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<!--
$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/Attic/plsql.sgml,v 2.25 2001/03/23 22:07:50 tgl Exp $
-->
<chapter id="plpgsql">
<title>PL/pgSQL - <acronym>SQL</acronym> Procedural Language</title>
<para>
PL/pgSQL is a loadable procedural language for the
<productname>Postgres</productname> database system.
</para>
<para>
This package was originally written by Jan Wieck. This
documentation was in part written
by Roberto Mello (<email>rmello@fslc.usu.edu</email>).
</para>
<sect1 id="plpgsql-overview">
<title>Overview</title>
<para>
The design goals of PL/pgSQL were to create a loadable procedural
language that
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
can be used to create functions and trigger procedures,
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
adds control structures to the <acronym>SQL</acronym> language,
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
can perform complex computations,
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
inherits all user defined types, functions and operators,
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
can be defined to be trusted by the server,
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
is easy to use.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
The PL/pgSQL call handler parses the function's source text and
produces an internal binary instruction tree the first time the
function is called. The produced bytecode is identified
in the call handler by the object ID of the function. This ensures
that changing a function by a DROP/CREATE sequence will take effect
without establishing a new database connection.
</para>
<para>
For all expressions and <acronym>SQL</acronym> statements used in
the function, the PL/pgSQL bytecode interpreter creates a
prepared execution plan using the <acronym>SPI</acronym> manager's
<function>SPI_prepare()</function> and
<function>SPI_saveplan()</function> functions. This is done the
first time the individual
statement is processed in the PL/pgSQL function. Thus, a function with
conditional code that contains many statements for which execution
plans would be required, will only prepare and save those plans
that are really used during the lifetime of the database
connection.
</para>
<para>
This means that you have to be careful about your user-defined
functions. For example:
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION populate() RETURNS INTEGER AS '
DECLARE
-- Declarations
BEGIN
PERFORM my_function();
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
If you create the above function, it will reference the OID for
<function>my_function()</function> in its bytecode. Later, if you
drop and re-create <function>my_function()</function>, then
<function>populate()</function> will not be able to find
<function>my_function()</function> anymore. You would then have to
re-create <function>populate()</function>.
</para>
<para>
Because PL/pgSQL saves execution plans in this way, queries that appear
directly in a PL/pgSQL function must refer to the same tables and fields
on every execution; that is, you cannot use a parameter as the name of
a table or field in a query. To get around
this restriction, you can construct dynamic queries using the PL/pgSQL
EXECUTE statement --- at the price of constructing a new query plan
on every execution.
</para>
<para>
Except for input/output conversion and calculation functions
for user defined types, anything that can be defined in C language
functions can also be done with PL/pgSQL. It is possible to
create complex conditional computation functions and later use
them to define operators or use them in functional indices.
</para>
<sect2 id="plpgsql-advantages">
<title>Advantages of Using PL/pgSQL</title>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Better performance (see <xref linkend="plpgsql-advantages-performance">)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
SQL support (see <xref linkend="plpgsql-advantages-sqlsupport">)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Portability (see <xref linkend="plpgsql-advantages-portability">)
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-advantages-performance">
<title>Better Performance</title>
<para>
<acronym>SQL</acronym> is the language PostgreSQL (and
most other Relational Databases) use as query
language. It's portable and easy to learn. But every
<acronym>SQL</acronym> statement must be executed
individually by the database server.
</para>
<para>
That means that your client application must send each
query to the database server, wait for it to process it,
receive the results, do some computation, then send
other queries to the server. All this incurs inter
process communication and may also incur network
overhead if your client is on a different machine than
the database server.
</para>
<para>
With PL/pgSQL you can group a block of computation and a
series of queries <emphasis>inside</emphasis> the
database server, thus having the power of a procedural
language and the ease of use of SQL, but saving lots of
time because you don't have the whole client/server
communication overhead. Your application will enjoy a
considerable performance increase by using PL/pgSQL.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-advantages-sqlsupport">
<title>SQL Support</title>
<para>
PL/pgSQL adds the power of a procedural language to the
flexibility and ease of <acronym>SQL</acronym>. With
PL/pgSQL you can use all the datatypes, columns, operators
and functions of SQL.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-advantages-portability">
<title>Portability</title>
<para>
Because PL/pgSQL functions run inside PostgreSQL, these
functions will run on any platform where PostgreSQL
runs. Thus you can reuse code and have less development costs.
</para>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="plpgsql-overview-developing-in-plpgsql">
<title>Developing in PL/pgSQL</title>
<para>
Developing in PL/pgSQL is pretty straight forward, especially
if you have developed in other database procedural languages,
such as Oracle's PL/SQL. Two good ways of developing in
PL/pgSQL are:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Using a text editor and reloading the file with <command>psql</command>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Using PostgreSQL's GUI Tool: pgaccess
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
One good way to develop in PL/pgSQL is to simply use the text
editor of your choice to create your functions, and in another
console, use <command>psql</command> (PostgreSQL's interactive monitor) to load
those functions. If you are doing it this way (and if you are
a PL/pgSQL novice or in debugging stage), it is a good idea to
always <command>DROP</command> your function before creating it. That way
when you reload the file, it'll drop your functions and then
re-create them. For example:
<programlisting>
drop function testfunc(integer);
create function testfunc(integer) return integer as '
....
end;
' language 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
When you load the file for the first time,
<productname>PostgreSQL</> will raise a warning saying this
function doesn't exist and go on to create it. To load an SQL
file (filename.sql) into a database named "dbname", use the command:
<programlisting>
psql -f filename.sql dbname
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
Another good way to develop in PL/pgSQL is using
<productname>PostgreSQL</>'s GUI tool: pgaccess. It does some
nice things for you, like escaping single-quotes, and making
it easy to recreate and debug functions.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL Description **** -->
<sect1 id="plpgsql-description">
<title>Description</title>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL structure **** -->
<sect2>
<title>Structure of PL/pgSQL</title>
<para>
PL/pgSQL is a <emphasis>block structured</emphasis> language. All
keywords and identifiers can be used in mixed upper and
lower-case. A block is defined as:
<synopsis>
<optional>&lt;&lt;label&gt;&gt;</optional>
<optional>DECLARE
<replaceable>declarations</replaceable></optional>
BEGIN
<replaceable>statements</replaceable>
END;
</synopsis>
</para>
<para>
There can be any number of sub-blocks in the statement section
of a block. Sub-blocks can be used to hide variables from outside a
block of statements.
</para>
<para>
The variables declared in the declarations section preceding a
block are initialized to their default values every time the
block is entered, not only once per function call. For example:
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION somefunc() RETURNS INTEGER AS '
DECLARE
quantity INTEGER := 30;
BEGIN
RAISE NOTICE ''Quantity here is %'',quantity; -- Quantity here is 30
quantity := 50;
--
-- Create a sub-block
--
DECLARE
quantity INTEGER := 80;
BEGIN
RAISE NOTICE ''Quantity here is %'',quantity; -- Quantity here is 80
END;
RAISE NOTICE ''Quantity here is %'',quantity; -- Quantity here is 50
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
It is important not to confuse the use of BEGIN/END for
grouping statements in PL/pgSQL with the database commands for
transaction control. PL/pgSQL's BEGIN/END are only for grouping;
they do not start or end a transaction. Functions and trigger procedures
are always executed within a transaction established by an outer query
--- they cannot start or commit transactions, since
<productname>Postgres</productname> does not have nested transactions.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2>
<title>Comments</title>
<para>
There are two types of comments in PL/pgSQL. A double dash <literal>--</literal>
starts a comment that extends to the end of the line. A <literal>/*</literal>
starts a block comment that extends to the next occurrence of <literal>*/</literal>.
