I have a table tab1 with four columns col1, col2, col3 and col4.
I want to create a function like f4(a) where a is defined by user and if user types select f4(col1) he gets column tab1.col1.
Is there any way to create such function in PostgreSQL?
There is really not good reason to complicate matters with a function here.
What you should do instead:
SELECT col1 FROM tab1;
What you ask for:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION f4(_col text)
RETURNS TABLE (col_x text)
LANGUAGE plpgsql AS
$func$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY EXECUTE
format('SELECT %I FROM tab1', _col);
END
$func$;
Call:
SELECT * FROM f4('col1');
You need dynamic SQL because SQL does not allow to parameterize identifiers.
Further reading:
Using variable for fieldname in postgresql
Define table and column names as arguments in a plpgsql function?
Related
I need to create a function that will generate a table.
This table will have columns brought with several left joins.
At some point i need to filter the data based on the value of a dynamic column (i need to have: WHERE table_name.dynamic_column_name = 1)(that column has 1s and 0s, i need to keep only the 1s)
So when I 'call' the function, user should type like this: SELECT * FROM function_name(dynamic_column_name)
What i did:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION check_gap (_col_name varchar)
RETRUNS TABLE ( ... here i have several columns with their type ...)
LANGUAGE plpsql
AS $function$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY
SELECT ... a bunch of columns ...
FROM ... a bunch of tables left joined ...
WHERE _col_name = 1;
END;
$function$
;
I even tried with table_name._col_name .. though it wasn't necessary, the query (select from) works just as fine without
** I found some solutions for dynamic value but not for a dynamic column
*** I am using PostgreSQL (from DBeaver)
You need dynamic SQL for that. Pls. note that the code below is SQL injection prone.
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION check_gap (col_name varchar)
RETURNS TABLE (... several columns with their type ...) LANGUAGE plpgsql AS
$$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY EXECUTE format
(
'SELECT ... a bunch of columns ...
FROM ... a bunch of tables left joined ...
WHERE %I = 1;', col_name
);
END;
$$;
The function is created fine, but when I try to execute it, I get this error:
ERROR: relation "column1" does not exist
SQL state: 42P01
Context: SQL statement "ALTER TABLE COLUMN1 ADD COLUMN locationZM geography (POINTZM, 4326)"
PL/pgSQL function addlocationzm() line 6 at SQL statement
Code:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION addlocationZM()
RETURNS void AS
$$
DECLARE
COLUMN1 RECORD;
BEGIN
FOR COLUMN1 IN SELECT f_table_name FROM *schema*.geography_columns WHERE type LIKE 'Point%' LOOP
ALTER TABLE COLUMN1 ADD COLUMN locationZM geography (POINTZM, 4326);
END LOOP;
END;
$$
LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
SELECT addlocationZM()
I'm probably just being dumb, but I've been at this for a while now and I just can't get it. The SELECT f_table_name ... statement executed on its own returns 58 rows of a single column, each of which is the name of a table in my schema. The idea of this is to create a new column, type PointZM, in each table pulled by the SELECT.
The function would work like this:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION addlocationZM()
RETURNS void AS
$func$
DECLARE
_tbl text;
BEGIN
FOR _tbl IN
SELECT f_table_name FROM myschema.geography_columns WHERE type LIKE 'Point%'
LOOP
EXECUTE
format('ALTER TABLE %I ADD COLUMN location_zm geography(POINTZM, 4326)', _tbl);
END LOOP;
END
$func$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
Note how I use a simple text variable to simplify matters. You don't need the record to begin with.
If it's a one-time operation, use a DO command instead of creating a function:
DO
$do$
BEGIN
EXECUTE (
SELECT string_agg(
format(
'ALTER TABLE %I ADD COLUMN location_zm geography(POINTZM, 4326);'
, f_table_name)
, E'\n')
FROM myschema.geography_columns
WHERE type LIKE 'Point%'
);
END
$do$;
This is concatenating a single string comprised of all commands (separated with ;) for a single EXECUTE.
