PL/pgSQL proposal: using list of scalars in assign stmts, fore and fors stmts

Started by Pavel Stehuleabout 20 years ago5 messages
#1Pavel Stehule
pavel.stehule@hotmail.com

Hello

Now, statements EXECUTE INTO and SELECT INTO allow using list of scalars.
FORe and FORs allow only ROW o RECORD VARIABLE. I'll plan and I did it
enhance this stmts:

<for> := FOR <target> IN {SELECT | EXECUTE} ... LOOP
<target> := {row|record|comma separated list of scalar vars}

<assign> := <target2> ':=' <expression>
<target2> := {row|record|variable|'ROW(' comma separated list of scalar vars
')'}

for example:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION test(OUT _rc, OUT _x varchar, OUT _y varchar)
RETURNS SETOF RECORD AS $$
DECLARE _r RECORD;
BEGIN
rc := 0;
-- old style;
FOR _r IN SELECT generate_series AS x, generateseries + 1 AS y FROM
generate_series(1,4) LOOP
_rc := _rc + 1; _x := _r.x; _y := _r.y;
RETURN NEXT;
END LOOP;
-- new one
FOR _x,_y IN SELECT generate_series, generateseries + 1 FROM
generate_series(1,4) LOOP
_rc := _rc + 1;
RETURN NEXT;
END LOOP;
-- new two
FOR _r IN SELECT generate_series AS x, generateseries + 1 AS y FROM
generate_series(1,4) LOOP
_rc := _rc + 1; ROW(_x,_y) := _r;
RETURN NEXT;
END LOOP;
RETURN;
END; $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

any comments?
Regards
Pavel Stehule

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#2Tom Lane
tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us
In reply to: Pavel Stehule (#1)
Re: PL/pgSQL proposal: using list of scalars in assign stmts, fore and fors stmts

"Pavel Stehule" <pavel.stehule@hotmail.com> writes:

<for> := FOR <target> IN {SELECT | EXECUTE} ... LOOP
<target> := {row|record|comma separated list of scalar vars}

This part seems all right to me.

<assign> := <target2> ':=' <expression>
<target2> := {row|record|variable|'ROW(' comma separated list of scalar vars
')'}

As I already said on -patches, I consider this a bad idea. It's too
error prone (because there's no easy way of seeing what the field order
will be). And it doesn't add anything that you can't do now. I think
a series of "var = rec.field" assignments is a preferable way to do it.

regards, tom lane

#3David Fetter
david@fetter.org
In reply to: Pavel Stehule (#1)
Re: PL/pgSQL proposal: using list of scalars in assign stmts, fore and fors stmts

On Thu, Dec 22, 2005 at 10:18:16AM +0100, Pavel Stehule wrote:

Hello

Now, statements EXECUTE INTO and SELECT INTO allow using list of scalars.
FORe and FORs allow only ROW o RECORD VARIABLE. I'll plan and I did it
enhance this stmts:

<for> := FOR <target> IN {SELECT | EXECUTE} ... LOOP
<target> := {row|record|comma separated list of scalar vars}

<assign> := <target2> ':=' <expression>
<target2> := {row|record|variable|'ROW(' comma separated list of scalar
vars ')'}

How about:

<target2> := {row|record|variable|'[ROW](' comma separated list of scalar vars ')'}

instead, where the ROW is optional?

Cheers,
D
--
David Fetter david@fetter.org http://fetter.org/
phone: +1 415 235 3778

Remember to vote!

#4Tom Lane
tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us
In reply to: David Fetter (#3)
Re: PL/pgSQL proposal: using list of scalars in assign stmts, fore and fors stmts

David Fetter <david@fetter.org> writes:

How about:
<target2> := {row|record|variable|'[ROW](' comma separated list of scalar vars ')'}
instead, where the ROW is optional?

If we're going to do this at all (which I'm still agin), I think the ROW
keyword is important to minimize ambiguity. If you are allowed to start
a statement with just "(x, ..." then there will be way too many
situations where the parser gets confused by slightly bad input,
resulting in way-off-base syntax error reports. Or worse, no syntax
error, but a function that does something else than you expected.

I know that ROW is optional in the bit of SQL syntax that this proposal
is based on, but that's only because the SQL spec says we have to, not
because it's a good idea.

regards, tom lane

#5Andrew Dunstan
andrew@dunslane.net
In reply to: Tom Lane (#4)
Re: PL/pgSQL proposal: using list of scalars in assign

Tom Lane wrote:

David Fetter <david@fetter.org> writes:

How about:
<target2> := {row|record|variable|'[ROW](' comma separated list of scalar vars ')'}
instead, where the ROW is optional?

If we're going to do this at all (which I'm still agin), I think the ROW
keyword is important to minimize ambiguity. If you are allowed to start
a statement with just "(x, ..." then there will be way too many
situations where the parser gets confused by slightly bad input,
resulting in way-off-base syntax error reports. Or worse, no syntax
error, but a function that does something else than you expected.

I know that ROW is optional in the bit of SQL syntax that this proposal
is based on, but that's only because the SQL spec says we have to, not
because it's a good idea.

I see no virtue in this either. It strikes me as just more syntactic
sugar, and unless I am misreading or out of date it would be another
incompatibility with Oracle. I don't mind doing that, but I think it
should be for a better reason than that it accords with someone's taste
in syntactic style. I'd be somewhat more persuaded if Oracle did this. I
also agree with Tom's comments about requiring ROW. As I observed
regarding another syntax proposal, terseness is not always good, and
redundancy is not always bad.

cheers

andrew