mirror of
https://git.postgresql.org/git/postgresql.git
synced 2024-09-01 09:47:23 +02:00
This commit improves on the results of commit511ae628f
in two ways: 1. It restores the historical behavior that "\set FOO" is interpreted as setting FOO to "on", if FOO is a boolean control variable. We already found one test script that was expecting that behavior, and the psql documentation certainly does nothing to discourage people from assuming that would work, since it often says just "if FOO is set" when describing the effects of a boolean variable. However, now this case will result in actually setting FOO to "on", not an empty string. 2. It arranges for an "\unset" of a control variable to set the value back to its default value, rather than becoming apparently undefined. The control variables are also initialized that way at psql startup. In combination, these things guarantee that a control variable always has a displayable value that reflects what psql is actually doing. That is a pretty substantial usability improvement. The implementation involves adding a second type of variable hook function that is able to replace a proposed new value (including NULL) with another one. We could alternatively have complicated the API of the assign hook, but this way seems better since many variables can share the same substitution hook function. Also document the actual behavior of these variables more fully, including covering assorted behaviors that were there before but never documented. This patch also includes some minor cleanup that should have been in511ae628f
but was missed. Patch by me, but it owes a lot to discussions with Daniel Vérité. Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/9572.1485821620@sss.pgh.pa.us
4292 lines
166 KiB
Plaintext
4292 lines
166 KiB
Plaintext
<!--
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doc/src/sgml/ref/psql-ref.sgml
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PostgreSQL documentation
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-->
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<refentry id="APP-PSQL">
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<indexterm zone="app-psql">
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<primary>psql</primary>
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</indexterm>
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<refmeta>
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<refentrytitle><application>psql</application></refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
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<refmiscinfo>Application</refmiscinfo>
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</refmeta>
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|
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<refnamediv>
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<refname><application>psql</application></refname>
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<refpurpose>
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<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> interactive terminal
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</refpurpose>
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</refnamediv>
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<refsynopsisdiv>
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<cmdsynopsis>
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<command>psql</command>
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<arg rep="repeat"><replaceable class="parameter">option</replaceable></arg>
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<arg choice="opt"><replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable>
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<arg choice="opt"><replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></arg></arg>
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</cmdsynopsis>
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</refsynopsisdiv>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Description</title>
|
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<para>
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<application>psql</application> is a terminal-based front-end to
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<productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. It enables you to type in
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queries interactively, issue them to
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<productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, and see the query results.
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Alternatively, input can be from a file or from command line
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arguments. In addition, <application>psql</application> provides a
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number of meta-commands and various shell-like features to
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facilitate writing scripts and automating a wide variety of tasks.
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</para>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1 id="R1-APP-PSQL-3">
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<title>Options</title>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><option>-a</></term>
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<term><option>--echo-all</></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Print all nonempty input lines to standard output as they are read.
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(This does not apply to lines read interactively.) This is
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equivalent to setting the variable <varname>ECHO</varname> to
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<literal>all</literal>.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><option>-A</></term>
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<term><option>--no-align</></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Switches to unaligned output mode. (The default output mode is
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otherwise aligned.)
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><option>-b</></term>
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<term><option>--echo-errors</></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Print failed SQL commands to standard error output. This is
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equivalent to setting the variable <varname>ECHO</varname> to
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<literal>errors</literal>.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
|
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|
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<varlistentry>
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<term><option>-c <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable></></term>
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<term><option>--command=<replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable></></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Specifies that <application>psql</application> is to execute the given
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command string, <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>.
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|
This option can be repeated and combined in any order with
|
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the <option>-f</option> option. When either <option>-c</option>
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or <option>-f</option> is specified, <application>psql</application>
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|
does not read commands from standard input; instead it terminates
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|
after processing all the <option>-c</option> and <option>-f</option>
|
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options in sequence.
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</para>
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|
<para>
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<replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> must be either
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a command string that is completely parsable by the server (i.e.,
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it contains no <application>psql</application>-specific features),
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|
or a single backslash command. Thus you cannot mix
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<acronym>SQL</acronym> and <application>psql</application>
|
|
meta-commands within a <option>-c</option> option. To achieve that,
|
|
you could use repeated <option>-c</option> options or pipe the string
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into <application>psql</application>, for example:
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|
<programlisting>
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psql -c '\x' -c 'SELECT * FROM foo;'
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</programlisting>
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or
|
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<programlisting>
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echo '\x \\ SELECT * FROM foo;' | psql
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</programlisting>
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|
(<literal>\\</> is the separator meta-command.)
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|
</para>
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|
<para>
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|
Each <acronym>SQL</acronym> command string passed
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to <option>-c</option> is sent to the server as a single query.
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Because of this, the server executes it as a single transaction even
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if the string contains multiple <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands,
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unless there are explicit <command>BEGIN</>/<command>COMMIT</>
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commands included in the string to divide it into multiple
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transactions. Also, <application>psql</application> only prints the
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result of the last <acronym>SQL</acronym> command in the string.
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|
This is different from the behavior when the same string is read from
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a file or fed to <application>psql</application>'s standard input,
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|
because then <application>psql</application> sends
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each <acronym>SQL</acronym> command separately.
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|
</para>
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|
<para>
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|
Because of this behavior, putting more than one command in a
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|
single <option>-c</option> string often has unexpected results.
|
|
It's better to use repeated <option>-c</option> commands or feed
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|
multiple commands to <application>psql</application>'s standard input,
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|
either using <application>echo</application> as illustrated above, or
|
|
via a shell here-document, for example:
|
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<programlisting>
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|
psql <<EOF
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\x
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SELECT * FROM foo;
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EOF
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
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|
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<varlistentry>
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<term><option>-d <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></></term>
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<term><option>--dbname=<replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></></term>
|
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<listitem>
|
|
<para>
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|
Specifies the name of the database to connect to. This is
|
|
equivalent to specifying <replaceable
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|
class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> as the first non-option
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argument on the command line.
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|
</para>
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<para>
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If this parameter contains an <symbol>=</symbol> sign or starts
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|
with a valid <acronym>URI</acronym> prefix
|
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(<literal>postgresql://</literal>
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or <literal>postgres://</literal>), it is treated as a
|
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<parameter>conninfo</parameter> string. See <xref
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linkend="libpq-connstring"> for more information.
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</para>
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</listitem>
|
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</varlistentry>
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|
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<varlistentry>
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<term><option>-e</></term>
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<term><option>--echo-queries</></term>
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<listitem>
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|
<para>
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Copy all SQL commands sent to the server to standard output as well.
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|
This is equivalent
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to setting the variable <varname>ECHO</varname> to
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<literal>queries</literal>.
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</para>
|
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</listitem>
|
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</varlistentry>
|
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|
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<varlistentry>
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<term><option>-E</></term>
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<term><option>--echo-hidden</></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Echo the actual queries generated by <command>\d</command> and other backslash
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commands. You can use this to study <application>psql</application>'s
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internal operations. This is equivalent to
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setting the variable <varname>ECHO_HIDDEN</varname> to <literal>on</>.
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</para>
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</listitem>
|
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</varlistentry>
|
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|
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<varlistentry>
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<term><option>-f <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
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<term><option>--file=<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
|
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<listitem>
|
|
<para>
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|
Read commands from the
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file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>,
|
|
rather than standard input.
|
|
This option can be repeated and combined in any order with
|
|
the <option>-c</option> option. When either <option>-c</option>
|
|
or <option>-f</option> is specified, <application>psql</application>
|
|
does not read commands from standard input; instead it terminates
|
|
after processing all the <option>-c</option> and <option>-f</option>
|
|
options in sequence.
|
|
Except for that, this option is largely equivalent to the
|
|
meta-command <command>\i</command>.
|
|
</para>
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|
|
|
<para>
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|
If <replaceable>filename</replaceable> is <literal>-</literal>
|
|
(hyphen), then standard input is read until an EOF indication
|
|
or <command>\q</> meta-command. This can be used to intersperse
|
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interactive input with input from files. Note however that Readline
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|
is not used in this case (much as if <option>-n</option> had been
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specified).
