Return setof record (virtual table) from function
Solution 1
(This is all tested with postgresql 8.3.7-- do you have an earlier version? just looking at your use of "ALIAS FOR $1")
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION storeopeninghours_tostring(numeric)
RETURNS SETOF RECORD AS $$
DECLARE
open_id ALIAS FOR $1;
result RECORD;
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY SELECT '1', '2', '3';
RETURN QUERY SELECT '3', '4', '5';
RETURN QUERY SELECT '3', '4', '5';
END
$$;
If you have a record or row variable to return (instead of a query result), use "RETURN NEXT" rather than "RETURN QUERY".
To invoke the function you need to do something like:
select * from storeopeninghours_tostring(1) f(a text, b text, c text);
So you have to define what you expect the output row schema of the function to be in the query. To avoid that, you can specify output variables in the function definition:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION storeopeninghours_tostring(open_id numeric, a OUT text, b OUT text, c OUT text)
RETURNS SETOF RECORD LANGUAGE 'plpgsql' STABLE STRICT AS $$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY SELECT '1'::text, '2'::text, '3'::text;
RETURN QUERY SELECT '3'::text, '4'::text, '5'::text;
RETURN QUERY SELECT '3'::text, '4'::text, '5'::text;
END
$$;
(not quite sure why the extra ::text casts are required... '1' is a varchar by default maybe?)
Solution 2
All previously existing answers are outdated or were inefficient to begin with.
Assuming you want to return three integer
columns.
PL/pgSQL function
Here's how you do it with modern PL/pgSQL (PostgreSQL 8.4 or later):
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION f_foo() -- (open_id numeric) -- parameter not used
RETURNS TABLE (a int, b int, c int) AS
$func$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY VALUES
(1,2,3)
, (3,4,5)
, (3,4,5)
;
END
$func$ LANGUAGE plpgsql IMMUTABLE ROWS 3;
In Postgres 9.6 or later you can also add PARALLEL SAFE
.
Call:
SELECT * FROM f_foo();
Major points
Use
RETURNS TABLE
to define an ad-hoc row type to return.
OrRETURNS SETOF mytbl
to use a pre-defined row type.Use
RETURN QUERY
to return multiple rows with one command.Use a
VALUES
expression to enter multiple rows manually. This is standard SQL and has been around for ever.If you actually need a parameter, use a parameter name
(open_id numeric)
instead ofALIAS
, which is discouraged. In the example the parameter wasn't used and just noise ...No need for double-quoting perfectly legal identifiers. Double-quotes are only needed to force otherwise illegal names (mixed-case, illegal characters or reserved words).
Function volatility can be
IMMUTABLE
, since the result never changes.ROWS 3
is optional, but since we know how many rows are returned, we might as well declare it to Postgres. Can help the query planner to pick the best plan.
Simple SQL
For a simple case like this, you can use a plain SQL statement instead:
VALUES (1,2,3), (3,4,5), (3,4,5)
Or, if you want (or have) to define specific column names and types:
SELECT *
FROM (
VALUES (1::int, 2::int, 3::int)
, (3, 4, 5)
, (3, 4, 5)
) AS t(a, b, c);
SQL function
You can wrap it into a simple SQL function instead:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION f_foo()
RETURNS TABLE (a int, b int, c int) AS
$func$
VALUES (1, 2, 3)
, (3, 4, 5)
, (3, 4, 5);
$func$ LANGUAGE sql IMMUTABLE ROWS 3;
Solution 3
I use temporary tables quite a bit in my functions. You need to create a return type on the database and then create a variable of that type to return. Below is sample code that does just that.
CREATE TYPE storeopeninghours_tostring_rs AS
(colone text,
coltwo text,
colthree text
);
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION "public"."storeopeninghours_tostring" () RETURNS setof storeopeninghours_tostring_rs AS
$BODY$
DECLARE
returnrec storeopeninghours_tostring_rs;
BEGIN
BEGIN
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE tmpopeninghours (
colone text,
coltwo text,
colthree text
);
EXCEPTION WHEN OTHERS THEN
TRUNCATE TABLE tmpopeninghours; -- TRUNCATE if the table already exists within the session.
END;
insert into tmpopeninghours VALUES ('1', '2', '3');
insert into tmpopeninghours VALUES ('3', '4', '5');
insert into tmpopeninghours VALUES ('3', '4', '5');
FOR returnrec IN SELECT * FROM tmpopeninghours LOOP
RETURN NEXT returnrec;
END LOOP;
END;
$BODY$
LANGUAGE 'plpgsql' VOLATILE;
select * from storeopeninghours_tostring()
Solution 4
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION foo(open_id numeric, OUT p1 varchar, OUT p2 varchar, OUT p3 varchar) RETURNS SETOF RECORD AS $$
BEGIN
p1 := '1'; p2 := '2'; p3 := '3';
RETURN NEXT;
p1 := '3'; p2 := '4'; p3 := '5';
RETURN NEXT;
p1 := '3'; p2 := '4'; p3 := '5';
RETURN NEXT;
RETURN;
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
Solution 5
To those who have landed here looking for the MSSQL equivalent of creating a temp table and dumping out its records as your return... that doesn't exist in PostgreSQL :( - you must define the return type. There are two ways to do this, at the time of the function creation or at the time of the query creation.
See here: http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Return_more_than_one_row_of_data_from_PL/pgSQL_functions
David
Updated on July 09, 2022Comments
-
David almost 2 years
I need a Postgres function to return a virtual table (like in Oracle) with custom content. The table would have 3 columns and an unknown number of rows.
I just couldn't find the correct syntax on the internet.
Imagine this:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION "public"."storeopeninghours_tostring" (numeric) RETURNS setof record AS DECLARE open_id ALIAS FOR $1; returnrecords setof record; BEGIN insert into returnrecords('1', '2', '3'); insert into returnrecords('3', '4', '5'); insert into returnrecords('3', '4', '5'); RETURN returnrecords; END;
How is this written correctly?
-
sam yi about 12 yearsselect * from storeopeninghours_tostring(1) f(a text, b text, c text); what does "f(" do? i tried replacing f with d and other characters and they all seem to work....
-
araqnid about 12 years
f(
simply names the result set from the function-- just like aliasing a table in the "from" clause. -
David S over 11 yearsI like this solution. Then you can easily sort the results before returning, etc.