Block comments cannot be nested, but double dash comments can be
enclosed into a block comment and a double dash can hide
the block comment delimiters <literal>/*</literal> and <literal>*/</literal>.
</para>
</sect2>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL Variables and Constants **** -->
<sect2>
<title>Variables and Constants</title>
<para>
All variables, rows and records used in a block or its
sub-blocks must be declared in the declarations section of a block.
The exception being the loop variable of a FOR loop iterating over a range
of integer values.
</para>
<para>
PL/pgSQL variables can have any SQL datatype, such as
<type>INTEGER</type>, <type>VARCHAR</type> and
<type>CHAR</type>. All variables have as default value the
<acronym>SQL</acronym> NULL value.
</para>
<para>
Here are some examples of variable declarations:
<programlisting>
user_id INTEGER;
quantity NUMBER(5);
url VARCHAR;
</programlisting>
</para>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-description-default-vars">
<title>Constants and Variables With Default Values</title>
<para>
The declarations have the following syntax:
<synopsis>
<replaceable>name</replaceable> <optional> CONSTANT </optional> <replaceable>type</replaceable> <optional> NOT NULL </optional> <optional> { DEFAULT | := } <replaceable>value</replaceable> </optional>;
</synopsis>
</para>
<para>
The value of variables declared as CONSTANT cannot be changed. If NOT NULL
is specified, an assignment of a NULL value results in a runtime
error. Since the default value of all variables is the
<acronym>SQL</acronym> NULL value, all variables declared as NOT NULL
must also have a default value specified.
</para>
<para>
The default value is evaluated every time the function is called. So
assigning '<literal>now</literal>' to a variable of type
<type>timestamp</type> causes the variable to have the
time of the actual function call, not when the function was
precompiled into its bytecode.
</para>
<para>
Examples:
<programlisting>
quantity INTEGER := 32;
url varchar := ''http://mysite.com'';
user_id CONSTANT INTEGER := 10;
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-description-passed-vars">
<title>Variables Passed to Functions</title>
<para>
Variables passed to functions are named with the identifiers
<literal>$1</literal>, <literal>$2</literal>,
etc. (maximum is 16). Some examples:
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION sales_tax(REAL) RETURNS REAL AS '
DECLARE
subtotal ALIAS FOR $1;
BEGIN
return subtotal * 0.06;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
CREATE FUNCTION instr(VARCHAR,INTEGER) RETURNS INTEGER AS '
DECLARE
v_string ALIAS FOR $1;
index ALIAS FOR $2;
BEGIN
-- Some computations here
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-description-attributes">
<title>Attributes</title>
<para>
Using the <type>%TYPE</type> and <type>%ROWTYPE</type>
attributes, you can declare variables with the same
datatype or structure of another database item (e.g: a
table field).
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
%TYPE
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
<type>%TYPE</type> provides the datatype of a
variable or database column. You can use this to
declare variables that will hold database
values. For example, let's say you have a column
named <type>user_id</type> in your
<type>users</type> table. To declare a variable with
the same datatype as users you do:
<programlisting>
user_id users.user_id%TYPE;
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
By using <type>%TYPE</type> you don't need to know
the datatype of the structure you are referencing,
and most important, if the datatype of the
referenced item changes in the future (e.g: you
change your table definition of user_id to become a
REAL), you won't need to change your function
definition.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<replaceable>name</replaceable> <replaceable>table</replaceable>%ROWTYPE;
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Declares a row with the structure of the given
table. <replaceable>table</replaceable> must be an existing
table or view name of the database. The fields of the row are
accessed in the dot notation. Parameters to a function can be
composite types (complete table rows). In that case, the
corresponding identifier $n will be a rowtype, but it must be
aliased using the ALIAS command described above.
</para>
<para>
Only the user attributes of a table row are accessible in the
row, no OID or other system attributes (because the row could
be from a view). The fields of the rowtype inherit the
table's field sizes or precision for <type>char()</type>
etc. data types.
</para>
<programlisting>
DECLARE
users_rec users%ROWTYPE;
user_id users%TYPE;
BEGIN
user_id := users_rec.user_id;
...
create function cs_refresh_one_mv(integer) returns integer as '
DECLARE
key ALIAS FOR $1;
table_data cs_materialized_views%ROWTYPE;
BEGIN
SELECT INTO table_data * FROM cs_materialized_views
WHERE sort_key=key;
IF NOT FOUND THEN
RAISE EXCEPTION ''View '' || key || '' not found'';
RETURN 0;
END IF;
-- The mv_name column of cs_materialized_views stores view
-- names.
TRUNCATE TABLE table_data.mv_name;
INSERT INTO table_data.mv_name || '' '' || table_data.mv_query;
return 1;
end;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-description-remaning-vars">
<title>
RENAME
</title>
<para>
Using RENAME you can change the name of a variable, record
or row. This is useful if NEW or OLD should be referenced
by another name inside a trigger procedure.
</para>
<para>
Syntax and examples:
<programlisting>
RENAME <replaceable>oldname</replaceable> TO <replaceable>newname</replaceable>;
RENAME id TO user_id;
RENAME this_var TO that_var;
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL expressions **** -->
<sect2>
<title>Expressions</title>
<para>
All expressions used in PL/pgSQL statements are processed using
the backend's executor. Expressions that appear to contain
constants may in fact require run-time evaluation
(e.g. <literal>'now'</literal> for the
<type>timestamp</type> type) so
it is impossible for the PL/pgSQL parser
to identify real constant values other than the NULL keyword. All
expressions are evaluated internally by executing a query
<synopsis>
SELECT <replaceable>expression</replaceable>
</synopsis>
using the <acronym>SPI</acronym> manager. In the expression, occurrences of variable
identifiers are substituted by parameters and the actual values from
the variables are passed to the executor in the parameter array. All
expressions used in a PL/pgSQL function are only prepared and
saved once. The only exception to this rule is an EXECUTE statement
if parsing of a query is needed each time it is encountered.
</para>
<para>
The type checking done by the <productname>Postgres</productname>
main parser has some side
effects to the interpretation of constant values. In detail there
is a difference between what these two functions do:
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION logfunc1 (text) RETURNS timestamp AS '
DECLARE
logtxt ALIAS FOR $1;
BEGIN
INSERT INTO logtable VALUES (logtxt, ''now'');
RETURN ''now'';
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
and
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION logfunc2 (text) RETURNS timestamp AS '
DECLARE
logtxt ALIAS FOR $1;
curtime timestamp;
BEGIN
curtime := ''now'';
INSERT INTO logtable VALUES (logtxt, curtime);
RETURN curtime;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
In the case of <function>logfunc1()</function>, the
<productname>Postgres</productname> main parser knows when
preparing the plan for the INSERT, that the string
<literal>'now'</literal> should be interpreted as
<type>timestamp</type> because the target field of logtable
is of that type. Thus, it will make a constant from it at this
time and this constant value is then used in all invocations of
<function>logfunc1()</function> during the lifetime of the
backend. Needless to say that this isn't what the
programmer wanted.
</para>
<para>
In the case of <function>logfunc2()</function>, the
<productname>Postgres</productname> main parser does not know
what type <literal>'now'</literal> should become and therefore
it returns a data type of <type>text</type> containing the string
<literal>'now'</literal>. During the assignment
to the local variable curtime, the PL/pgSQL interpreter casts this
string to the timestamp type by calling the
<function>text_out()</function> and <function>timestamp_in()</function>
functions for the conversion.
</para>
<para>
This type checking done by the <productname>Postgres</productname> main
parser got implemented after PL/pgSQL was nearly done.
It is a difference between 6.3 and 6.4 and affects all functions
using the prepared plan feature of the <acronym>SPI</acronym> manager.