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|
</para>
|
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|
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<para>
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Using this option is subtly different from writing <literal>psql
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< <replaceable
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|
class="parameter">filename</replaceable></literal>. In general,
|
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both will do what you expect, but using <literal>-f</literal>
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|
enables some nice features such as error messages with line
|
|
numbers. There is also a slight chance that using this option will
|
|
reduce the start-up overhead. On the other hand, the variant using
|
|
the shell's input redirection is (in theory) guaranteed to yield
|
|
exactly the same output you would have received had you entered
|
|
everything by hand.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
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</varlistentry>
|
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|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-F <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--field-separator=<replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Use <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable> as the
|
|
field separator for unaligned output. This is equivalent to
|
|
<command>\pset fieldsep</command> or <command>\f</command>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-h <replaceable class="parameter">hostname</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--host=<replaceable class="parameter">hostname</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies the host name of the machine on which the
|
|
server is running. If the value begins
|
|
with a slash, it is used as the directory for the Unix-domain
|
|
socket.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-H</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--html</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Turn on <acronym>HTML</acronym> tabular output. This is
|
|
equivalent to <literal>\pset format html</literal> or the
|
|
<command>\H</command> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-l</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--list</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
List all available databases, then exit. Other non-connection
|
|
options are ignored. This is similar to the meta-command
|
|
<command>\list</command>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-L <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--log-file=<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Write all query output into file <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">filename</replaceable>, in addition to the
|
|
normal output destination.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-n</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--no-readline</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Do not use <application>Readline</application> for line editing and do
|
|
not use the command history.
|
|
This can be useful to turn off tab expansion when cutting and pasting.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-o <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--output=<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Put all query output into file <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">filename</replaceable>. This is equivalent to
|
|
the command <command>\o</command>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-p <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--port=<replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies the TCP port or the local Unix-domain
|
|
socket file extension on which the server is listening for
|
|
connections. Defaults to the value of the <envar>PGPORT</envar>
|
|
environment variable or, if not set, to the port specified at
|
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compile time, usually 5432.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
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</varlistentry>
|
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|
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<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-P <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--pset=<replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
|
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<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies printing options, in the style of
|
|
<command>\pset</command>. Note that here you
|
|
have to separate name and value with an equal sign instead of a
|
|
space. For example, to set the output format to <application>LaTeX</application>, you could write
|
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<literal>-P format=latex</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
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|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-q</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--quiet</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies that <application>psql</application> should do its work
|
|
quietly. By default, it prints welcome messages and various
|
|
informational output. If this option is used, none of this
|
|
happens. This is useful with the <option>-c</option> option.
|
|
This is equivalent to setting the variable <varname>QUIET</varname>
|
|
to <literal>on</>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-R <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--record-separator=<replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Use <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable> as the
|
|
record separator for unaligned output. This is equivalent to the
|
|
<command>\pset recordsep</command> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-s</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--single-step</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Run in single-step mode. That means the user is prompted before
|
|
each command is sent to the server, with the option to cancel
|
|
execution as well. Use this to debug scripts.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-S</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--single-line</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Runs in single-line mode where a newline terminates an SQL command, as a
|
|
semicolon does.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This mode is provided for those who insist on it, but you are not
|
|
necessarily encouraged to use it. In particular, if you mix
|
|
<acronym>SQL</acronym> and meta-commands on a line the order of
|
|
execution might not always be clear to the inexperienced user.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-t</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--tuples-only</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Turn off printing of column names and result row count footers,
|
|
etc. This is equivalent to the <command>\t</command> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-T <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--table-attr=<replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies options to be placed within the
|
|
<acronym>HTML</acronym> <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag. See
|
|
<command>\pset</command> for details.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-U <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--username=<replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Connect to the database as the user <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">username</replaceable> instead of the default.
|
|
(You must have permission to do so, of course.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-v <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--set=<replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<term><option>--variable=<replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Perform a variable assignment, like the <command>\set</command>
|
|
meta-command. Note that you must separate name and value, if
|
|
any, by an equal sign on the command line. To unset a variable,
|
|
leave off the equal sign. To set a variable with an empty value,
|
|
use the equal sign but leave off the value. These assignments are
|
|
done during command line processing, so variables that reflect
|
|
connection state will get overwritten later.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-V</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--version</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Print the <application>psql</application> version and exit.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-w</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--no-password</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Never issue a password prompt. If the server requires password
|
|
authentication and a password is not available by other means
|
|
such as a <filename>.pgpass</filename> file, the connection
|
|
attempt will fail. This option can be useful in batch jobs and
|
|
scripts where no user is present to enter a password.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Note that this option will remain set for the entire session,
|
|
and so it affects uses of the meta-command
|
|
<command>\connect</command> as well as the initial connection attempt.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-W</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--password</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Force <application>psql</application> to prompt for a
|
|
password before connecting to a database.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
This option is never essential, since <application>psql</application>
|
|
will automatically prompt for a password if the server demands
|
|
password authentication. However, <application>psql</application>
|
|
will waste a connection attempt finding out that the server wants a
|
|
password. In some cases it is worth typing <option>-W</> to avoid
|
|
the extra connection attempt.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Note that this option will remain set for the entire session,
|
|
and so it affects uses of the meta-command
|
|
<command>\connect</command> as well as the initial connection attempt.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-x</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--expanded</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Turn on the expanded table formatting mode. This is equivalent to the
|
|
<command>\x</command> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-X,</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--no-psqlrc</></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Do not read the start-up file (neither the system-wide
|
|
<filename>psqlrc</filename> file nor the user's
|
|
<filename>~/.psqlrc</filename> file).
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-z</option></term>
|
|
<term><option>--field-separator-zero</option></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Set the field separator for unaligned output to a zero byte.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-0</option></term>
|
|
<term><option>--record-separator-zero</option></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Set the record separator for unaligned output to a zero byte. This is
|
|
useful for interfacing, for example, with <literal>xargs -0</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-1</option></term>
|
|
<term><option>--single-transaction</option></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This option can only be used in combination with one or more
|
|
<option>-c</option> and/or <option>-f</option> options. It causes
|
|
<application>psql</application> to issue a <command>BEGIN</> command
|
|
before the first such option and a <command>COMMIT</> command after
|
|
the last one, thereby wrapping all the commands into a single
|
|
transaction. This ensures that either all the commands complete
|
|
successfully, or no changes are applied.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If the commands themselves
|
|
contain <command>BEGIN</>, <command>COMMIT</>,
|
|
or <command>ROLLBACK</>, this option will not have the desired
|
|
effects. Also, if an individual command cannot be executed inside a
|
|
transaction block, specifying this option will cause the whole
|
|
transaction to fail.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><option>-?</></term>
|
|
<term><option>--help[=<replaceable class="parameter">topic</>]</option></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Show help about <application>psql</application> and exit. The optional
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">topic</> parameter (defaulting
|
|
to <literal>options</literal>) selects which part of <application>psql</application> is
|
|
explained: <literal>commands</> describes <application>psql</>'s
|
|
backslash commands; <literal>options</> describes the command-line
|
|
options that can be passed to <application>psql</>;
|
|
and <literal>variables</> shows help about <application>psql</application> configuration
|
|
variables.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Exit Status</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<application>psql</application> returns 0 to the shell if it
|
|
finished normally, 1 if a fatal error of its own occurs (e.g. out of memory,
|
|
file not found), 2 if the connection to the server went bad
|
|
and the session was not interactive, and 3 if an error occurred in a
|
|
script and the variable <varname>ON_ERROR_STOP</varname> was set.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Usage</title>
|
|
|
|
<refsect2 id="R2-APP-PSQL-connecting">
|
|
<title>Connecting to a Database</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<application>psql</application> is a regular
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> client application. In order
|
|
to connect to a database you need to know the name of your target
|
|
database, the host name and port number of the server, and what user
|
|
name you want to connect as. <application>psql</application> can be
|
|
told about those parameters via command line options, namely
|
|
<option>-d</option>, <option>-h</option>, <option>-p</option>, and
|
|
<option>-U</option> respectively. If an argument is found that does
|
|
not belong to any option it will be interpreted as the database name
|
|
(or the user name, if the database name is already given). Not all
|
|
of these options are required; there are useful defaults. If you omit the host
|
|
name, <application>psql</> will connect via a Unix-domain socket
|
|
to a server on the local host, or via TCP/IP to <literal>localhost</> on
|
|
machines that don't have Unix-domain sockets. The default port number is
|
|
determined at compile time.
