Example: I am passing two parameters to function namely n(case number) and tname(table name), and want to display rows accordingly.
--Table "testing"
create table testing
(
rollno integer,
fname text,
lname text,
age integer,
branch text,
phno integer,
email text,
address text,
city text,
state text,
country text
)
--Rows insertion
insert into testing values(1,'aaa','bbb',25,'CS',1234567890,'abc#gmail.com','sector1','xyz','zyx','yxz');
insert into testing values(2,'zzz','xxx',25,'EE',987654321,'zzz#gmail.com','sector2','uvw','wvu','vuw');
--Function "f1()"
create or replace function f1(n integer,tname varchar)/*n for case number and tname for table name */
returns setof tname as
$body$
begin
case n
when 1 then
return query execute format ($$ select rollno,fname from %I $$,tname);
when 2 then
return query execute format ($$ select lname,age,branch from %I $$,tname);
when 3 then
return query execute format ($$ select phno,email,address,city,country from %I $$,tname);
end case;
end
$body$
language plpgsql;
--Function calling
select * from f1(1,'testing');
/*Show only case "1" select query result*/
select * from f1(2,'testing');
/*Show only case "2" select query result*/
select * from f1(3,'testing');
/*Show only case "3" select query result*/
While Craig is correct that return types cannot be dynamic in function declarations, there is a way around this with polymorphic types. This is surprisingly simple and would actually work flawlessly:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION data_of(_tbl_type anyelement)
RETURNS SETOF anyelement AS
$func$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY EXECUTE 'SELECT * FROM '|| pg_typeof(_tbl_type);
END
$func$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
Call (important!):
SELECT rollno,fname FROM data_of(NULL::testing);
SELECT * FROM data_of(NULL::my_schema.my_table);
SELECT * FROM data_of(NULL::my_custom_type);
What you need is a well-known type. For every table there is a well-known type automatically. But you can create any type, cast NULL to it and pass it to the function. This way you can build exactly what you have in your question ...
Related answer with a lot more details:
Refactor a PL/pgSQL function to return the output of various SELECT queries
Related
I'm trying to use a plgSQL witch return me a record type :
CREATE FUNCTION actu(id INTEGER) RETURNS RECORD AS $$
DECLARE
ret RECORD;
BEGIN
SELECT id_photo, id_user, lien, titre
FROM photo
WHERE id_user IN (
SELECT id_userabo
FROM abo
WHERE id_user = id )
ORDER BY date_publi DESC LIMIT 10;
RETURN ret;
END;$$
LANGUAGE plpgsql;
When I'm trying to use it with :
SELECT * FROM actu(4)
AS (id_photo Integer, id_photo Integer, lien Varchar, titre Varchar);
pgAdmin4 send me error :
ERROR: ERROR: the request has no destination for the resulting data
HINT: If you want to cancel the results of a SELECT, use PERFORM instead.
CONTEXT: PL/pgsql function fil_actu(integer), line 5 with SQL statement
The immediate error is, that the result of a select statement needs to be stored somewhere (that's what the error says). You would need to use select .. into ret from ... to store the result, but that wouldn't work as a variable of type record can only store one row from a result.
You apparently want to return more than just one row, so you need to define the function as returns table() and then use return query in PL/pgSQL to return the result of a query. But for a simple function encapsulating a SELECT query, a language sql function is more efficient.
CREATE FUNCTION actu(id INTEGER)
-- adjust the data types for the returned columns!
RETURNS table (id_photo int, id_user int, lien text, titre text)
AS $$
SELECT id_photo, id_user, lien, titre
FROM photo
WHERE id_user IN (SELECT id_userabo
FROM abo
WHERE id_user = id )
ORDER BY date_publi DESC
LIMIT 10;
$$
LANGUAGE sql;
You can use that function like this:
select *
from actu(42);
You may define those types inside the function, but with different names for the types. The return type can be a TABLE type and use RETURN QUERY to return the results.
CREATE FUNCTION actu(id INTEGER) RETURNS TABLE
(typ_id_photo Integer, typ_id_user Integer, typ_lien Varchar, typ_titre Varchar)
AS $$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY
SELECT id_photo, id_user, lien, titre
FROM photo p
WHERE id_user IN (SELECT id_userabo
FROM abo
WHERE id_user = id )
ORDER BY date_publi DESC
LIMIT 10;
END;$$
LANGUAGE plpgsql;
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.
Can we able to use SELECT statement within CASE conditional expression in function?
I have tried the following function to accomplish the above task.
Example: I have a function which is used to display table containing some rows.
create or replace function test(n integer)
returns table (name text,city text) as
$body$
begin
case n when 1 then
select * from table1
when 2 then
select * from table2
when 3 then
select * from view1
end;
end;
$body$
language plpgsql;
--Calling function
select * from test(1);
/*have to show details of table1*/
select * from test(2);
/*have to show details of table2*/
select * from test(3);
/*have to display details of view1*/
Actually, there is a plpgsql CASE statement, not to be confused with the SQL CASE expression:
CREATE OR REPLACE function test(n integer)
RETURNS TABLE (name text, city text) AS
$func$
BEGIN
CASE n
WHEN 1 THEN
RETURN QUERY SELECT t.name, t.city FROM table1 t;
WHEN 2 THEN
RETURN QUERY SELECT t.foo, t.bar FROM table2 t;
WHEN 3 THEN
RETURN QUERY SELECT t.bar, t.bamm FROM view1 t;
END CASE;
END
$func$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
If you declare your function as RETURNS TABLE (name text, city text), then your SELECT statements should have a column list with matching types.
