stored procedure: RETURNS record

On 25 Sep 2009, at 18:34, InterRob wrote:

Unfortunately, this results in ONE row, with ONE column. E.g.:

MYDB=# select * from (SELECT deserialize(kvp) FROM kvp) ss;
deserialize
-----------
(1,2)
(1 row)

I guess I am seeking to prototype the anonymous row layout in the
above SQL statement?

I'm not entirely sure about the syntax in your case, but I think
you're looking for:

MYDB=# select * from (SELECT deserialize(kvp) FROM kvp) ss (a int, b
int);

If that doesn't work, it's based on how you normally select from a
record-returning function, namely:
MYDB=# SELECT * FROM deserialize('some string') AS ss (a int, b int);

You may need to call it like this though:
MYDB=# select * from (SELECT (deserialize(kvp)).a, (deserialize
(kvp)).b FROM kvp) ss (a int, b int);

In that case your function better not be volatile or it will be
evaluated twice.

Alban Hertroys

--
If you can't see the forest for the trees,
cut the trees and you'll see there is no forest.

!DSPAM:737,4abd04ce11682030514312!

Still no luck... To clarify a bit, take this example:

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION transpose()
RETURNS record AS
$BODY$ DECLARE
output RECORD;
BEGIN
SELECT * INTO output FROM (VALUES(1,2)) as tbl(first,second);
RETURN output;

END;$BODY$
LANGUAGE 'plpgsql' STABLE
COST 100;

Now, I expect to have 2 columns; named "first" and "second". However, like
posted before, the flowing query:
SELECT * FROM deserialize();
produces only ONE column (in one row, as one would clearly expect from the
function's defnition):
deserialize
-----------
(1,2)
(1 row)

Any thoughts on how to make sure multiple columns are returned; without
specifying this in the function's prototype return clause?

Thanks,

Rob

2009/9/25 Alban Hertroys <dalroi@solfertje.student.utwente.nl>

Rob Marjot <rob@marjot-multisoft.com> writes:

Any thoughts on how to make sure multiple columns are returned; without
specifying this in the function's prototype return clause?

If you want "SELECT * FROM" to expand to multiple columns, the names
and types of those columns *must* be available at parse time. You
can either declare them in the function prototype, or you can supply
them in the function call, a la

select * from my_func(...) as x(a int, b int);

It will not work to hope that the parser can predict what the function
will do when executed.

regards, tom lane

On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 2:40 PM, Rob Marjot <rob@marjot-multisoft.com> wrote:

Still no luck... To clarify a bit, take this example:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION transpose()
  RETURNS record AS
$BODY$ DECLARE
   output RECORD;
 BEGIN
   SELECT * INTO output FROM (VALUES(1,2)) as tbl(first,second);
   RETURN output;
 END;$BODY$
  LANGUAGE 'plpgsql' STABLE
  COST 100;
Now, I expect to have 2 columns; named "first" and "second". However, like
posted before, the flowing query:
SELECT * FROM deserialize();
produces only ONE column (in one row, as one would clearly expect from the
function's defnition):
 deserialize
-----------
 (1,2)
(1 row)

Any thoughts on how to make sure multiple columns are returned; without
specifying this in the function's prototype return clause?

In a sense, what you are asking is impossible. Having a function (even
a C one) return 'record' does not get you out of having to define the
output columns...either in the function definition with 'out' or as
part of the calling query. Depending on what you are trying to do,
this could either matter a little or a lot. If it matters, why don't
you post some more details of the context of your problem and see if a
better solution can be found?

merlin

Thank you for your response; I understand the information provided was
somewhat limited; I am happy to provide a bit more though: I notice you guys
have quite experience modeling data...
What I am trying to do is: building views on a base table, extended by one
or more columns, extracted (hence the naming of the function
"deserialize()") from a SINGLE column (XML) **that is in this same base
table** (see below). Instructions for deserialization (that is: which
'fields' to look for) reside in some other table. There are MULTIPLE base
tables, they basically look like this:

[table definition:]
BASETABLE(ID INT, model TEXT, field1 some_type, field2 some_type, ... fieldN
some_type, serialized_data XML)

So, I wish to define multiple VIEWs based on a BASETABLE; one for each
"model" (as stated in the above table definition: "model" is a property for
each row). This QUERY would look like this (producing a VIEW for "MODEL1";
the query below in invalid, unfortunately):

SELECT base_t.*, deserialized.* FROM "BASETABLE" base_t,

deserialize('MODEL1', base_t) as deserialized(fieldX some_type, fieldY
some_type) WHERE base_t.model = 'MODEL1';

I have no problem with the requirement to supply the table type in the
query; infact this is logical. Still, this query is impossible, obviously,
because "base_t" as a target is not known in the context of the FROM-clause,
where I whish to use it in calling "deserialize(...)". Ofcourse, I could
write a "deserialize()" function for each base table (e.g.
"deserialize_base1(...)") but I wish it to perform it's action on only rows
that will actually be part of the result set; thus I want the WHERE-clause
to apply to the function's seq scan álso. When provided, I whish to
incorporated the user's WHERE-clause as well; this is done by the PostgreSQL
RULE system...

Alternatively, the VIEW could be defined by the following query:

SELECT base_t.*, (deserialize('MODEL1', base_t) as temp(fieldX some_type,

field_Y some_type)).* FROM "BASETABLE" base_t WHERE base_t.model = 'MODEL1';

This approach does not work either: deserialize(...) will return its set of
fields as ONE field (comma separated, circumfixed by brackets); expressions
within a SELECT-list seem to be only allowed to result in ONE column, except
from the * shorthand...