|
|
Since the database server uses the same default, you will not have
|
|
to specify the port in most cases. The default user name is your
|
|
operating-system user name, as is the default database name.
|
|
Note that you cannot
|
|
just connect to any database under any user name. Your database
|
|
administrator should have informed you about your access rights.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
When the defaults aren't quite right, you can save yourself
|
|
some typing by setting the environment variables
|
|
<envar>PGDATABASE</envar>, <envar>PGHOST</envar>,
|
|
<envar>PGPORT</envar> and/or <envar>PGUSER</envar> to appropriate
|
|
values. (For additional environment variables, see <xref
|
|
linkend="libpq-envars">.) It is also convenient to have a
|
|
<filename>~/.pgpass</> file to avoid regularly having to type in
|
|
passwords. See <xref linkend="libpq-pgpass"> for more information.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
An alternative way to specify connection parameters is in a
|
|
<parameter>conninfo</parameter> string or
|
|
a <acronym>URI</acronym>, which is used instead of a database
|
|
name. This mechanism give you very wide control over the
|
|
connection. For example:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
$ <userinput>psql "service=myservice sslmode=require"</userinput>
|
|
$ <userinput>psql postgresql://dbmaster:5433/mydb?sslmode=require</userinput>
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
This way you can also use <acronym>LDAP</acronym> for connection
|
|
parameter lookup as described in <xref linkend="libpq-ldap">.
|
|
See <xref linkend="libpq-paramkeywords"> for more information on all the
|
|
available connection options.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If the connection could not be made for any reason (e.g., insufficient
|
|
privileges, server is not running on the targeted host, etc.),
|
|
<application>psql</application> will return an error and terminate.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If both standard input and standard output are a
|
|
terminal, then <application>psql</application> sets the client
|
|
encoding to <quote>auto</quote>, which will detect the
|
|
appropriate client encoding from the locale settings
|
|
(<envar>LC_CTYPE</envar> environment variable on Unix systems).
|
|
If this doesn't work out as expected, the client encoding can be
|
|
overridden using the environment
|
|
variable <envar>PGCLIENTENCODING</envar>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</refsect2>
|
|
|
|
<refsect2 id="R2-APP-PSQL-4">
|
|
<title>Entering SQL Commands</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
In normal operation, <application>psql</application> provides a
|
|
prompt with the name of the database to which
|
|
<application>psql</application> is currently connected, followed by
|
|
the string <literal>=></literal>. For example:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
$ <userinput>psql testdb</userinput>
|
|
psql (&version;)
|
|
Type "help" for help.
|
|
|
|
testdb=>
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
At the prompt, the user can type in <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands.
|
|
Ordinarily, input lines are sent to the server when a
|
|
command-terminating semicolon is reached. An end of line does not
|
|
terminate a command. Thus commands can be spread over several lines for
|
|
clarity. If the command was sent and executed without error, the results
|
|
of the command are displayed on the screen.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Whenever a command is executed, <application>psql</application> also polls
|
|
for asynchronous notification events generated by
|
|
<xref linkend="SQL-LISTEN"> and
|
|
<xref linkend="SQL-NOTIFY">.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
While C-style block comments are passed to the server for
|
|
processing and removal, SQL-standard comments are removed by
|
|
<application>psql</application>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</refsect2>
|
|
|
|
<refsect2 id="APP-PSQL-meta-commands">
|
|
<title>Meta-Commands</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Anything you enter in <application>psql</application> that begins
|
|
with an unquoted backslash is a <application>psql</application>
|
|
meta-command that is processed by <application>psql</application>
|
|
itself. These commands make
|
|
<application>psql</application> more useful for administration or
|
|
scripting. Meta-commands are often called slash or backslash commands.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The format of a <application>psql</application> command is the backslash,
|
|
followed immediately by a command verb, then any arguments. The arguments
|
|
are separated from the command verb and each other by any number of
|
|
whitespace characters.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To include whitespace in an argument you can quote it with
|
|
single quotes. To include a single quote in an argument,
|
|
write two single quotes within single-quoted text.
|
|
Anything contained in single quotes is
|
|
furthermore subject to C-like substitutions for
|
|
<literal>\n</literal> (new line), <literal>\t</literal> (tab),
|
|
<literal>\b</literal> (backspace), <literal>\r</literal> (carriage return),
|
|
<literal>\f</literal> (form feed),
|
|
<literal>\</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable> (octal), and
|
|
<literal>\x</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable> (hexadecimal).
|
|
A backslash preceding any other character within single-quoted text
|
|
quotes that single character, whatever it is.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Within an argument, text that is enclosed in backquotes
|
|
(<literal>`</literal>) is taken as a command line that is passed to the
|
|
shell. The output of the command (with any trailing newline removed)
|
|
replaces the backquoted text.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If an unquoted colon (<literal>:</literal>) followed by a
|
|
<application>psql</> variable name appears within an argument, it is
|
|
replaced by the variable's value, as described in <xref
|
|
linkend="APP-PSQL-interpolation" endterm="APP-PSQL-interpolation-title">.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Some commands take an <acronym>SQL</acronym> identifier (such as a
|
|
table name) as argument. These arguments follow the syntax rules
|
|
of <acronym>SQL</acronym>: Unquoted letters are forced to
|
|
lowercase, while double quotes (<literal>"</>) protect letters
|
|
from case conversion and allow incorporation of whitespace into
|
|
the identifier. Within double quotes, paired double quotes reduce
|
|
to a single double quote in the resulting name. For example,
|
|
<literal>FOO"BAR"BAZ</> is interpreted as <literal>fooBARbaz</>,
|
|
and <literal>"A weird"" name"</> becomes <literal>A weird"
|
|
name</>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Parsing for arguments stops at the end of the line, or when another
|
|
unquoted backslash is found. An unquoted backslash
|
|
is taken as the beginning of a new meta-command. The special
|
|
sequence <literal>\\</literal> (two backslashes) marks the end of
|
|
arguments and continues parsing <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands, if
|
|
any. That way <acronym>SQL</acronym> and
|
|
<application>psql</application> commands can be freely mixed on a
|
|
line. But in any case, the arguments of a meta-command cannot
|
|
continue beyond the end of the line.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The following meta-commands are defined:
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\a</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If the current table output format is unaligned, it is switched to aligned.
