColumnDefinition("VARCHAR(200)", true, false, null),
-                new ColumnDefinition("VARCHAR(50)", true, false, null),
-                new ColumnDefinition("TIMESTAMP")
-            },
-            null,
-            new String[] { "CLASS", "NAME" });
+            Arrays.asList("CLASS", "NAME", "APPLIED"),
+            Arrays.asList(new ColumnDefinition("VARCHAR(200)", true, false, null),
+                          new ColumnDefinition("VARCHAR(50)", true, false, null),
+                          new ColumnDefinition("TIMESTAMP")),
+            Collections.<List<String>>emptyList(),
+            Arrays.asList("CLASS", "NAME"));
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/HsqldbLiaisonTest.java b/src/test/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/HsqldbLiaisonTest.java
index f2ca3426..ba083819 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/HsqldbLiaisonTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/HsqldbLiaisonTest.java
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ package com.samskivert.jdbc;
 import java.sql.Connection;
 import java.sql.DriverManager;
 import java.sql.ResultSet;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.List;
 
 import org.junit.*;
 import static org.junit.Assert.*;
@@ -32,14 +35,14 @@ public class HsqldbLiaisonTest
     {
         invoke(new WithConnection() {
             public void execute (Connection c, DatabaseLiaison dl) throws Exception {
-                String[] cols = new String[] { "col1", "col2", "col3" };
-                ColumnDefinition[] defs = new ColumnDefinition[] {
-                    new ColumnDefinition("int", false, false, null),
-                    new ColumnDefinition("int", false, false, "0"),
-                    new ColumnDefinition("varchar(255)", false, false, "''")
-                };
                 boolean created = dl.createTableIfMissing(
-                    c, "test_table", cols, defs, null, new String[] { "col1" });
+                    c, "test_table",
+                    Arrays.asList("col1", "col2", "col3"),
+                    Arrays.asList(new ColumnDefinition("int", false, false, null),
+                                  new ColumnDefinition("int", false, false, "0"),
+                                  new ColumnDefinition("varchar(255)", false, false, "''")),
+                    Collections.<List<String>>emptyList(),
+                    Arrays.asList("col1"));
                 assertTrue(created);
 
                 ResultSet rs = c.getMetaData().getColumns(null, null, "test_table", "%");