Using a local
variable in the above manner is currently the only way in PL/pgSQL to get
those values interpreted correctly.
</para>
<para>
If record fields are used in expressions or statements, the data types of
fields should not change between calls of one and the same expression.
Keep this in mind when writing trigger procedures that handle events
for more than one table.
</para>
</sect2>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL statements **** -->
<sect2>
<title>Statements</title>
<para>
Anything not understood by the PL/pgSQL parser as specified below
will be put into a query and sent down to the database engine
to execute. The resulting query should not return any data.
</para>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-statements-assignment">
<title>Assignment</title>
<para>
An assignment of a value to a variable or row/record field is
written as:
<synopsis>
<replaceable>identifier</replaceable> := <replaceable>expression</replaceable>;
</synopsis>
If the expressions result data type doesn't match the variables
data type, or the variable has a size/precision that is known
(as for <type>char(20)</type>), the result value will be implicitly casted by
the PL/pgSQL bytecode interpreter using the result types output- and
the variables type input-functions. Note that this could potentially
result in runtime errors generated by the types input functions.
</para>
<programlisting>
user_id := 20;
tax := subtotal * 0.06;
</programlisting>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-statements-calling-other-funcs">
<title>Calling another function</title>
<para>
All functions defined in a <productname>Postgres</productname>
database return a value. Thus, the normal way to call a function
is to execute a SELECT query or doing an assignment (resulting
in a PL/pgSQL internal SELECT).
</para>
<para>
But there are cases where someone is not interested in the
function's result. In these cases, use the PERFORM
statement.
<synopsis>
PERFORM <replaceable>query</replaceable>
</synopsis>
This executes a <literal>SELECT <replaceable>query</replaceable></literal> over the
<acronym>SPI manager</acronym> and discards the result. Identifiers like local
variables are still substituted into parameters.
</para>
<programlisting>
PERFORM create_mv(''cs_session_page_requests_mv'',''
select session_id, page_id, count(*) as n_hits,
sum(dwell_time) as dwell_time, count(dwell_time) as dwell_count
from cs_fact_table
group by session_id, page_id '');
</programlisting>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-statements-executing-dyn-queries">
<title>Executing dynamic queries</title>
<para>
Often times you will want to generate dynamic queries inside
your PL/pgSQL functions. Or you have functions that will
generate other functions. PL/pgSQL provides the EXECUTE
statement for these occasions.
</para>
<para>
<synopsis>
EXECUTE <replaceable class="command">query-string</replaceable>
</synopsis>
where <replaceable>query-string</replaceable> is a string of type
<type>text</type> containing the <replaceable>query</replaceable>
to be executed.
</para>
<para>
When working with dynamic queries you will have to face
escaping of single quotes in PL/pgSQL. Please refer to the
table available at the "Porting from Oracle PL/SQL" chapter
for a detailed explanation that will save you some effort.
</para>
<para>
Unlike all other queries in PL/pgSQL, a
<replaceable>query</replaceable> run by an EXECUTE statement is
not prepared and saved just once during the life of the server.
Instead, the <replaceable>query</replaceable> is prepared each
time the statement is run. The
<replaceable>query-string</replaceable> can be dynamically
created within the procedure to perform actions on variable
tables and fields.
</para>
<para>
The results from SELECT queries are discarded by EXECUTE, and
SELECT INTO is not currently supported within EXECUTE. So, the
only way to extract a result from a dynamically-created SELECT is
to use the FOR ... EXECUTE form described later.
</para>
<para>
An example:
<synopsis>
EXECUTE ''UPDATE tbl SET ''
|| quote_ident(fieldname)
|| '' = ''
|| quote_literal(newvalue)
|| '' WHERE ...'';
</synopsis>
</para>
<para>
This example shows use of the functions
<function>quote_ident</function>(<type>TEXT</type>) and
<function>quote_literal</function>(<type>TEXT</type>).
Variables containing field and table identifiers should be
passed to function <function>quote_ident()</function>.
Variables containing literal elements of the dynamic query
string should be passed to
<function>quote_literal()</function>. Both take the
appropriate steps to return the input text enclosed in single
or double quotes and with any embedded special characters.
</para>
<para>
Here is a much larger example of a dynamic query and EXECUTE:
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION cs_update_referrer_type_proc() RETURNS INTEGER AS '
DECLARE
referrer_keys RECORD; -- Declare a generic record to be used in a FOR
a_output varchar(4000);
BEGIN
a_output := ''CREATE FUNCTION cs_find_referrer_type(varchar,varchar,varchar)
RETURNS varchar AS ''''
DECLARE
v_host ALIAS FOR $1;
v_domain ALIAS FOR $2;
v_url ALIAS FOR $3; '';
--
-- Notice how we scan through the results of a query in a FOR loop
-- using the FOR &lt;record&gt; construct.
--
FOR referrer_keys IN select * from cs_referrer_keys order by try_order LOOP
a_output := a_output || '' if v_'' || referrer_keys.kind || '' like ''''''''''
|| referrer_keys.key_string || '''''''''' then return ''''''
|| referrer_keys.referrer_type || ''''''; end if;'';
END LOOP;
a_output := a_output || '' return null; end; '''' language ''''plpgsql'''';'';
-- This works because we are not substituting any variables
-- Otherwise it would fail. Look at PERFORM for another way to run functions
EXECUTE a_output;
end;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-statements-diagnostics">
<title>Obtaining other results status</title>
<para>
<synopsis>
GET DIAGNOSTICS <replaceable>variable</replaceable> = <replaceable>item</replaceable> <optional> , ... </optional>
</synopsis>
This command allows retrieval of system status indicators. Each
<replaceable>item</replaceable> is a keyword identifying a state
value to be assigned to the specified variable (which should be
of the right datatype to receive it). The currently available
status items are <varname>ROW_COUNT</>, the number of rows
processed by the last <acronym>SQL</acronym> query sent down to
the <acronym>SQL</acronym> engine; and <varname>RESULT_OID</>,
the Oid of the last row inserted by the most recent
<acronym>SQL</acronym> query. Note that <varname>RESULT_OID</>
is only useful after an INSERT query.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-statements-returning">
<title>Returning from a function</title>
<para>
<synopsis>
RETURN <replaceable>expression</replaceable>
</synopsis>
The function terminates and the value of
<replaceable>expression</replaceable> will be returned to the
upper executor. The return value of a function cannot be
undefined. If control reaches the end of the top-level block of
the function without hitting a RETURN statement, a runtime error
will occur.
</para>
<para>
The expressions result will be automatically casted into the
function's return type as described for assignments.
</para>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL Control Structures **** -->
<sect2 id="plpgsql-description-control-structures">
<title>Control Structures</title>
<para>
Control structures are probably the most useful (and
important) part of PL/SQL. With PL/pgSQL's control structures,
you can manipulate <productname>PostgreSQL</> data in a very
flexible and powerful way.
</para>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-description-conditionals">
<title>Conditional Control: IF statements</title>
<para>
<function>IF</function> statements let you take action
according to certain conditions. PL/pgSQL has three forms of
IF: IF-THEN, IF-THEN-ELSE, IF-THEN-ELSE IF. NOTE: All
PL/pgSQL IF statements need a corresponding <function>END
IF</function> statement. In ELSE-IF statements you need two:
one for the first IF and one for the second (ELSE IF).
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
IF-THEN
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
IF-THEN statements is the simplest form of an IF. The
statements between THEN and END IF will be executed if
the condition is true. Otherwise, the statements
following END IF will be executed.
<programlisting>
IF v_user_id &lt;&gt; 0 THEN
UPDATE users SET email = v_email WHERE user_id = v_user_id;
END IF;
</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
IF-THEN-ELSE
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
IF-THEN-ELSE statements adds to IF-THEN by letting you
specify the statements that should be executed if the
condition evaluates to FALSE.