|
|
If it is not unaligned, it is set to unaligned. This command is
|
|
kept for backwards compatibility. See <command>\pset</command> for a
|
|
more general solution.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\c</literal> or <literal>\connect [ -reuse-previous=<replaceable class="parameter">on|off</replaceable> ] [ <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> ] [ <replaceable class="parameter">host</replaceable> ] [ <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable> ] | <replaceable class="parameter">conninfo</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Establishes a new connection to a <productname>PostgreSQL</>
|
|
server. The connection parameters to use can be specified either
|
|
using a positional syntax, or using <replaceable>conninfo</> connection
|
|
strings as detailed in <xref linkend="libpq-connstring">.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Where the command omits database name, user, host, or port, the new
|
|
connection can reuse values from the previous connection. By default,
|
|
values from the previous connection are reused except when processing
|
|
a <replaceable>conninfo</> string. Passing a first argument
|
|
of <literal>-reuse-previous=on</>
|
|
or <literal>-reuse-previous=off</literal> overrides that default.
|
|
When the command neither specifies nor reuses a particular parameter,
|
|
the <application>libpq</application> default is used. Specifying any
|
|
of <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable>,
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable>,
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">host</replaceable> or
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable>
|
|
as <literal>-</literal> is equivalent to omitting that parameter.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If the new connection is successfully made, the previous
|
|
connection is closed.
|
|
If the connection attempt failed (wrong user name, access
|
|
denied, etc.), the previous connection will only be kept if
|
|
<application>psql</application> is in interactive mode. When
|
|
executing a non-interactive script, processing will
|
|
immediately stop with an error. This distinction was chosen as
|
|
a user convenience against typos on the one hand, and a safety
|
|
mechanism that scripts are not accidentally acting on the
|
|
wrong database on the other hand.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Examples:
|
|
</para>
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
=> \c mydb myuser host.dom 6432
|
|
=> \c service=foo
|
|
=> \c "host=localhost port=5432 dbname=mydb connect_timeout=10 sslmode=disable"
|
|
=> \c postgresql://tom@localhost/mydb?application_name=myapp
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\C [ <replaceable class="parameter">title</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the title of any tables being printed as the result of a
|
|
query or unset any such title. This command is equivalent to
|
|
<literal>\pset title <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">title</replaceable></literal>. (The name of
|
|
this command derives from <quote>caption</quote>, as it was
|
|
previously only used to set the caption in an
|
|
<acronym>HTML</acronym> table.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\cd [ <replaceable>directory</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Changes the current working directory to
|
|
<replaceable>directory</replaceable>. Without argument, changes
|
|
to the current user's home directory.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
To print your current working directory, use <literal>\! pwd</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\conninfo</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Outputs information about the current database connection.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry id="APP-PSQL-meta-commands-copy">
|
|
<term><literal>\copy { <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable> [ ( <replaceable class="parameter">column_list</replaceable> ) ] | ( <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable> ) }
|
|
{ <literal>from</literal> | <literal>to</literal> }
|
|
{ <replaceable class="parameter">'filename'</replaceable> | program <replaceable class="parameter">'command'</replaceable> | stdin | stdout | pstdin | pstdout }
|
|
[ [ with ] ( <replaceable class="parameter">option</replaceable> [, ...] ) ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Performs a frontend (client) copy. This is an operation that
|
|
runs an <acronym>SQL</acronym> <xref linkend="SQL-COPY">
|
|
command, but instead of the server
|
|
reading or writing the specified file,
|
|
<application>psql</application> reads or writes the file and
|
|
routes the data between the server and the local file system.
|
|
This means that file accessibility and privileges are those of
|
|
the local user, not the server, and no SQL superuser
|
|
privileges are required.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
When <literal>program</> is specified,
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> is
|
|
executed by <application>psql</application> and the data passed from
|
|
or to <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> is
|
|
routed between the server and the client.
|
|
Again, the execution privileges are those of
|
|
the local user, not the server, and no SQL superuser
|
|
privileges are required.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
For <literal>\copy ... from stdin</>, data rows are read from the same
|
|
source that issued the command, continuing until <literal>\.</literal>
|
|
is read or the stream reaches <acronym>EOF</>. This option is useful
|
|
for populating tables in-line within a SQL script file.
|
|
For <literal>\copy ... to stdout</>, output is sent to the same place
|
|
as <application>psql</> command output, and
|
|
the <literal>COPY <replaceable>count</></literal> command status is
|
|
not printed (since it might be confused with a data row).
|
|
To read/write <application>psql</application>'s standard input or
|
|
output regardless of the current command source or <literal>\o</>
|
|
option, write <literal>from pstdin</> or <literal>to pstdout</>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The syntax of this command is similar to that of the
|
|
<acronym>SQL</acronym> <xref linkend="sql-copy">
|
|
command. All options other than the data source/destination are
|
|
as specified for <xref linkend="sql-copy">.
|
|
Because of this, special parsing rules apply to the <command>\copy</>
|
|
command. In particular, <application>psql</>'s variable substitution
|
|
rules and backslash escapes do not apply.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This operation is not as efficient as the <acronym>SQL</acronym>
|
|
<command>COPY</command> command because all data must pass
|
|
through the client/server connection. For large
|
|
amounts of data the <acronym>SQL</acronym> command might be preferable.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\copyright</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Shows the copyright and distribution terms of
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry id="APP-PSQL-meta-commands-crosstabview">
|
|
<term><literal>\crosstabview [
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">colV</replaceable>
|
|
[ <replaceable class="parameter">colH</replaceable>
|
|
[ <replaceable class="parameter">colD</replaceable>
|
|
[ <replaceable class="parameter">sortcolH</replaceable>
|
|
] ] ] ] </literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Executes the current query buffer (like <literal>\g</literal>) and
|
|
shows the results in a crosstab grid.
|
|
The query must return at least three columns.
|
|
The output column identified by <replaceable class="parameter">colV</>
|
|
becomes a vertical header and the output column identified by
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">colH</replaceable>
|
|
becomes a horizontal header.
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">colD</replaceable> identifies
|
|
the output column to display within the grid.
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">sortcolH</replaceable> identifies
|
|
an optional sort column for the horizontal header.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Each column specification can be a column number (starting at 1) or
|
|
a column name. The usual SQL case folding and quoting rules apply to
|
|
column names. If omitted,
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">colV</replaceable> is taken as column 1
|
|
and <replaceable class="parameter">colH</replaceable> as column 2.
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">colH</replaceable> must differ from
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">colV</replaceable>.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">colD</replaceable> is not
|
|
specified, then there must be exactly three columns in the query
|
|
result, and the column that is neither
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">colV</replaceable> nor
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">colH</replaceable>
|
|
is taken to be <replaceable class="parameter">colD</replaceable>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The vertical header, displayed as the leftmost column, contains the
|
|
values found in column <replaceable class="parameter">colV</>, in the
|
|
same order as in the query results, but with duplicates removed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The horizontal header, displayed as the first row, contains the values
|
|
found in column <replaceable class="parameter">colH</replaceable>,
|
|
with duplicates removed. By default, these appear in the same order
|
|
as in the query results. But if the
|
|
optional <replaceable class="parameter">sortcolH</> argument is given,
|
|
it identifies a column whose values must be integer numbers, and the
|
|
values from <replaceable class="parameter">colH</replaceable> will
|
|
appear in the horizontal header sorted according to the
|
|
corresponding <replaceable class="parameter">sortcolH</> values.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Inside the crosstab grid, for each distinct value <literal>x</literal>
|
|
of <replaceable class="parameter">colH</replaceable> and each distinct
|
|
value <literal>y</literal>
|
|
of <replaceable class="parameter">colV</replaceable>, the cell located
|
|
at the intersection <literal>(x,y)</literal> contains the value of
|
|
the <literal>colD</literal> column in the query result row for which
|
|
the value of <replaceable class="parameter">colH</replaceable>
|
|
is <literal>x</literal> and the value
|
|
of <replaceable class="parameter">colV</replaceable>
|
|
is <literal>y</>. If there is no such row, the cell is empty. If
|
|
there are multiple such rows, an error is reported.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\d[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
For each relation (table, view, index, sequence, or foreign table)
|
|
or composite type matching the
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>, show all
|
|
columns, their types, the tablespace (if not the default) and any
|
|
special attributes such as <literal>NOT NULL</literal> or defaults.