Or, especially while you are not familiar with plpgsql and dynamic SQL, just generate the commands, copy/paste the result and execute as 2nd step:
SELECT 'ALTER TABLE '
|| quote_ident(f_table_name)
|| ' ADD COLUMN locationZM geography(POINTZM, 4326);'
FROM myschema.geography_columns
WHERE type LIKE 'Point%';
(Demonstrating quote_ident() this time.)
Related:
Table name as a PostgreSQL function parameter
Aside: Unquoted CaMeL-case identifiers like locationZM or your function name addlocationZM may not be such a good idea:
Are PostgreSQL column names case-sensitive?
I have a fields table to store column information for other tables:
CREATE TABLE public.fields (
schema_name varchar(100),
table_name varchar(100),
column_text varchar(100),
column_name varchar(100),
column_type varchar(100) default 'varchar(100)',
column_visible boolean
);
And I'd like to create a function to fetch data for a specific table.
Just tried sth like this:
create or replace function public.get_table(schema_name text,
table_name text,
active boolean default true)
returns setof record as $$
declare
entity_name text default schema_name || '.' || table_name;
r record;
begin
for r in EXECUTE 'select * from ' || entity_name loop
return next r;
end loop;
return;
end
$$
language plpgsql;
With this function I have to specify columns when I call it!
select * from public.get_table('public', 'users') as dept(id int, uname text);
I want to pass schema_name and table_name as parameters to function and get record list, according to column_visible field in public.fields table.
Solution for the simple case
As explained in the referenced answers below, you can use registered (row) types, and thus implicitly declare the return type of a polymorphic function:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION public.get_table(_tbl_type anyelement)
RETURNS SETOF anyelement AS
$func$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY EXECUTE format('TABLE %s', pg_typeof(_tbl_type));
END
$func$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
Call:
SELECT * FROM public.get_table(NULL::public.users); -- note the syntax!
Returns the complete table (with all user columns).
Wait! How?
Detailed explanation in this related answer, chapter
"Various complete table types":
Refactor a PL/pgSQL function to return the output of various SELECT queries
TABLE foo is just short for SELECT * FROM foo:
Is there a shortcut for SELECT * FROM?
2 steps for completely dynamic return type
But what you are trying to do is strictly impossible in a single SQL command.
I want to pass schema_name and table_name as parameters to function and get record list, according to column_visible field in
public.fields table.
There is no direct way to return an arbitrary selection of columns (return type not known at call time) from a function - or any SQL command. SQL demands to know number, names and types of resulting columns at call time. More in the 2nd chapter of this related answer:
How do I generate a pivoted CROSS JOIN where the resulting table definition is unknown?
There are various workarounds. You could wrap the result in one of the standard document types (json, jsonb, hstore, xml).
Or you generate the query with one function call and execute the result with the next:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION public.generate_get_table(_schema_name text, _table_name text)
RETURNS text AS
$func$
SELECT format('SELECT %s FROM %I.%I'
, string_agg(quote_ident(column_name), ', ')
, schema_name
, table_name)
FROM fields
WHERE column_visible
AND schema_name = _schema_name
AND table_name = _table_name
GROUP BY schema_name, table_name
ORDER BY schema_name, table_name;
$func$ LANGUAGE sql;
Call:
SELECT public.generate_get_table('public', 'users');
This create a query of the form:
SELECT usr_id, usr FROM public.users;
Execute it in the 2nd step. (You might want to add column numbers and order columns.)
Or append \gexec in psql to execute the return value immediately. See:
How to force evaluation of subquery before joining / pushing down to foreign server
Be sure to defend against SQL injection:
INSERT with dynamic table name in trigger function
Define table and column names as arguments in a plpgsql function?
Asides
varchar(100) does not make much sense for identifiers, which are limited to 63 characters in standard Postgres:
Maximum characters in labels (table names, columns etc)
If you understand how the object identifier type regclass works, you might replace schema and table name with a singe regclass column.
I think you just need another query to get the list of columns you want.
