Fix psql pager selection for wrapped expanded output

On Jun 12, 2026, at 18:01, Chao Li <li.evan.chao@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi,

While testing “[27da1a796] Improve psql's ability to select pager mode accurately”, I found that the pager doesn’t work for expanded wrapped mode. However, I realized that this is not a new problem introduced by 27da1a796, it didn’t work before 27da1a796 either. Instead, with 27da1a796, we are almost there to make it work.

27da1a796 introduces a new helper count_table_lines(), that takes a per-column-width array. For expanded mode (vertical mode), all columns use the same data width. So we can simply build such a width_wrap array, and move IsPagerNeeded() to after dwidth is computed. Then the pager works in expanded wrapped mode.

I tested with this procedure (making the terminal small with ~30 rows):
```
\pset pager on
\pset columns 25
\pset expanded on
\pset format wrapped
select g AS id, 'name_' || g AS name, repeat('x', g * 5) AS payload from generate_series(1, 10) AS g;
```
See the attached patch for details. I’m not going to add this to the v19 open items, as it’s not a v19-new bug.

Best regards,
--
Chao Li (Evan)
HighGo Software Co., Ltd.
https://www.highgo.com/

<v1-0001-Fix-psql-pager-selection-for-wrapped-expanded-out.patch>

This is simpler repro:
```
\pset pager on
\pset format wrapped
\pset expanded on
\pset columns 5
SELECT repeat('x',100) AS payload;
```

My terminal size:
```
evantest=# \! stty size
27 170
```

BTW, I also ran into another issue that confused me. After changing print.c, running make from the source root didn’t rebuild psql. I had to run "make clean" and rebuild everything. Is that known or intentional?

Best regards,
--
Chao Li (Evan)
HighGo Software Co., Ltd.
https://www.highgo.com/

On 2026-Jun-12, Chao Li wrote:

BTW, I also ran into another issue that confused me. After changing
print.c, running make from the source root didn’t rebuild psql. I had
to run "make clean" and rebuild everything. Is that known or
intentional?

Do you use "configure --enable-depend"? If not, then I think you're
pretty much expected to do "make clean" or similar before every single
file change. I think this as a very developer unfriendly environment,
so I always use configure --enable-depend. (Well, except when on Meson
of course, which is what I normally use for most recent branches.)

--
Álvaro Herrera Breisgau, Deutschland — https://www.EnterpriseDB.com/
Thou shalt check the array bounds of all strings (indeed, all arrays), for
surely where thou typest "foo" someone someday shall type
"supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (5th Commandment for C programmers)

On Jun 12, 2026, at 22:44, Álvaro Herrera <alvherre@kurilemu.de> wrote:

On 2026-Jun-12, Chao Li wrote:

BTW, I also ran into another issue that confused me. After changing
print.c, running make from the source root didn’t rebuild psql. I had
to run "make clean" and rebuild everything. Is that known or
intentional?

Do you use "configure --enable-depend"? If not, then I think you're
pretty much expected to do "make clean" or similar before every single
file change. I think this as a very developer unfriendly environment,
so I always use configure --enable-depend. (Well, except when on Meson
of course, which is what I normally use for most recent branches.)

--
Álvaro Herrera Breisgau, Deutschland — https://www.EnterpriseDB.com/
Thou shalt check the array bounds of all strings (indeed, all arrays), for
surely where thou typest "foo" someone someday shall type
"supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (5th Commandment for C programmers)

I’m using --enable-depend. I have this configure command in my notes, and I always copy it when I need to reconfigure:
```
./configure --enable-debug --enable-cassert --enable-tap-tests --enable-depend --with-python --enable-injection-points
```

I just looked into the problem. After changing print.c, only libpgfeutils.a is rebuilt. psql runs submake-libpgfeutils, but it does not have libpgfeutils.a as a normal prerequisite, so it is not relinked when the archive changes.

I made a simple change like this:
```
diff --git a/src/bin/psql/Makefile b/src/bin/psql/Makefile
index be0032652cd..d12bcfcc660 100644
--- a/src/bin/psql/Makefile
+++ b/src/bin/psql/Makefile
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ REFDOCDIR= $(top_srcdir)/doc/src/sgml/ref

override CPPFLAGS := -I. -I$(srcdir) -I$(libpq_srcdir) $(CPPFLAGS)
LDFLAGS_INTERNAL += -L$(top_builddir)/src/fe_utils -lpgfeutils $(libpq_pgport)
+libpgfeutils = $(top_builddir)/src/fe_utils/libpgfeutils.a

OBJS = \
$(WIN32RES) \
@@ -46,9 +47,11 @@ OBJS = \

all: psql

-psql: $(OBJS) | submake-libpq submake-libpgport submake-libpgfeutils
+psql: $(OBJS) $(libpgfeutils) | submake-libpq submake-libpgport
        $(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(OBJS) $(LDFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS_EX) $(LIBS) -o $@$(X)

+$(libpgfeutils): | submake-libpgfeutils
+
 help.o: sql_help.h

# See notes in src/backend/parser/Makefile about the following two rules
```

It simply adds libpgfeutils.a as a normal prerequisite of psql, while still using submake-libpgfeutils to build it. Then psql is automatically relinked when print.c changes and the archive is rebuilt.

I didn’t check if meson has the same issue. If this is considered worth a patch, I can start a new thread.

Best regards,
--
Chao Li (Evan)
HighGo Software Co., Ltd.
https://www.highgo.com/