|
|
Associated indexes, constraints, rules, and triggers are
|
|
also shown. For foreign tables, the associated foreign
|
|
server is shown as well.
|
|
(<quote>Matching the pattern</> is defined in
|
|
<xref linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns" endterm="APP-PSQL-patterns-title">
|
|
below.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
For some types of relation, <literal>\d</> shows additional information
|
|
for each column: column values for sequences, indexed expression for
|
|
indexes and foreign data wrapper options for foreign tables.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The command form <literal>\d+</literal> is identical, except that
|
|
more information is displayed: any comments associated with the
|
|
columns of the table are shown, as is the presence of OIDs in the
|
|
table, the view definition if the relation is a view, a non-default
|
|
<link linkend="SQL-CREATETABLE-REPLICA-IDENTITY">replica
|
|
identity</link> setting.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
|
|
pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
|
|
objects.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <command>\d</command> is used without a
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> argument, it is
|
|
equivalent to <command>\dtvsE</command> which will show a list of
|
|
all visible tables, views, sequences and foreign tables.
|
|
This is purely a convenience measure.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\da[S] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists aggregate functions, together with their
|
|
return type and the data types they operate on. If <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
|
|
is specified, only aggregates whose names match the pattern are shown.
|
|
By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
|
|
pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
|
|
objects.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dA[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists access methods. If <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified, only access
|
|
methods whose names match the pattern are shown. If
|
|
<literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each access
|
|
method is listed with its associated handler function and description.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\db[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists tablespaces. If <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
|
|
is specified, only tablespaces whose names match the pattern are shown.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each tablespace
|
|
is listed with its associated options, on-disk size, permissions and
|
|
description.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dc[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists conversions between character-set encodings.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
|
|
is specified, only conversions whose names match the pattern are
|
|
listed.
|
|
By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
|
|
pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
|
|
objects.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each object
|
|
is listed with its associated description.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dC[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists type casts.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
|
|
is specified, only casts whose source or target types match the
|
|
pattern are listed.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each object
|
|
is listed with its associated description.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dd[S] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Shows the descriptions of objects of type <literal>constraint</>,
|
|
<literal>operator class</>, <literal>operator family</>,
|
|
<literal>rule</>, and <literal>trigger</>. All
|
|
other comments may be viewed by the respective backslash commands for
|
|
those object types.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para><literal>\dd</literal> displays descriptions for objects matching the
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>, or of visible
|
|
objects of the appropriate type if no argument is given. But in either
|
|
case, only objects that have a description are listed.
|
|
By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
|
|
pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
|
|
objects.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Descriptions for objects can be created with the <xref
|
|
linkend="sql-comment">
|
|
<acronym>SQL</acronym> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\ddp [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists default access privilege settings. An entry is shown for
|
|
each role (and schema, if applicable) for which the default
|
|
privilege settings have been changed from the built-in defaults.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only entries whose role name or schema name matches
|
|
the pattern are listed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The <xref linkend="sql-alterdefaultprivileges"> command is used to set
|
|
default access privileges. The meaning of the
|
|
privilege display is explained under
|
|
<xref linkend="sql-grant">.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dD[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists domains. If <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
|
|
is specified, only domains whose names match the pattern are shown.
|
|
By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
|
|
pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
|
|
objects.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each object
|
|
is listed with its associated permissions and description.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dE[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<term><literal>\di[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<term><literal>\dm[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<term><literal>\ds[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<term><literal>\dt[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<term><literal>\dv[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
In this group of commands, the letters <literal>E</literal>,
|
|
<literal>i</literal>, <literal>m</literal>, <literal>s</literal>,
|
|
<literal>t</literal>, and <literal>v</literal>
|
|
stand for foreign table, index, materialized view, sequence, table, and view,
|
|
respectively.
|
|
You can specify any or all of
|
|
these letters, in any order, to obtain a listing of objects
|
|
of these types. For example, <literal>\dit</> lists indexes
|
|
and tables. If <literal>+</literal> is
|
|
appended to the command name, each object is listed with its
|
|
physical size on disk and its associated description, if any.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only objects whose names match the pattern are listed.
|
|
By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
|
|
pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
|
|
objects.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\des[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists foreign servers (mnemonic: <quote>external
|
|
servers</quote>).
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only those servers whose name matches the pattern
|
|
are listed. If the form <literal>\des+</literal> is used, a
|
|
full description of each server is shown, including the
|
|
server's ACL, type, version, options, and description.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\det[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists foreign tables (mnemonic: <quote>external tables</quote>).
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only entries whose table name or schema name matches
|
|
the pattern are listed. If the form <literal>\det+</literal>
|
|
is used, generic options and the foreign table description
|
|
are also displayed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\deu[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists user mappings (mnemonic: <quote>external
|
|
users</quote>).
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only those mappings whose user names match the
|
|
pattern are listed. If the form <literal>\deu+</literal> is
|
|
used, additional information about each mapping is shown.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<caution>
|
|
<para>
|
|
<literal>\deu+</literal> might also display the user name and
|
|
password of the remote user, so care should be taken not to
|
|
disclose them.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</caution>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dew[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists foreign-data wrappers (mnemonic: <quote>external
|
|
wrappers</quote>).
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only those foreign-data wrappers whose name matches
|
|
the pattern are listed. If the form <literal>\dew+</literal>
|
|
is used, the ACL, options, and description of the foreign-data
|
|
wrapper are also shown.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\df[antwS+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists functions, together with their result data types, argument data
|
|
types, and function types, which are classified as <quote>agg</>
|
|
(aggregate), <quote>normal</>, <quote>trigger</>, or <quote>window</>.
|
|
To display only functions
|
|
of specific type(s), add the corresponding letters <literal>a</>,
|
|
<literal>n</>, <literal>t</>, or <literal>w</> to the command.
|
|
If <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified, only
|
|
functions whose names match the pattern are shown.
|
|
By default, only user-created
|
|
objects are shown; supply a pattern or the <literal>S</literal>
|
|
modifier to include system objects.
|
|
If the form <literal>\df+</literal> is used, additional information
|
|
about each function is shown, including volatility,
|
|
parallel safety, owner, security classification, access privileges,
|
|
language, source code and description.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
To look up functions taking arguments or returning values of a specific
|
|
data type, use your pager's search capability to scroll through the
|
|
<literal>\df</> output.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dF[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists text search configurations.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
|
|
only configurations whose names match the pattern are shown.
|
|
If the form <literal>\dF+</literal> is used, a full description of
|
|
each configuration is shown, including the underlying text search
|
|
parser and the dictionary list for each parser token type.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dFd[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists text search dictionaries.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
|
|
only dictionaries whose names match the pattern are shown.
|
|
If the form <literal>\dFd+</literal> is used, additional information
|
|
is shown about each selected dictionary, including the underlying
|
|
text search template and the option values.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dFp[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists text search parsers.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
|
|
only parsers whose names match the pattern are shown.
|
|
If the form <literal>\dFp+</literal> is used, a full description of
|
|
each parser is shown, including the underlying functions and the
|
|
list of recognized token types.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dFt[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists text search templates.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
|
|
only templates whose names match the pattern are shown.