** So, the question is: how can i feed my "deserialize()" function with a
record subset (e.g. filter by a WHERE-clause) of the BASETABLE, while still
returning a record?!? **

I tried the following approach also:

SELECT (SELECT fieldX FROM deserialize(base_t) deserialized(fieldX

some_type, fieldY some_type)) "fieldX", (SELECT fieldY FROM
deserialize(base_t) deserialized(fieldX some_type, fieldY some_type))
"fieldY" FROM "BASETABLE" table_t WHERE model= 'MODEL1';

Which infact worked, but caused the function to get invoked TWICE FOR EACH
ROW (even when marked IMMUTABLE STRICT; or did I have to flush cached query
plans in psql?).

Another approach would be to put all key/value pairs into a separate table
(as one would do when implementing a EAV-model within a RDBMS) which is then
to be joined (and joined again... and possibly again (!); in case of
MULTIPLE additional rows -- depending on the definition of the VIEW) onto
the BASETABLE, rather than to deserialize from XML which is stored within
the same record... How does this approach then actually translate in terms
of table scans? Will they be limited by the filter on the BASETABLE, as the
available values to join on will be limited? At any rate: this approach will
be more difficult to implement / maintain in case of EDITABLE VIEWS
(inserts, update, delete)...

Hope any of you has some useful thoughts on this... It appears to me
updating the additional (virtual) fields in the BASETABLE is much easier:
the "serialize()"-function can be fed by a list of key/value pairs,
producing some XML that can be stored in the xml field of "serialized_data",
part of this same base table...
All this needs to be implemented fully in the database back-end; client
application will not know they are talking to VIEWS rather than tables...
Thus: the hosted database must simulate to provide various tables, whereas
these are in fact stored in a limited number of base tables.

Thanks in advance, you guys out there!

Rob

2009/9/26 Merlin Moncure <mmoncure@gmail.com>

Thank you for your response; I understand the information provided was
somewhat limited; I am happy to provide a bit more though: I notice you guys
have quite experience modeling data...
What I am trying to do is: building views on a base table, extended by one
or more columns, extracted (hence the naming of the function
"deserialize()") from a SINGLE column (XML) **that is in this same base
table** (see below). Instructions for deserialization (that is: which
'fields' to look for) reside in some other table. There are MULTIPLE base
tables, they basically look like this:

[table definition:]
BASETABLE(ID INT, model TEXT, field1 some_type, field2 some_type, ... fieldN
some_type, serialized_data XML)

So, I wish to define multiple VIEWs based on a BASETABLE; one for each
"model" (as stated in the above table definition: "model" is a property for
each row). This QUERY would look like this (producing a VIEW for "MODEL1";
the query below in invalid, unfortunately):

SELECT base_t.*, deserialized.* FROM "BASETABLE" base_t,

deserialize('MODEL1', base_t) as deserialized(fieldX some_type, fieldY
some_type) WHERE base_t.model = 'MODEL1';

I have no problem with the requirement to supply the table type in the
query; infact this is logical. Still, this query is impossible, obviously,
because "base_t" as a target is not known in the context of the FROM-clause,
where I whish to use it in calling "deserialize(...)". Ofcourse, I could
write a "deserialize()" function for each base table (e.g.
"deserialize_base1(...)") but I wish it to perform it's action on only rows
that will actually be part of the result set; thus I want the WHERE-clause
to apply to the function's seq scan álso. When provided, I whish to
incorporated the user's WHERE-clause as well; this is done by the PostgreSQL
RULE system...

Alternatively, the VIEW could be defined by the following query:

SELECT base_t.*, (deserialize('MODEL1', base_t) as temp(fieldX some_type,

field_Y some_type)).* FROM "BASETABLE" base_t WHERE base_t.model = 'MODEL1';

This approach does not work either: deserialize(...) will return its set of
fields as ONE field (comma separated, circumfixed by brackets); expressions
within a SELECT-list seem to be only allowed to result in ONE column, except
from the * shorthand...

** So, the question is: how can i feed my "deserialize()" function with a
record subset (e.g. filter by a WHERE-clause) of the BASETABLE, while still
returning a record?!? **

I tried the following approach also:

SELECT (SELECT fieldX FROM deserialize(base_t) deserialized(fieldX

some_type, fieldY some_type)) "fieldX", (SELECT fieldY FROM
deserialize(base_t) deserialized(fieldX some_type, fieldY some_type))
"fieldY" FROM "BASETABLE" table_t WHERE model= 'MODEL1';

Which infact worked, but caused the function to get invoked TWICE FOR EACH
ROW (even when marked IMMUTABLE STRICT; or did I have to flush cached query
plans in psql?).

Another approach would be to put all key/value pairs into a separate table
(as one would do when implementing a EAV-model within a RDBMS) which is then
to be joined (and joined again... and possibly again (!); in case of
MULTIPLE additional rows -- depending on the definition of the VIEW) onto
the BASETABLE, rather than to deserialize from XML which is stored within
the same record... How does this approach then actually translate in terms
of table scans? Will they be limited by the filter on the BASETABLE, as the
available values to join on will be limited? At any rate: this approach will
be more difficult to implement / maintain in case of EDITABLE VIEWS
(inserts, update, delete)...

Hope any of you has some useful thoughts on this... It appears to me
updating the additional (virtual) fields in the BASETABLE is much easier:
the "serialize()"-function can be fed by a list of key/value pairs,
producing some XML that can be stored in the xml field of "serialized_data",
part of this same base table...
All this needs to be implemented fully in the database back-end; client
application will not know they are talking to VIEWS rather than tables...
Thus: the hosted database must simulate to provide various tables, whereas
these are in fact stored in a limited number of base tables.

Thanks in advance, you guys out there!

Rob

2009/9/26 Merlin Moncure <mmoncure@gmail.com>