<programlisting>
IF parentid IS NULL or parentid = ''''
THEN
return fullname;
ELSE
return hp_true_filename(parentid) || ''/'' || fullname;
END IF;
IF v_count > 0 THEN
INSERT INTO users_count(count) VALUES(v_count);
return ''t'';
ELSE
return ''f'';
END IF;
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
IF statements can be nested and in the following
example:
<programlisting>
IF demo_row.sex = ''m'' THEN
pretty_sex := ''man'';
ELSE
IF demo_row.sex = ''f'' THEN
pretty_sex := ''woman'';
END IF;
END IF;
</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
IF-THEN-ELSE IF
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
When you use the "ELSE IF" statement, you are actually
nesting an IF statement inside the ELSE
statement. Thus you need one END IF statement for each
nested IF and one for the parent IF-ELSE.
</para>
<para>
For example:
<programlisting>
IF demo_row.sex = ''m'' THEN
pretty_sex := ''man'';
ELSE IF demo_row.sex = ''f'' THEN
pretty_sex := ''woman'';
END IF;
END IF;
</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-description-control-structures-loops">
<title>Iterative Control: LOOP, WHILE, FOR and EXIT</title>
<para>
With the LOOP, WHILE, FOR and EXIT statements, you can
control the flow of execution of your PL/pgSQL program
iteratively.
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
LOOP
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
<synopsis>
<optional>&lt;&lt;label&gt;&gt;</optional>
LOOP
<replaceable>statements</replaceable>
END LOOP;
</synopsis>
An unconditional loop that must be terminated explicitly
by an EXIT statement. The optional label can be used by
EXIT statements of nested loops to specify which level of
nesting should be terminated.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
EXIT
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
<synopsis>
EXIT <optional> <replaceable>label</replaceable> </optional> <optional> WHEN <replaceable>expression</replaceable> </optional>;
</synopsis>
If no <replaceable>label</replaceable> is given,
the innermost loop is terminated and the
statement following END LOOP is executed next.
If <replaceable>label</replaceable> is given, it
must be the label of the current or an upper level of nested loop
blocks. Then the named loop or block is terminated and control
continues with the statement after the loops/blocks corresponding
END.
</para>
<para>
Examples:
<programlisting>
LOOP
-- some computations
IF count > 0 THEN
EXIT; -- exit loop
END IF;
END LOOP;
LOOP
-- some computations
EXIT WHEN count > 0;
END LOOP;
BEGIN
-- some computations
IF stocks > 100000 THEN
EXIT; -- illegal. Can't use EXIT outside of a LOOP
END IF;
END;
</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
WHILE
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
With the WHILE statement, you can loop through a
sequence of statements as long as the evaluation of
the condition expression is true.
<synopsis>
<optional>&lt;&lt;label&gt;&gt;</optional>
WHILE <replaceable>expression</replaceable> LOOP
<replaceable>statements</replaceable>
END LOOP;
</synopsis>
For example:
<programlisting>
WHILE amount_owed > 0 AND gift_certificate_balance > 0 LOOP
-- some computations here
END LOOP;
WHILE NOT boolean_expression LOOP
-- some computations here
END LOOP;
</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
FOR
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
<synopsis>
<optional>&lt;&lt;label&gt;&gt;</optional>
FOR <replaceable>name</replaceable> IN <optional> REVERSE </optional> <replaceable>expression</replaceable> .. <replaceable>expression</replaceable> LOOP
<replaceable>statements</replaceable>
END LOOP;
</synopsis>
A loop that iterates over a range of integer values. The variable
<replaceable>name</replaceable> is automatically created as type
integer and exists only inside the loop. The two expressions giving
the lower and upper bound of the range are evaluated only when entering
the loop. The iteration step is always 1.
</para>
<para>
Some examples of FOR loops (see <xref
linkend="plpgsql-description-records"> for iterating over
records in FOR loops):
<programlisting>
FOR i IN 1..10 LOOP
-- some expressions here
RAISE NOTICE 'i is %',i;
END LOOP;
FOR i IN REVERSE 1..10 LOOP
-- some expressions here
END LOOP;
</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL records **** -->
<sect2 id="plpgsql-description-records">
<title>Working with RECORDs</title>
<para>
Records are similar to rowtypes, but they have no predefined structure.
They are used in selections and FOR loops to hold one actual
database row from a SELECT operation.
</para>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-description-records-declaration">
<title>Declaration</title>
<para>
One variables of type RECORD can be used for different
selections. Accessing a record or an attempt to assign
a value to a record field when there is no actual row in it results
in a runtime error. They can be declared like this:
</para>
<para>
<synopsis>
<replaceable>name</replaceable> RECORD;
</synopsis>
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-description-records-assignment">
<title>Assignments</title>
<para>
An assignment of a complete selection into a record or row can
be done by:
<synopsis>
SELECT INTO <replaceable>target</replaceable> <replaceable>expressions</replaceable> FROM ...;
</synopsis>
<replaceable>target</replaceable> can be a record, a row variable
or a comma separated list of variables and
record-/row-fields. Note that this is quite different from
Postgres' normal interpretation of SELECT INTO, which is that the
INTO target is a newly created table. (If you want to create a
table from a SELECT result inside a PL/pgSQL function, use the
equivalent syntax <command>CREATE TABLE AS SELECT</command>.)
</para>
<para>
If a row or a variable list is used as target, the selected values
must exactly match the structure of the target(s) or a runtime error
occurs. The FROM keyword can be followed by any valid qualification,
grouping, sorting etc. that can be given for a SELECT statement.
</para>
<para>
Once a record or row has been assigned to a RECORD variable,
you can use the "." (dot) notation to access fields in that
record:
<programlisting>
DECLARE
users_rec RECORD;
full_name varchar;
BEGIN
SELECT INTO users_rec * FROM users WHERE user_id=3;
full_name := users_rec.first_name || '' '' || users_rec.last_name;
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
There is a special variable named FOUND of type
<type>boolean</type> that can be used immediately after a SELECT
INTO to check if an assignment had success.
<programlisting>
SELECT INTO myrec * FROM EMP WHERE empname = myname;
IF NOT FOUND THEN
RAISE EXCEPTION ''employee % not found'', myname;
END IF;
</programlisting>
You can also use the IS NULL (or ISNULL) conditionals to
test for NULLity of a RECORD/ROW. If the selection returns
multiple rows, only the first is moved into the target
fields. All others are silently discarded.
</para>
<para>
<programlisting>
DECLARE
users_rec RECORD;
full_name varchar;
BEGIN
SELECT INTO users_rec * FROM users WHERE user_id=3;
IF users_rec.homepage IS NULL THEN
-- user entered no homepage, return "http://"
return ''http://'';
END IF;
END;
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-description-records-iterating">
<title>Iterating Through Records</title>
<para>
Using a special type of FOR loop, you can iterate through
the results of a query and manipulate that data
accordingly. The syntax is as follow:
<synopsis>
<optional>&lt;&lt;label&gt;&gt;</optional>
FOR <replaceable>record | row</replaceable> IN <replaceable>select_clause</replaceable> LOOP
<replaceable>statements</replaceable>
END LOOP;
</synopsis>
The record or row is assigned all the rows
resulting from the select clause and the loop body executed
for each. Here is an example:
</para>
<para>
<programlisting>
create function cs_refresh_mviews () returns integer as '
DECLARE
mviews RECORD;
-- Instead, if you did:
-- mviews cs_materialized_views%ROWTYPE;
-- this record would ONLY be usable for the cs_materialized_views table
BEGIN
PERFORM cs_log(''Refreshing materialized views...'');
FOR mviews IN SELECT * FROM cs_materialized_views ORDER BY sort_key LOOP
-- Now "mviews" has one record from cs_materialized_views
PERFORM cs_log(''Refreshing materialized view '' || mview.mv_name || ''...'');
TRUNCATE TABLE mview.mv_name;
INSERT INTO mview.mv_name || '' '' || mview.mv_query;
END LOOP;
PERFORM cs_log(''Done refreshing materialized views.'');
return 1;
end;
' language 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
If the loop is terminated with an EXIT statement, the last
assigned row is still accessible after the loop.