|
|
If the form <literal>\dFt+</literal> is used, additional information
|
|
is shown about each template, including the underlying function names.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dg[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists database roles.
|
|
(Since the concepts of <quote>users</> and <quote>groups</> have been
|
|
unified into <quote>roles</>, this command is now equivalent to
|
|
<literal>\du</literal>.)
|
|
By default, only user-created roles are shown; supply the
|
|
<literal>S</literal> modifier to include system roles.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
|
|
only those roles whose names match the pattern are listed.
|
|
If the form <literal>\dg+</literal> is used, additional information
|
|
is shown about each role; currently this adds the comment for each
|
|
role.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dl</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This is an alias for <command>\lo_list</command>, which shows a
|
|
list of large objects.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dL[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists procedural languages. If <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
|
|
is specified, only languages whose names match the pattern are listed.
|
|
By default, only user-created languages
|
|
are shown; supply the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
|
|
objects. If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each
|
|
language is listed with its call handler, validator, access privileges,
|
|
and whether it is a system object.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dn[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists schemas (namespaces). If <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
|
|
is specified, only schemas whose names match the pattern are listed.
|
|
By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
|
|
pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system objects.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each object
|
|
is listed with its associated permissions and description, if any.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\do[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists operators with their operand and result types.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only operators whose names match the pattern are listed.
|
|
By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
|
|
pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
|
|
objects.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name,
|
|
additional information about each operator is shown, currently just
|
|
the name of the underlying function.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dO[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists collations.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only collations whose names match the pattern are
|
|
listed. By default, only user-created objects are shown;
|
|
supply a pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to
|
|
include system objects. If <literal>+</literal> is appended
|
|
to the command name, each collation is listed with its associated
|
|
description, if any.
|
|
Note that only collations usable with the current database's encoding
|
|
are shown, so the results may vary in different databases of the
|
|
same installation.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dp [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists tables, views and sequences with their
|
|
associated access privileges.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only tables, views and sequences whose names match the
|
|
pattern are listed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The <xref linkend="sql-grant"> and
|
|
<xref linkend="sql-revoke">
|
|
commands are used to set access privileges. The meaning of the
|
|
privilege display is explained under
|
|
<xref linkend="sql-grant">.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\drds [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">role-pattern</replaceable></link> [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">database-pattern</replaceable></link> ] ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists defined configuration settings. These settings can be
|
|
role-specific, database-specific, or both.
|
|
<replaceable>role-pattern</replaceable> and
|
|
<replaceable>database-pattern</replaceable> are used to select
|
|
specific roles and databases to list, respectively. If omitted, or if
|
|
<literal>*</> is specified, all settings are listed, including those
|
|
not role-specific or database-specific, respectively.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The <xref linkend="sql-alterrole"> and
|
|
<xref linkend="sql-alterdatabase">
|
|
commands are used to define per-role and per-database configuration
|
|
settings.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dRp[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists replication publications.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only those publications whose names match the pattern are
|
|
listed.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, the tables
|
|
associated with each publication are shown as well.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dRs[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists replication subscriptions.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only those subscriptions whose names match the pattern are
|
|
listed.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, additional
|
|
properties of the subscriptions are shown.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dT[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists data types.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only types whose names match the pattern are listed.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each type is
|
|
listed with its internal name and size, its allowed values
|
|
if it is an <type>enum</> type, and its associated permissions.
|
|
By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
|
|
pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
|
|
objects.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\du[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists database roles.
|
|
(Since the concepts of <quote>users</> and <quote>groups</> have been
|
|
unified into <quote>roles</>, this command is now equivalent to
|
|
<literal>\dg</literal>.)
|
|
By default, only user-created roles are shown; supply the
|
|
<literal>S</literal> modifier to include system roles.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
|
|
only those roles whose names match the pattern are listed.
|
|
If the form <literal>\du+</literal> is used, additional information
|
|
is shown about each role; currently this adds the comment for each
|
|
role.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dx[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists installed extensions.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
|
|
is specified, only those extensions whose names match the pattern
|
|
are listed.
|
|
If the form <literal>\dx+</literal> is used, all the objects belonging
|
|
to each matching extension are listed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\dy[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists event triggers.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
|
|
is specified, only those event triggers whose names match the pattern
|
|
are listed.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each object
|
|
is listed with its associated description.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\e</literal> or <literal>\edit</> <literal> <optional> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</> </optional> <optional> <replaceable class="parameter">line_number</> </optional> </literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, the file is edited; after the editor exits, its
|
|
content is copied back to the query buffer. If no <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">filename</replaceable> is given, the current query
|
|
buffer is copied to a temporary file which is then edited in the same
|
|
fashion.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The new query buffer is then re-parsed according to the normal
|
|
rules of <application>psql</application>, where the whole buffer
|
|
is treated as a single line. (Thus you cannot make scripts this
|
|
way. Use <command>\i</command> for that.) This means that
|
|
if the query ends with (or contains) a semicolon, it is
|
|
immediately executed. Otherwise it will merely wait in the
|
|
query buffer; type semicolon or <literal>\g</> to send it, or
|
|
<literal>\r</> to cancel.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If a line number is specified, <application>psql</application> will
|
|
position the cursor on the specified line of the file or query buffer.
|
|
Note that if a single all-digits argument is given,
|
|
<application>psql</application> assumes it is a line number,
|
|
not a file name.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
See under <xref linkend="app-psql-environment"
|
|
endterm="app-psql-environment-title"> for how to configure and
|
|
customize your editor.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\echo <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> [ ... ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Prints the arguments to the standard output, separated by one
|
|
space and followed by a newline. This can be useful to
|
|
intersperse information in the output of scripts. For example:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
=> <userinput>\echo `date`</userinput>
|
|
Tue Oct 26 21:40:57 CEST 1999
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
If the first argument is an unquoted <literal>-n</literal> the trailing
|
|
newline is not written.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you use the <command>\o</command> command to redirect your
|
|
query output you might wish to use <command>\qecho</command>
|
|
instead of this command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\ef <optional> <replaceable class="parameter">function_description</> <optional> <replaceable class="parameter">line_number</> </optional> </optional> </literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This command fetches and edits the definition of the named function,
|
|
in the form of a <command>CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION</> command.
|
|
Editing is done in the same way as for <literal>\edit</>.
|
|
After the editor exits, the updated command waits in the query buffer;
|
|
type semicolon or <literal>\g</> to send it, or <literal>\r</>
|
|
to cancel.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The target function can be specified by name alone, or by name
|
|
and arguments, for example <literal>foo(integer, text)</>.
|
|
The argument types must be given if there is more
|
|
than one function of the same name.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If no function is specified, a blank <command>CREATE FUNCTION</>
|
|
template is presented for editing.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If a line number is specified, <application>psql</application> will
|
|
position the cursor on the specified line of the function body.
|
|
(Note that the function body typically does not begin on the first
|
|
line of the file.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
See under <xref linkend="app-psql-environment"
|
|
endterm="app-psql-environment-title"> for how to configure and
|
|
customize your editor.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\encoding [ <replaceable class="parameter">encoding</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the client character set encoding. Without an argument, this command
|
|
shows the current encoding.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\errverbose</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Repeats the most recent server error message at maximum
|
|
verbosity, as though <varname>VERBOSITY</varname> were set
|
|
to <literal>verbose</> and <varname>SHOW_CONTEXT</varname> were
|
|
set to <literal>always</>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\ev <optional> <replaceable class="parameter">view_name</> <optional> <replaceable class="parameter">line_number</> </optional> </optional> </literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This command fetches and edits the definition of the named view,
|
|
in the form of a <command>CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW</> command.
|
|
Editing is done in the same way as for <literal>\edit</>.