Maybe something like (this is untested):
create or replace function public.get_table(_schema_name text, _table_name text, active boolean default true) returns setof record as $$
declare
entity_name text default schema_name || '.' || table_name;
r record;
columns varchar;
begin
-- Get the list of columns
SELECT string_agg(column_name, ', ')
INTO columns
FROM public.fields
WHERE fields.schema_name = _schema_name
AND fields.table_name = _table_name
AND fields.column_visible = TRUE;
-- Return rows from the specified table
RETURN QUERY EXECUTE 'select ' || columns || ' from ' || entity_name;
RETURN;
end
$$
language plpgsql;
Keep in mind that column/table references may need to be surrounded by double quotes if they have certain characters in them.
I implemented this function in my Postgres database: http://www.cureffi.org/2013/03/19/automatically-creating-pivot-table-column-names-in-postgresql/
Here's the function:
create or replace function xtab (tablename varchar, rowc varchar, colc varchar, cellc varchar, celldatatype varchar) returns varchar language plpgsql as $$
declare
dynsql1 varchar;
dynsql2 varchar;
columnlist varchar;
begin
-- 1. retrieve list of column names.
dynsql1 = 'select string_agg(distinct '||colc||'||'' '||celldatatype||''','','' order by '||colc||'||'' '||celldatatype||''') from '||tablename||';';
execute dynsql1 into columnlist;
-- 2. set up the crosstab query
dynsql2 = 'select * from crosstab (
''select '||rowc||','||colc||','||cellc||' from '||tablename||' group by 1,2 order by 1,2'',
''select distinct '||colc||' from '||tablename||' order by 1''
)
as ct (
'||rowc||' varchar,'||columnlist||'
);';
return dynsql2;
end
$$;
So now I can call the function:
select xtab('globalpayments','month','currency','(sum(total_fees)/sum(txn_amount)*100)::decimal(48,2)','text');
Which returns (because the return type of the function is varchar):
select * from crosstab (
'select month,currency,(sum(total_fees)/sum(txn_amount)*100)::decimal(48,2)
from globalpayments
group by 1,2
order by 1,2'
, 'select distinct currency
from globalpayments
order by 1'
) as ct ( month varchar,CAD text,EUR text,GBP text,USD text );
How can I get this function to not only generate the code for the dynamic crosstab, but also execute the result? I.e., the result when I manually copy/paste/execute is this. But I want it to execute without that extra step: the function shall assemble the dynamic query and execute it:
Edit 1
This function comes close, but I need it to return more than just the first column of the first record
Taken from: Are there any way to execute a query inside the string value (like eval) in PostgreSQL?
create or replace function eval( sql text ) returns text as $$
declare
as_txt text;
begin
if sql is null then return null ; end if ;
execute sql into as_txt ;
return as_txt ;
end;
$$ language plpgsql
usage: select * from eval($$select * from analytics limit 1$$)
However it just returns the first column of the first record :
eval
----
2015
when the actual result looks like this:
Year, Month, Date, TPV_USD
---- ----- ------ --------
2016, 3, 2016-03-31, 100000
What you ask for is impossible. SQL is a strictly typed language. PostgreSQL functions need to declare a return type (RETURNS ..) at the time of creation.
A limited way around this is with polymorphic functions. If you can provide the return type at the time of the function call. But that's not evident from your question.
Refactor a PL/pgSQL function to return the output of various SELECT queries
You can return a completely dynamic result with anonymous records. But then you are required to provide a column definition list with every call. And how do you know about the returned columns? Catch 22.
There are various workarounds, depending on what you need or can work with. Since all your data columns seem to share the same data type, I suggest to return an array: text[]. Or you could return a document type like hstore or json. Related:
Dynamic alternative to pivot with CASE and GROUP BY
Dynamically convert hstore keys into columns for an unknown set of keys
But it might be simpler to just use two calls: 1: Let Postgres build the query. 2: Execute and retrieve returned rows.