</para>
<para>
The FOR-IN EXECUTE statement is another way to iterate over
records:
<synopsis>
<optional>&lt;&lt;label&gt;&gt;</optional>
FOR <replaceable>record | row</replaceable> IN EXECUTE <replaceable>text_expression</replaceable> LOOP
<replaceable>statements</replaceable>
END LOOP;
</synopsis>
This is like the previous form, except that the source SELECT
statement is specified as a string expression, which is evaluated
and re-planned on each entry to the FOR loop. This allows the
programmer to choose the speed of a pre-planned query or the
flexibility of a dynamic query, just as with a plain EXECUTE
statement.
</para>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="plpgsql-description-aborting-and-messages">
<title>Aborting and Messages</title>
<para>
Use the RAISE statement to throw messages into the
<productname>Postgres</productname> elog mechanism.
<synopsis>
RAISE <replaceable class="parameter">level</replaceable> '<replaceable class="parameter">format</replaceable>' <optional>, <replaceable class="parameter">identifier</replaceable> <optional>...</optional></optional>;
</synopsis>
Inside the format, <literal>%</literal> is used as a placeholder for the
subsequent comma-separated identifiers. Possible levels are
DEBUG (silently suppressed in production running databases), NOTICE
(written into the database log and forwarded to the client application)
and EXCEPTION (written into the database log and aborting the transaction).
</para>
<para>
<programlisting>
RAISE NOTICE ''Id number '' || key || '' not found!'';
RAISE NOTICE ''Calling cs_create_job(%)'',v_job_id;
</programlisting>
In this last example, v_job_id will replace the % in the
string.
</para>
<para>
<programlisting>
RAISE EXCEPTION ''Inexistent ID --> %'',user_id;
</programlisting>
This will abort the transaction and write to the database log.
</para>
</sect2>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL exceptions **** -->
<sect2>
<title>Exceptions</title>
<para>
<productname>Postgres</productname> does not have a very smart
exception handling model. Whenever the parser, planner/optimizer
or executor decide that a statement cannot be processed any longer,
the whole transaction gets aborted and the system jumps back
into the main loop to get the next query from the client application.
</para>
<para>
It is possible to hook into the error mechanism to notice that this
happens. But currently it is impossible to tell what really
caused the abort (input/output conversion error, floating point
error, parse error). And it is possible that the database backend
is in an inconsistent state at this point so returning to the upper
executor or issuing more commands might corrupt the whole database.
And even if, at this point the information, that the transaction
is aborted, is already sent to the client application, so resuming
operation does not make any sense.
</para>
<para>
Thus, the only thing PL/pgSQL currently does when it encounters
an abort during execution of a function or trigger
procedure is to write some additional DEBUG level log messages
telling in which function and where (line number and type of
statement) this happened.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL trigger procedures **** -->
<sect1 id="plpgsql-trigger">
<title>Trigger Procedures</title>
<para>
PL/pgSQL can be used to define trigger procedures. They are created
with the usual <command>CREATE FUNCTION</command> command as a function with no
arguments and a return type of <type>OPAQUE</type>.
</para>
<para>
There are some <productname>Postgres</productname> specific details
in functions used as trigger procedures.
</para>
<para>
First they have some special variables created automatically in the
top-level blocks declaration section. They are
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>NEW</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type <type>RECORD</type>; variable holding the new database row on INSERT/UPDATE
operations on ROW level triggers.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>OLD</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type <type>RECORD</type>; variable holding the old database row on UPDATE/DELETE
operations on ROW level triggers.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>TG_NAME</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type <type>name</type>; variable that contains the name of the trigger actually
fired.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>TG_WHEN</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type <type>text</type>; a string of either
<literal>BEFORE</literal> or <literal>AFTER</literal>
depending on the triggers definition.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>TG_LEVEL</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type <type>text</type>; a string of either
<literal>ROW</literal> or <literal>STATEMENT</literal> depending on the
triggers definition.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>TG_OP</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type <type>text</type>; a string of
<literal>INSERT</literal>, <literal>UPDATE</literal>
or <literal>DELETE</literal> telling
for which operation the trigger is actually fired.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>TG_RELID</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type <type>oid</type>; the object ID of the table that caused the
trigger invocation.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>TG_RELNAME</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type <type>name</type>; the name of the table that caused the trigger
invocation.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>TG_NARGS</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type <type>integer</type>; the number of arguments given to the trigger
procedure in the <command>CREATE TRIGGER</command> statement.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>TG_ARGV[]</varname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Data type array of <type>text</type>; the arguments from
the <command>CREATE TRIGGER</command> statement.
The index counts from 0 and can be given as an expression. Invalid
indices (&lt; 0 or &gt;= tg_nargs) result in a NULL value.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
Second they must return either NULL or a record/row containing
exactly the structure of the table the trigger was fired for.
Triggers fired AFTER might always return a NULL value with no
effect. Triggers fired BEFORE signal the trigger manager
to skip the operation for this actual row when returning NULL.
Otherwise, the returned record/row replaces the inserted/updated
row in the operation. It is possible to replace single values directly
in NEW and return that or to build a complete new record/row to
return.
</para>
<example>
<title>A PL/pgSQL Trigger Procedure Example</title>
<para>
This trigger ensures, that any time a row is inserted or updated
in the table, the current user name and time are stamped into the
row. And it ensures that an employees name is given and that the
salary is a positive value.
<programlisting>
CREATE TABLE emp (
empname text,
salary integer,
last_date timestamp,
last_user text
);
CREATE FUNCTION emp_stamp () RETURNS OPAQUE AS '
BEGIN
-- Check that empname and salary are given
IF NEW.empname ISNULL THEN
RAISE EXCEPTION ''empname cannot be NULL value'';
END IF;
IF NEW.salary ISNULL THEN
RAISE EXCEPTION ''% cannot have NULL salary'', NEW.empname;
END IF;
-- Who works for us when she must pay for?
IF NEW.salary < 0 THEN
RAISE EXCEPTION ''% cannot have a negative salary'', NEW.empname;
END IF;
-- Remember who changed the payroll when
NEW.last_date := ''now'';
NEW.last_user := current_user;
RETURN NEW;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
CREATE TRIGGER emp_stamp BEFORE INSERT OR UPDATE ON emp
FOR EACH ROW EXECUTE PROCEDURE emp_stamp();
</programlisting>
</para>
</example>
</sect1>
<!-- **** PL/pgSQL Examples **** -->
<sect1 id="plpgsql-examples">
<title>Examples</title>
<para>
Here are only a few functions to demonstrate how easy it is to
write PL/pgSQL
functions. For more complex examples the programmer
might look at the regression test for PL/pgSQL.
</para>
<para>
One painful detail in writing functions in PL/pgSQL is the handling
of single quotes. The function's source text on <command>CREATE FUNCTION</command> must
be a literal string. Single quotes inside of literal strings must be
either doubled or quoted with a backslash. We are still looking for
an elegant alternative. In the meantime, doubling the single quotes
as in the examples below should be used. Any solution for this
in future versions of <productname>Postgres</productname> will be
forward compatible.
</para>
<para>
For a detailed explanation and examples of how to escape single
quotes in different situations, please see <xref linkend="plpgsql-quote">.