If on the other hand you want to SELECT *, declare the function as RETURNS SETOF table1 accordingly.
When naming columns in the return type, those variable are visible in the function body. Be sure to table-qualify column names that would conflict with same names. So t.name instead of just name.
Column names from queries inside the function are not visible outside. Only the declared return type. So names don't have to match, just data types.
Either way, I suggest to simplify things:
CREATE OR REPLACE function test(n integer)
RETURNS SETOF table1 AS
$func$
SELECT * FROM table1 t WHERE n = 1
UNION ALL
SELECT * FROM table2 t WHERE n = 2
UNION ALL
SELECT * FROM view1 t WHERE n = 3;
$func$ LANGUAGE sql;
Same result. Just as fast. SQL or PL/pgSQL function is a matter of taste and some other details. PL/pgSQL is probably faster for stand-alone calls. SQL can more easily be nested.
For this you need an IF statement and RETURN QUERY, e.g.
create or replace function test(n integer)
returns table (name text,city text) as
$body$
begin
IF n = 1 THEN
RETURN QUERY select * from table1;
ELIF n = 2 THEN
RETURN QUERY select * from table2;
ELIF n = 3 THEN
RETURN QUERY select * from view1;
END IF;
end;
$body$
language plpgsql;
It's a very weird thing to want to do, though.
I have spent good amount of time trying to figure it out and I haven't been able to resolve it. So, I need your help please.
I am trying to write a PL/pgSQL function that returns multiple rows. The function I wrote is shown below. But it is not working.
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION get_object_fields()
RETURNS SETOF RECORD
AS
$$
DECLARE result_record keyMetrics;
BEGIN
return QUERY SELECT department_id into result_record.visits
from fact_department_daily
where report_date='2013-06-07';
--return result_record;
END
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
SELECT * FROM get_object_fields;
It is returning this error:
ERROR: RETURN cannot have a parameter in function returning set;
use RETURN NEXT at or near "QUERY"
After fixing the bugs #Pavel pointed out, also define your return type properly, or you have to provide a column definition list with every call.
This call:
SELECT * FROM get_object_fields()
... assumes that Postgres knows how to expand *. Since you are returning anonymous records, you get an exception:
ERROR: a column definition list is required for functions returning "record"
One way (of several) to fix this is with RETURNS TABLE (Postgres 8.4+):
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION get_object_fields()
RETURNS TABLE (department_id int) AS
$func$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY
SELECT department_id
FROM fact_department_daily
WHERE report_date = '2013-06-07';
END
$func$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
Works for SQL functions just the same.
Related:
PostgreSQL: ERROR: 42601: a column definition list is required for functions returning "record"
I see more bugs:
first, a SET RETURNING FUNCTIONS call has following syntax
SELECT * FROM get_object_fields()
second - RETURN QUERY forwards query result to output directly. You cannot store this result to variable - it is not possible ever in PostgreSQL now.
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY SELECT ....; -- result is forwarded to output directly
RETURN; -- there will not be any next result, finish execution
END;
third - these simple functions is better to implement in SQL languages
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION get_object_fields()
RETURNS SETOF RECORD AS $$
SELECT department_id WHERE ...
$$ LANGUAGE sql STABLE;
Here's one way
drop function if exists get_test_type();
drop type if exists test_comp;
drop type if exists test_type;
drop type if exists test_person;
create type test_type as (
foo int,
bar int
);
create type test_person as (
first_name text,
last_name text
);
create type test_comp as
(
prop_a test_type[],
prop_b test_person[]
);
create or replace function get_test_type()
returns test_comp
as $$
declare
a test_type[];
b test_person[];
x test_comp;
begin
a := array(
select row (m.message_id, m.message_id)
from message m
);
-- alternative 'strongly typed'
b := array[
row('Bob', 'Jones')::test_person,
row('Mike', 'Reid')::test_person
]::test_person[];
-- alternative 'loosely typed'
b := array[
row('Bob', 'Jones'),
row('Mike', 'Reid')
];
-- using a select
b := array (
select row ('Jake', 'Scott')
union all
select row ('Suraksha', 'Setty')
);
x := row(a, b);
return x;
end;
$$
language 'plpgsql' stable;
select * from get_test_type();
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION get_object_fields()
RETURNS table (department_id integer)
AS
$$
DECLARE result_record keyMetrics;
BEGIN
return QUERY
SELECT department_id
from fact_department_daily
where report_date='2013-06-07';
--return result_record;
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
SELECT * FROM get_object_fields()