Selecting multiple max() values using a single SQL statement
I would not use the function from Eric Minikel as presented in your question at all. It is not safe against SQL injection by way of maliciously malformed identifiers. Use format() to build query strings unless you are running an outdated version older than Postgres 9.1.
A shorter and cleaner implementation could look like this:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION xtab(_tbl regclass, _row text, _cat text
, _expr text -- still vulnerable to SQL injection!
, _type regtype)
RETURNS text
LANGUAGE plpgsql AS
$func$
DECLARE
_cat_list text;
_col_list text;
BEGIN
-- generate categories for xtab param and col definition list
EXECUTE format(
$$SELECT string_agg(quote_literal(x.cat), '), (')
, string_agg(quote_ident (x.cat), %L)
FROM (SELECT DISTINCT %I AS cat FROM %s ORDER BY 1) x$$
, ' ' || _type || ', ', _cat, _tbl)
INTO _cat_list, _col_list;
-- generate query string
RETURN format(
'SELECT * FROM crosstab(
$q$SELECT %I, %I, %s
FROM %I
GROUP BY 1, 2 -- only works if the 3rd column is an aggregate expression
ORDER BY 1, 2$q$
, $c$VALUES (%5$s)$c$
) ct(%1$I text, %6$s %7$s)'
, _row, _cat, _expr -- expr must be an aggregate expression!
, _tbl, _cat_list, _col_list, _type);
END
$func$;
Same function call as your original version. The function crosstab() is provided by the additional module tablefunc which has to be installed. Basics:
PostgreSQL Crosstab Query
This handles column and table names safely. Note the use of object identifier types regclass and regtype. Also works for schema-qualified names.
Table name as a PostgreSQL function parameter
However, it is not completely safe while you pass a string to be executed as expression (_expr - cellc in your original query). This kind of input is inherently unsafe against SQL injection and should never be exposed to the general public.
SQL injection in Postgres functions vs prepared queries
Scans the table only once for both lists of categories and should be a bit faster.
Still can't return completely dynamic row types since that's strictly not possible.
Not quite impossible, you can still execute it (from a query execute the string and return SETOF RECORD.
Then you have to specify the return record format. The reason in this case is that the planner needs to know the return format before it can make certain decisions (materialization comes to mind).
So in this case you would EXECUTE the query, return the rows and return SETOF RECORD.
For example, we could do something like this with a wrapper function but the same logic could be folded into your function:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION crosstab_wrapper
(tablename varchar, rowc varchar, colc varchar,
cellc varchar, celldatatype varchar)
returns setof record language plpgsql as $$
DECLARE outrow record;
BEGIN
FOR outrow IN EXECUTE xtab($1, $2, $3, $4, $5)
LOOP
RETURN NEXT outrow
END LOOP;
END;
$$;
Then you supply the record structure on calling the function just like you do with crosstab.
Then when you all the query you would have to supply a record structure (as (col1 type, col2 type, etc) like you do with connectby.
How to create a function in postgresql with tablename as argument and the function returns the result set of table which is passed as argument for the query "select * from TABLE". Here the TABLE is the argument passed to the function.
What you want is possible but completely and utterly useless.
The function you were asking for is this:
CREATE FUNCTION selectall(tbl name) RETURNS SETOF record AS $$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY EXECUTE format('SELECT * FROM %I', tbl);
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
You need a set returning function (SRF) because a table may have multiple rows. It needs to return record because different tables return different sets of columns. You can not use this SRF in a select list:
test=# SELECT selectall('student');
ERROR: set-valued function called in context that cannot accept a set
CONTEXT: PL/pgSQL function selectall(name) line 3 at RETURN QUERY
You can use it as a row source, but then the query becomes longer than a simple SELECT * FROM student. You can not use it just like so:
test=# SELECT * FROM selectall('student');
ERROR: a column definition list is required for functions returning "record"
LINE 1: SELECT * FROM selectall('student');
You can only use it by specifying an alias and column definitions:
test=# SELECT * FROM selectall('student') AS t(id int, first_name text, col3 boolean, ...);
Now compare that to:
test=# SELECT * FROM student;