</para>
<example>
<title>A Simple PL/pgSQL Function to Increment an Integer</title>
<para>
The following two PL/pgSQL functions are identical to their
counterparts from the C language function discussion. This
function receives an <type>integer</type> and increments it by
one, returning the incremented value.
</para>
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION add_one (integer) RETURNS integer AS '
BEGIN
RETURN $1 + 1;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</example>
<example>
<title>A Simple PL/pgSQL Function to Concatenate Text</title>
<para>
This function receives two <type>text</type> parameters and
returns the result of concatenating them.
</para>
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION concat_text (text, text) RETURNS text AS '
BEGIN
RETURN $1 || $2;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</example>
<example>
<title>A PL/pgSQL Function on Composite Type</title>
<para>
In this example, we take EMP (a table) and an
<type>integer</type> as arguments to our function, which returns
a <type>boolean</type>. If the "salary" field of the EMP table is
<literal>NULL</literal>, we return "f". Otherwise we compare with
that field with the <type>integer</type> passed to the function
and return the <type>boolean</type> result of the comparison (t
or f). This is the PL/pgSQL equivalent to the example from the C
functions.
</para>
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION c_overpaid (EMP, integer) RETURNS boolean AS '
DECLARE
emprec ALIAS FOR $1;
sallim ALIAS FOR $2;
BEGIN
IF emprec.salary ISNULL THEN
RETURN ''f'';
END IF;
RETURN emprec.salary > sallim;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</example>
</sect1>
<!-- **** Porting from Oracle PL/SQL **** -->
<sect1 id="plpgsql-porting">
<sect1info>
<date>
February 2001
</date>
<author>
<firstname>Roberto</firstname>
<surname>Mello</surname>
<affiliation>
<address>
<email>rmello@fslc.usu.edu</email>
</address>
</affiliation>
</author>
<legalnotice>
<para>
Except for portions of this document quoted from other sources,
this document is licensed under the BSD License.
</para>
</legalnotice>
</sect1info>
<title>Porting from Oracle PL/SQL</title>
<note>
<title>Author</title>
<para>
Roberto Mello (<email>rmello@fslc.usu.edu</email>)
</para>
</note>
<para>
This section explains differences between Oracle's PL/SQL and
PostgreSQL's PL/pgSQL languages in the hopes of helping developers
port applications from Oracle to PostgreSQL. Most of the code here
is from the <ulink url="http://www.arsdigita.com">ArsDigita</ulink>
<ulink url="http://www.arsdigita.com/asj/clickstream">Clickstream
module</ulink> that I ported to PostgreSQL when I took an
internship with <ulink url="http://www.openforce.net">OpenForce
Inc.</ulink> in the Summer of 2000.
</para>
<para>
PL/pgSQL is similar to PL/SQL in many aspects. It is a block
structured, imperative language (all variables have to be
declared). PL/SQL has many more features than its PostgreSQL
counterpart, but PL/pgSQL allows for a great deal of functionality
and it is being improved constantly.
</para>
<sect2>
<title>Main Differences</title>
<para>
Some things you should keep in mind when porting from Oracle to PostgreSQL:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
No default parameters in PostgreSQL.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
You can overload functions in PostgreSQL. This is often used to work
around the lack of default parameters.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Assignments, loops and conditionals are similar.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
No need for cursors in PostgreSQL, just put the query in the FOR
statement (see example below)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
In PostgreSQL you <emphasis>need</emphasis> to escape single
quotes. See <xref linkend="plpgsql-quote">.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-quote">
<title>Quote Me on That: Escaping Single Quotes</title>
<para>
In PostgreSQL you need to escape single quotes inside your
function definition. This can lead to quite amusing code at
times, especially if you are creating a function that generates
other function(s), as in
<xref linkend="plpgsql-porting-nastyquote">.
One thing to keep in mind
when escaping lots of single quotes is that, except for the
beginning/ending quotes, all the others will come in even
quantity.
</para>
<para>
<xref linkend="plpgsql-quoting-table"> gives the scoop. (You'll
love this little chart.)
</para>
<table id="plpgsql-quoting-table">
<title>Single Quotes Escaping Chart</title>
<tgroup cols="4">
<thead>
<row>
<entry>No. of Quotes</entry>
<entry>Usage</entry>
<entry>Example</entry>
<entry>Result</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>1</entry>
<entry>To begin/terminate function bodies</entry>
<entry><programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION foo() RETURNS INTEGER AS '...'
LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting></entry>
<entry>as is</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>2</entry>
<entry>In assignments, SELECTs, to delimit strings, etc.</entry>
<entry><programlisting>
a_output := ''Blah'';
SELECT * FROM users WHERE f_name=''foobar'';
</programlisting></entry>
<entry><literal>SELECT * FROM users WHERE f_name='foobar';</literal></entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>4</entry>
<entry>
When you need two single quotes in your resulting string
without terminating that string.
</entry>
<entry><programlisting>
a_output := a_output || '' AND name
LIKE ''''foobar'''' AND ...''
</programlisting></entry>
<entry><literal>AND name LIKE 'foobar' AND ...</literal></entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>6</entry>
<entry>
When you want double quotes in your resulting string
<emphasis>and</emphasis> terminate that string.
</entry>
<entry><programlisting>
a_output := a_output || '' AND name
LIKE ''''foobar''''''
</programlisting></entry>
<entry>
<literal>AND name LIKE 'foobar'</literal>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry>10</entry>
<entry>
When you want two single quotes in the resulting string
(which accounts for 8 quotes) <emphasis>and</emphasis>
terminate that string (2 more). You will probably only need
that if you were using a function to generate other functions
(like in <xref linkend="plpgsql-porting-nastyquote">).
</entry>
<entry><programlisting>
a_output := a_output || '' if v_'' ||
referrer_keys.kind || '' like ''''''''''
|| referrer_keys.key_string || ''''''''''
then return '''''' || referrer_keys.referrer_type
|| ''''''; end if;'';
</programlisting></entry>
<entry>
<literal>if v_<...> like ''<...>'' then return ''<...>''; end if;</literal>
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="plpgsql-porting-functions">
<title>
Porting Functions
</title>
<example>
<title>
A Simple Function
</title>
<para>
Here is an Oracle function:
<programlisting>
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION cs_fmt_browser_version(v_name IN varchar, v_version IN varchar)
RETURN varchar IS
BEGIN
IF v_version IS NULL THEN
RETURN v_name;
END IF;
RETURN v_name || '/' || v_version;
END;
/
SHOW ERRORS;
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
Let's go through this function and see the differences to PL/pgSQL:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
The <literal>OR REPLACE</literal> clause is not allowed. You
will have to explicitly drop the function before creating it
to achieve similar results.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> does not have named
parameters. You have to explicitly alias them inside your
function.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Oracle can have <literal>IN</literal>, <literal>OUT</literal>,
and <literal>INOUT</literal> parameters passed to functions.
The <literal>INOUT</literal>, for example, means that the
parameter will receive a value and return another. PostgreSQL
only has <quote>IN</quote> parameters and functions can return
only a single value.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
The <literal>RETURN</literal> key word in the function
prototype (not the function body) becomes
<literal>RETURNS</literal> in PostgreSQL.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
On PostgreSQL functions are created using single quotes as
delimiters, so you have to escape single quotes inside your
functions (which can be quite annoying at times; see <xref
linkend="plpgsql-quote">).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
The <literal>/show errors</literal> command does not exist in
PostgreSQL.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
So let's see how this function would be look like ported to
PostgreSQL:
<programlisting>
DROP FUNCTION cs_fmt_browser_version(varchar, varchar);
CREATE FUNCTION cs_fmt_browser_version(varchar, varchar)
RETRUNS varchar AS '
DECLARE
v_name ALIAS FOR $1;
v_version ALIAS FOR $2;
BEGIN
IF v_version IS NULL THEN
return v_name;
END IF;
RETURN v_name || ''/'' || v_version;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</para>
</example>
<example id="plpgsql-porting-nastyquote">
<title>
A Function that Creates Another Function
</title>
<para>
The following procedure grabs rows from a
<literal>SELECT</literal> statement and builds a large function
with the results in <literal>IF</literal> statements, for the
sake of efficiency. Notice particularly the differences in
cursors, <literal>FOR</literal> loops, and the need to escape
single quotes in PostgreSQL.
