Can I call unix/linux commands within plsql?

i'm not sure if is the right answer to your question
anyway from psql prompt you can call a shell command by
\! <cmd>

andrea

ps I apologise my terrible english.

There are two ways I can think of

1) Write a Perl, Pyton, C, or C++ program that calls
PostgreSQL and also makes the system calls you need.

2) Write a function (see man create_function) in C.
your C function can do anything.

I'm guessing you should be doing #1. But tell us your
application if you want better advice.

--- Timmy ���H���K������ <timmy.tang@gaojin.com> wrote:

Hello,

I'm new to Postgresql/plsql. Can anyone tell me that whether I can
call unix/linux commands within plsql or not? I need it because some
functions can not be provided by the PostgreSQL server itself such as
email.

Thank you!!

Timmy

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I think that there is a plshell implementation rolling around
somewhere, but what I generally do is launch a cron script every so
often that can then check up on PostgreSQL. For example, let's say
you have a table emails_to_send. Cron can wake up a script that sends
your emails for you, and the script is free to use PostgreSQL's
excellent transaction support (something a shell script called from
PostgreSQL cannot really do).

Jason

Timmy 鄧添喜 <timmy.tang@gaojin.com> writes:

On Thu, 13 Dec 2001, [big5] Timmy ���H���K������ wrote:

Hello,

I'm new to Postgresql/plsql. Can anyone tell me that whether I can
call unix/linux commands within plsql or not? I need it because some
functions can not be provided by the PostgreSQL server itself such as
email.

Not directly. You can do this from C, but you need to be careful,
because anything you do outside of the database is not transaction
safe (ie, if something rolls back the transaction after the function
is called, the outside things are still done even though any data
changes are not recorded).

Missed the first post, and take what Stephen says as important regarding
transactions ,etc... but here's a link to a unix shell language handler
for postgres.

http://www.ca.postgresql.org/~petere/plsh.html

Never used it myself, but there it is.

I've also seen (maybe in contrib? maybe somewhere else) a sendmail
function (in C) that allows you to send email from within plsql. If you
search the archives you'll find it.

-philip

On Thu, 13 Dec 2001, Stephan Szabo wrote:

On Thu, 13 Dec 2001, Philip Hallstrom wrote:

Missed the first post, and take what Stephen says as important regarding
transactions ,etc... but here's a link to a unix shell language handler
for postgres.

http://www.ca.postgresql.org/~petere/plsh.html

Never used it myself, but there it is.

I've also seen (maybe in contrib? maybe somewhere else) a sendmail
function (in C) that allows you to send email from within plsql. If you
search the archives you'll find it.

That's pgMail. You'll find a link to it on the Interfacing page on the
website.

Vince.
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