|
|
After the editor exits, the updated command waits in the query buffer;
|
|
type semicolon or <literal>\g</> to send it, or <literal>\r</>
|
|
to cancel.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If no view is specified, a blank <command>CREATE VIEW</>
|
|
template is presented for editing.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If a line number is specified, <application>psql</application> will
|
|
position the cursor on the specified line of the view definition.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\f [ <replaceable class="parameter">string</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the field separator for unaligned query output. The default
|
|
is the vertical bar (<literal>|</literal>). See also
|
|
<command>\pset</command> for a generic way of setting output
|
|
options.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\g [ <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<term><literal>\g [ |<replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sends the current query input buffer to the server, and
|
|
optionally stores the query's output in <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipes the output
|
|
to the shell command <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">command</replaceable>. The file or command is
|
|
written to only if the query successfully returns zero or more tuples,
|
|
not if the query fails or is a non-data-returning SQL command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
A bare <literal>\g</literal> is essentially equivalent to a semicolon.
|
|
A <literal>\g</literal> with argument is a <quote>one-shot</quote>
|
|
alternative to the <command>\o</command> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\gexec</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sends the current query input buffer to the server, then treats
|
|
each column of each row of the query's output (if any) as a SQL
|
|
statement to be executed. For example, to create an index on each
|
|
column of <structname>my_table</>:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
=> <userinput>SELECT format('create index on my_table(%I)', attname)</>
|
|
-> <userinput>FROM pg_attribute</>
|
|
-> <userinput>WHERE attrelid = 'my_table'::regclass AND attnum > 0</>
|
|
-> <userinput>ORDER BY attnum</>
|
|
-> <userinput>\gexec</>
|
|
CREATE INDEX
|
|
CREATE INDEX
|
|
CREATE INDEX
|
|
CREATE INDEX
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The generated queries are executed in the order in which the rows
|
|
are returned, and left-to-right within each row if there is more
|
|
than one column. NULL fields are ignored. The generated queries
|
|
are sent literally to the server for processing, so they cannot be
|
|
<application>psql</> meta-commands nor contain <application>psql</>
|
|
variable references. If any individual query fails, execution of
|
|
the remaining queries continues
|
|
unless <varname>ON_ERROR_STOP</varname> is set. Execution of each
|
|
query is subject to <varname>ECHO</varname> processing.
|
|
(Setting <varname>ECHO</varname> to <literal>all</literal>
|
|
or <literal>queries</literal> is often advisable when
|
|
using <command>\gexec</>.) Query logging, single-step mode,
|
|
timing, and other query execution features apply to each generated
|
|
query as well.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\gset [ <replaceable class="parameter">prefix</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sends the current query input buffer to the server and stores the
|
|
query's output into <application>psql</> variables (see <xref
|
|
linkend="APP-PSQL-variables" endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title">).
|
|
The query to be executed must return exactly one row. Each column of
|
|
the row is stored into a separate variable, named the same as the
|
|
column. For example:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
=> <userinput>SELECT 'hello' AS var1, 10 AS var2</userinput>
|
|
-> <userinput>\gset</userinput>
|
|
=> <userinput>\echo :var1 :var2</userinput>
|
|
hello 10
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you specify a <replaceable class="parameter">prefix</replaceable>,
|
|
that string is prepended to the query's column names to create the
|
|
variable names to use:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
=> <userinput>SELECT 'hello' AS var1, 10 AS var2</userinput>
|
|
-> <userinput>\gset result_</userinput>
|
|
=> <userinput>\echo :result_var1 :result_var2</userinput>
|
|
hello 10
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If a column result is NULL, the corresponding variable is unset
|
|
rather than being set.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If the query fails or does not return one row,
|
|
no variables are changed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\h</literal> or <literal>\help</literal> <literal>[ <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Gives syntax help on the specified <acronym>SQL</acronym>
|
|
command. If <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>
|
|
is not specified, then <application>psql</application> will list
|
|
all the commands for which syntax help is available. If
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> is an
|
|
asterisk (<literal>*</literal>), then syntax help on all
|
|
<acronym>SQL</acronym> commands is shown.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
To simplify typing, commands that consists of several words do
|
|
not have to be quoted. Thus it is fine to type <userinput>\help
|
|
alter table</userinput>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\H</literal> or <literal>\html</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Turns on <acronym>HTML</acronym> query output format. If the
|
|
<acronym>HTML</acronym> format is already on, it is switched
|
|
back to the default aligned text format. This command is for
|
|
compatibility and convenience, but see <command>\pset</command>
|
|
about setting other output options.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\i</literal> or <literal>\include</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Reads input from the file <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">filename</replaceable> and executes it as
|
|
though it had been typed on the keyboard.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <replaceable>filename</replaceable> is <literal>-</literal>
|
|
(hyphen), then standard input is read until an EOF indication
|
|
or <command>\q</> meta-command. This can be used to intersperse
|
|
interactive input with input from files. Note that Readline behavior
|
|
will be used only if it is active at the outermost level.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you want to see the lines on the screen as they are read you
|
|
must set the variable <varname>ECHO</varname> to
|
|
<literal>all</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\ir</literal> or <literal>\include_relative</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The <literal>\ir</> command is similar to <literal>\i</>, but resolves
|
|
relative file names differently. When executing in interactive mode,
|
|
the two commands behave identically. However, when invoked from a
|
|
script, <literal>\ir</literal> interprets file names relative to the
|
|
directory in which the script is located, rather than the current
|
|
working directory.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\l[+]</literal> or <literal>\list[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
List the databases in the server and show their names, owners,
|
|
character set encodings, and access privileges.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
|
|
only databases whose names match the pattern are listed.
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, database
|
|
sizes, default tablespaces, and descriptions are also displayed.
|
|
(Size information is only available for databases that the current
|
|
user can connect to.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\lo_export <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Reads the large object with <acronym>OID</acronym> <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">loid</replaceable> from the database and
|
|
writes it to <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">filename</replaceable>. Note that this is
|
|
subtly different from the server function
|
|
<function>lo_export</function>, which acts with the permissions
|
|
of the user that the database server runs as and on the server's
|
|
file system.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Use <command>\lo_list</command> to find out the large object's
|
|
<acronym>OID</acronym>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\lo_import <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">comment</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Stores the file into a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
|
|
large object. Optionally, it associates the given
|
|
comment with the object. Example:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
foo=> <userinput>\lo_import '/home/peter/pictures/photo.xcf' 'a picture of me'</userinput>
|
|
lo_import 152801
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
The response indicates that the large object received object
|
|
ID 152801, which can be used to access the newly-created large
|
|
object in the future. For the sake of readability, it is
|
|
recommended to always associate a human-readable comment with
|
|
every object. Both OIDs and comments can be viewed with the
|
|
<command>\lo_list</command> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Note that this command is subtly different from the server-side
|
|
<function>lo_import</function> because it acts as the local user
|
|
on the local file system, rather than the server's user and file
|
|
system.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\lo_list</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Shows a list of all <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
|
|
large objects currently stored in the database,
|
|
along with any comments provided for them.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\lo_unlink <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable></literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Deletes the large object with <acronym>OID</acronym>
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable> from the
|
|
database.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Use <command>\lo_list</command> to find out the large object's
|
|
<acronym>OID</acronym>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\o</literal> or <literal>\out [ <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<term><literal>\o</literal> or <literal>\out [ |<replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Arranges to save future query results to the file <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipe future results
|
|
to the shell command <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">command</replaceable>. If no argument is
|
|
specified, the query output is reset to the standard output.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para><quote>Query results</quote> includes all tables, command
|
|
responses, and notices obtained from the database server, as
|
|
well as output of various backslash commands that query the
|
|
database (such as <command>\d</command>), but not error
|
|
messages.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
To intersperse text output in between query results, use
|
|
<command>\qecho</command>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\p</literal> or <literal>\print</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Print the current query buffer to the standard output.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\password [ <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Changes the password of the specified user (by default, the current
|
|
user). This command prompts for the new password, encrypts it, and
|
|
sends it to the server as an <command>ALTER ROLE</> command. This
|
|
makes sure that the new password does not appear in cleartext in the
|
|
command history, the server log, or elsewhere.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\prompt [ <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> ] <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable></literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Prompts the user to supply text, which is assigned to the variable
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">name</>.
|
|
An optional prompt string, <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">text</>, can be specified. (For multiword
|
|
prompts, surround the text with single quotes.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
By default, <literal>\prompt</> uses the terminal for input and
|
|
output. However, if the <option>-f</> command line switch was
|
|
used, <literal>\prompt</> uses standard input and standard output.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\pset [ <replaceable class="parameter">option</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> ] ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This command sets options affecting the output of query result tables.