<programlisting>
create or replace procedure cs_update_referrer_type_proc is
cursor referrer_keys is
select * from cs_referrer_keys
order by try_order;
a_output varchar(4000);
begin
a_output := 'create or replace function cs_find_referrer_type(v_host IN varchar, v_domain IN varchar,
v_url IN varchar) return varchar is begin';
for referrer_key in referrer_keys loop
a_output := a_output || ' if v_' || referrer_key.kind || ' like ''' ||
referrer_key.key_string || ''' then return ''' || referrer_key.referrer_type ||
'''; end if;';
end loop;
a_output := a_output || ' return null; end;';
execute immediate a_output;
end;
/
show errors
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
Here is how this function would end up in PostgreSQL:
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION cs_update_referrer_type_proc() RETURNS integer AS '
DECLARE
referrer_keys RECORD; -- Declare a generic record to be used in a FOR
a_output varchar(4000);
BEGIN
a_output := ''CREATE FUNCTION cs_find_referrer_type(varchar,varchar,varchar)
RETURNS varchar AS ''''
DECLARE
v_host ALIAS FOR $1;
v_domain ALIAS FOR $2;
v_url ALIAS FOR $3; '';
--
-- Notice how we scan through the results of a query in a FOR loop
-- using the FOR &lt;record&gt; construct.
--
FOR referrer_keys IN select * from cs_referrer_keys order by try_order LOOP
a_output := a_output || '' if v_'' || referrer_keys.kind || '' like ''''''''''
|| referrer_keys.key_string || '''''''''' then return ''''''
|| referrer_keys.referrer_type || ''''''; end if;'';
END LOOP;
a_output := a_output || '' return null; end; '''' language ''''plpgsql'''';'';
-- This works because we are not substituting any variables
-- Otherwise it would fail. Look at PERFORM for another way to run functions
EXECUTE a_output;
end;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</para>
</example>
<example>
<title>
A Procedure with a lot of String Manipulation and OUT Parameters
</title>
<para>
The following Oracle PL/SQL procedure is used to parse a URL and
return several elements (host, path and query). It is an
procedure because in PL/pgSQL functions only one value can be returned
(see <xref linkend="plpgsql-porting-procedures">). In
PostgreSQL, one way to work around this is to split the procedure
in three different functions: one to return the host, another for
the path and another for the query.
</para>
<programlisting>
create or replace procedure cs_parse_url(
v_url IN varchar,
v_host OUT varchar, -- This will be passed back
v_path OUT varchar, -- This one too
v_query OUT varchar) -- And this one
is
a_pos1 integer;
a_pos2 integer;
begin
v_host := NULL;
v_path := NULL;
v_query := NULL;
a_pos1 := instr(v_url, '//'); -- PostgreSQL doesn't have an instr function
if a_pos1 = 0 then
return;
end if;
a_pos2 := instr(v_url, '/', a_pos1 + 2);
if a_pos2 = 0 then
v_host := substr(v_url, a_pos1 + 2);
v_path := '/';
return;
end if;
v_host := substr(v_url, a_pos1 + 2, a_pos2 - a_pos1 - 2);
a_pos1 := instr(v_url, '?', a_pos2 + 1);
if a_pos1 = 0 then
v_path := substr(v_url, a_pos2);
return;
end if;
v_path := substr(v_url, a_pos2, a_pos1 - a_pos2);
v_query := substr(v_url, a_pos1 + 1);
end;
/
show errors;
</programlisting>
<para>
Here is how this procedure could be translated for PostgreSQL:
<programlisting>
drop function cs_parse_url_host(varchar);
create function cs_parse_url_host(varchar) returns varchar as '
declare
v_url ALIAS FOR $1;
v_host varchar;
v_path varchar;
a_pos1 integer;
a_pos2 integer;
a_pos3 integer;
begin
v_host := NULL;
a_pos1 := instr(v_url,''//'');
if a_pos1 = 0 then
return ''''; -- Return a blank
end if;
a_pos2 := instr(v_url,''/'',a_pos1 + 2);
if a_pos2 = 0 then
v_host := substr(v_url, a_pos1 + 2);
v_path := ''/'';
return v_host;
end if;
v_host := substr(v_url, a_pos1 + 2, a_pos2 - a_pos1 - 2 );
return v_host;
end;
' language 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</para>
</example>
<note>
<para>
PostgreSQL does not have an <function>instr</function> function,
so you can work around it using a combination of other functions.
I got tired of doing this and created my own
<function>instr</function> functions that behave exactly like
Oracle's (it makes life easier). See the <xref
linkend="plpgsql-porting-appendix"> for the code.
</para>
</note>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="plpgsql-porting-procedures">
<title>
Procedures
</title>
<para>
Oracle procedures give a little more flexibility to the developer
because nothing needs to be explicitly returned, but it can be
through the use of INOUT or OUT parameters.
</para>
<para>
An example:
<programlisting>
create or replace procedure cs_create_job(v_job_id in integer)
is
a_running_job_count integer;
pragma autonomous_transaction;<co id="co.plpgsql-porting-pragma">
begin
lock table cs_jobs in exclusive mode;<co id="co.plpgsql-porting-locktable">
select count(*) into a_running_job_count from cs_jobs
where end_stamp is null;
if a_running_job_count > 0 then
commit; -- free lock<co id="co.plpgsql-porting-commit">
raise_application_error(-20000, 'Unable to create a new job: a job is currently running.');
end if;
delete from cs_active_job;
insert into cs_active_job(job_id) values(v_job_id);
begin
insert into cs_jobs(job_id, start_stamp) values(v_job_id, sysdate);
exception when dup_val_on_index then null; -- don't worry if it already exists<co id="co.plpgsql-porting-exception">
end;
commit;
end;
/
show errors
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
Procedures like this can be easily converted into PostgreSQL
functions returning an <type>INTEGER</type>. This procedure in
particular is interesting because it can teach us some things:
<calloutlist>
<callout arearefs="co.plpgsql-porting-pragma">
<para>
There is no <literal>pragma</literal> statement in PostgreSQL.
</para>
</callout>
<callout arearefs="co.plpgsql-porting-locktable">
<para>
If you do a <literal>LOCK TABLE</literal> in PL/pgSQL, the lock
will not be released until the calling transaction is finished.
</para>
</callout>
<callout arearefs="co.plpgsql-porting-commit">
<para>
You also cannot have transactions in PL/pgSQL procedures. The
entire function (and other functions called from therein) is
executed in a transaction and PostgreSQL rolls back the results if
something goes wrong. Therefore only one
<literal>BEGIN</literal> statement is allowed.
</para>
</callout>
<callout arearefs="co.plpgsql-porting-exception">
<para>
The exception when would have to be replaced by an
<literal>IF</literal> statement.
</para>
</callout>
</calloutlist>
</para>
<para>
So let's see one of the ways we could port this procedure to PL/pgSQL:
<programlisting>
drop function cs_create_job(integer);
create function cs_create_job(integer) returns integer as ' declare
v_job_id alias for $1;
a_running_job_count integer;
a_num integer;
-- pragma autonomous_transaction;
begin
lock table cs_jobs in exclusive mode;
select count(*) into a_running_job_count from cs_jobs where end_stamp is null;
if a_running_job_count > 0 then
-- commit; -- free lock
raise exception ''Unable to create a new job: a job is currently running.'';
end if;
delete from cs_active_job;
insert into cs_active_job(job_id) values(v_job_id);
SELECT count(*) into a_num FROM cs_jobs WHERE job_id=v_job_id;
IF NOT FOUND THEN -- If nothing was returned in the last query
-- This job is not in the table so lets insert it.
insert into cs_jobs(job_id, start_stamp) values(v_job_id, sysdate());
return 1;
ELSE
raise NOTICE ''Job already running.'';<co id="co.plpgsql-porting-raise">
END IF;
return 0;
end;
' language 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
<calloutlist>
<callout arearefs="co.plpgsql-porting-raise">
<para>
Notice how you can raise notices (or errors) in PL/pgSQL.
</para>
</callout>
</calloutlist>
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="plpgsql-porting-packages">
<title>
Packages
</title>
<note>
<para>
I haven't done much with packages myself, so if there are
mistakes here, please let me know.
</para>
</note>
<para>
Packages are a way Oracle gives you to encapsulate PL/SQL
statements and functions into one entity, like Java classes, where
you define methods and objects. You can access these
objects/methods with a <quote><literal>.</literal></quote>
(dot). Here is an example of an Oracle package from ACS 4 (the
<ulink url="http://www.arsdigita.com/doc/">ArsDigita Community
System</ulink>):
<programlisting>
create or replace package body acs
as
function add_user (
user_id in users.user_id%TYPE default null,
object_type in acs_objects.object_type%TYPE
default 'user',
creation_date in acs_objects.creation_date%TYPE
default sysdate,
creation_user in acs_objects.creation_user%TYPE
default null,
creation_ip in acs_objects.creation_ip%TYPE default null,
...
) return users.user_id%TYPE
is
v_user_id users.user_id%TYPE;
v_rel_id membership_rels.rel_id%TYPE;
begin
v_user_id := acs_user.new (user_id, object_type, creation_date,
creation_user, creation_ip, email,
...
return v_user_id;
end;
end acs;
/
show errors
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
We port this to PostgreSQL by creating the different objects of
the Oracle package as functions with a standard naming
convention. We have to pay attention to some other details, like
the lack of default parameters in PostgreSQL functions. The above
package would become something like this:
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION acs__add_user(integer,integer,varchar,datetime,integer,integer,...)
RETURNS integer AS '
DECLARE
user_id ALIAS FOR $1;
object_type ALIAS FOR $2;
creation_date ALIAS FOR $3;
creation_user ALIAS FOR $4;
creation_ip ALIAS FOR $5;
...
v_user_id users.user_id%TYPE;
v_rel_id membership_rels.rel_id%TYPE;
BEGIN
v_user_id := acs_user__new(user_id,object_type,creation_date,creation_user,creation_ip, ...);
...
return v_user_id;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="plpgsql-porting-other">
<title>
Other Things to Watch For
</title>
<sect3>
<title>EXECUTE</title>
<para>
The PostgreSQL version of <literal>EXECUTE</literal> works
nicely, but you have to remember to use
<function>quote_literal(TEXT)</function> and
<function>quote_string(TEXT)</function> as described in <xref
linkend="plpgsql-statements-executing-dyn-queries">. Constructs of the type
<literal>EXECUTE ''SELECT * from $1'';</literal> will not work
unless you use these functions.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="plpgsql-porting-optimization">
<title>Optimizing PL/pgSQL Functions</title>
<para>
PostgreSQL gives you two function creation modifiers to optimize
execution: <literal>iscachable</literal> (function always returns
the same result when given the same arguments) and
<literal>isstrict</literal> (function returns NULL if any
argument is NULL). Consult the <command>CREATE
FUNCTION</command> reference for details.
</para>
<para>
To make use of these optimization attributes, you have to use the
<literal>WITH</literal> modifier in your <command>CREATE
FUNCTION</command> statement. Something like:
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION foo(...) RETURNS integer AS '
...
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql'
WITH (isstrict, iscachable);
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="plpgsql-porting-appendix">
<title>
Appendix
</title>
<sect3>
<title>
Code for my <function>instr</function> functions
</title>
<comment>
This function should probably be integrated into the core.
</comment>
<programlisting>
--
-- instr functions that mimic Oracle's counterpart
-- Syntax: instr(string1,string2,[n],[m]) where [] denotes optional params.
--
-- Searches string1 beginning at the nth character for the mth
-- occurrence of string2. If n is negative, search backwards. If m is
-- not passed, assume 1 (search starts at first character).
--
-- by Roberto Mello (rmello@fslc.usu.edu)
-- modified by Robert Gaszewski (graszew@poland.com)
-- Licensed under the GPL v2 or later.
--
DROP FUNCTION instr(varchar,varchar);
CREATE FUNCTION instr(varchar,varchar) RETURNS integer AS '
DECLARE
pos integer;
BEGIN
pos:= instr($1,$2,1);
RETURN pos;
END;
' language 'plpgsql';
DROP FUNCTION instr(varchar,varchar,integer);
CREATE FUNCTION instr(varchar,varchar,integer) RETURNS integer AS '
DECLARE
string ALIAS FOR $1;
string_to_search ALIAS FOR $2;
beg_index ALIAS FOR $3;
pos integer NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
temp_str varchar;
beg integer;
length integer;
ss_length integer;
BEGIN
IF beg_index > 0 THEN
temp_str := substring(string FROM beg_index);
pos := position(string_to_search IN temp_str);
IF pos = 0 THEN
RETURN 0;
ELSE
RETURN pos + beg_index - 1;
END IF;
ELSE
ss_length := char_length(string_to_search);
length := char_length(string);
beg := length + beg_index - ss_length + 2;
WHILE beg > 0 LOOP
temp_str := substring(string FROM beg FOR ss_length);
pos := position(string_to_search IN temp_str);
IF pos > 0 THEN
RETURN beg;
END IF;
beg := beg - 1;
END LOOP;
RETURN 0;
END IF;
END;
' language 'plpgsql';
--
-- Written by Robert Gaszewski (graszew@poland.com)
-- Licensed under the GPL v2 or later.
--
DROP FUNCTION instr(varchar,varchar,integer,integer);
CREATE FUNCTION instr(varchar,varchar,integer,integer) RETURNS integer AS '
DECLARE
string ALIAS FOR $1;
string_to_search ALIAS FOR $2;
beg_index ALIAS FOR $3;
occur_index ALIAS FOR $4;
pos integer NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
occur_number integer NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
temp_str varchar;
beg integer;
i integer;
length integer;
ss_length integer;
BEGIN
IF beg_index > 0 THEN
beg := beg_index;
temp_str := substring(string FROM beg_index);
FOR i IN 1..occur_index LOOP
pos := position(string_to_search IN temp_str);
IF i = 1 THEN
beg := beg + pos - 1;
ELSE
beg := beg + pos;
END IF;
temp_str := substring(string FROM beg + 1);
END LOOP;
IF pos = 0 THEN
RETURN 0;
ELSE
RETURN beg;
END IF;
ELSE
ss_length := char_length(string_to_search);
length := char_length(string);
beg := length + beg_index - ss_length + 2;
WHILE beg > 0 LOOP
temp_str := substring(string FROM beg FOR ss_length);
pos := position(string_to_search IN temp_str);
IF pos > 0 THEN
occur_number := occur_number + 1;
IF occur_number = occur_index THEN
RETURN beg;
END IF;
END IF;
beg := beg - 1;
END LOOP;
RETURN 0;
END IF;
END;
' language 'plpgsql';
</programlisting>
</sect3>
</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>
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