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">option</replaceable>
|
|
indicates which option is to be set. The semantics of
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> vary depending
|
|
on the selected option. For some options, omitting <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">value</replaceable> causes the option to be toggled
|
|
or unset, as described under the particular option. If no such
|
|
behavior is mentioned, then omitting
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> just results in
|
|
the current setting being displayed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<command>\pset</command> without any arguments displays the current status
|
|
of all printing options.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Adjustable printing options are:
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>border</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> must be a
|
|
number. In general, the higher
|
|
the number the more borders and lines the tables will have,
|
|
but details depend on the particular format.
|
|
In <acronym>HTML</acronym> format, this will translate directly
|
|
into the <literal>border=...</literal> attribute.
|
|
In most other formats only values 0 (no border), 1 (internal
|
|
dividing lines), and 2 (table frame) make sense, and values above 2
|
|
will be treated the same as <literal>border = 2</literal>.
|
|
The <literal>latex</literal> and <literal>latex-longtable</literal>
|
|
formats additionally allow a value of 3 to add dividing lines
|
|
between data rows.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>columns</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the target width for the <literal>wrapped</> format, and also
|
|
the width limit for determining whether output is wide enough to
|
|
require the pager or switch to the vertical display in expanded auto
|
|
mode.
|
|
Zero (the default) causes the target width to be controlled by the
|
|
environment variable <envar>COLUMNS</>, or the detected screen width
|
|
if <envar>COLUMNS</> is not set.
|
|
In addition, if <literal>columns</> is zero then the
|
|
<literal>wrapped</> format only affects screen output.
|
|
If <literal>columns</> is nonzero then file and pipe output is
|
|
wrapped to that width as well.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>expanded</literal> (or <literal>x</literal>)</term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is specified it
|
|
must be either <literal>on</literal> or <literal>off</literal>, which
|
|
will enable or disable expanded mode, or <literal>auto</literal>.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is omitted the
|
|
command toggles between the on and off settings. When expanded mode
|
|
is enabled, query results are displayed in two columns, with the
|
|
column name on the left and the data on the right. This mode is
|
|
useful if the data wouldn't fit on the screen in the
|
|
normal <quote>horizontal</quote> mode. In the auto setting, the
|
|
expanded mode is used whenever the query output has more than one
|
|
column and is wider than the screen; otherwise, the regular mode is
|
|
used. The auto setting is only
|
|
effective in the aligned and wrapped formats. In other formats, it
|
|
always behaves as if the expanded mode is off.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>fieldsep</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies the field separator to be used in unaligned output
|
|
format. That way one can create, for example, tab- or
|
|
comma-separated output, which other programs might prefer. To
|
|
set a tab as field separator, type <literal>\pset fieldsep
|
|
'\t'</literal>. The default field separator is
|
|
<literal>'|'</literal> (a vertical bar).
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>fieldsep_zero</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the field separator to use in unaligned output format to a zero
|
|
byte.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>footer</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is specified
|
|
it must be either <literal>on</literal> or <literal>off</literal>
|
|
which will enable or disable display of the table footer
|
|
(the <literal>(<replaceable>n</> rows)</literal> count).
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is omitted the
|
|
command toggles footer display on or off.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>format</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the output format to one of <literal>unaligned</literal>,
|
|
<literal>aligned</literal>, <literal>wrapped</literal>,
|
|
<literal>html</literal>, <literal>asciidoc</literal>,
|
|
<literal>latex</literal> (uses <literal>tabular</literal>),
|
|
<literal>latex-longtable</literal>, or
|
|
<literal>troff-ms</literal>.
|
|
Unique abbreviations are allowed. (That would mean one letter
|
|
is enough.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para><literal>unaligned</> format writes all columns of a row on one
|
|
line, separated by the currently active field separator. This
|
|
is useful for creating output that might be intended to be read
|
|
in by other programs (for example, tab-separated or comma-separated
|
|
format).
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para><literal>aligned</literal> format is the standard, human-readable,
|
|
nicely formatted text output; this is the default.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para><literal>wrapped</> format is like <literal>aligned</> but wraps
|
|
wide data values across lines to make the output fit in the target
|
|
column width. The target width is determined as described under
|
|
the <literal>columns</> option. Note that <application>psql</> will
|
|
not attempt to wrap column header titles; therefore,
|
|
<literal>wrapped</> format behaves the same as <literal>aligned</>
|
|
if the total width needed for column headers exceeds the target.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The <literal>html</>, <literal>asciidoc</>, <literal>latex</>,
|
|
<literal>latex-longtable</literal>, and <literal>troff-ms</>
|
|
formats put out tables that are intended to
|
|
be included in documents using the respective mark-up
|
|
language. They are not complete documents! This might not be
|
|
necessary in <acronym>HTML</acronym>, but in
|
|
<application>LaTeX</application> you must have a complete
|
|
document wrapper. <literal>latex-longtable</literal>
|
|
also requires the <application>LaTeX</application>
|
|
<literal>longtable</literal> and <literal>booktabs</> packages.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>linestyle</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the border line drawing style to one
|
|
of <literal>ascii</literal>, <literal>old-ascii</literal>,
|
|
or <literal>unicode</literal>.
|
|
Unique abbreviations are allowed. (That would mean one
|
|
letter is enough.)
|
|
The default setting is <literal>ascii</>.
|
|
This option only affects the <literal>aligned</> and
|
|
<literal>wrapped</> output formats.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para><literal>ascii</literal> style uses plain <acronym>ASCII</acronym>
|
|
characters. Newlines in data are shown using
|
|
a <literal>+</literal> symbol in the right-hand margin.
|
|
When the <literal>wrapped</literal> format wraps data from
|
|
one line to the next without a newline character, a dot
|
|
(<literal>.</>) is shown in the right-hand margin of the first line,
|
|
and again in the left-hand margin of the following line.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para><literal>old-ascii</literal> style uses plain <acronym>ASCII</>
|
|
characters, using the formatting style used
|
|
in <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> 8.4 and earlier.
|
|
Newlines in data are shown using a <literal>:</literal>
|
|
symbol in place of the left-hand column separator.
|
|
When the data is wrapped from one line
|
|
to the next without a newline character, a <literal>;</>
|
|
symbol is used in place of the left-hand column separator.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para><literal>unicode</literal> style uses Unicode box-drawing characters.
|
|
Newlines in data are shown using a carriage return symbol
|
|
in the right-hand margin. When the data is wrapped from one line
|
|
to the next without a newline character, an ellipsis symbol
|
|
is shown in the right-hand margin of the first line, and
|
|
again in the left-hand margin of the following line.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
When the <literal>border</> setting is greater than zero,
|
|
the <literal>linestyle</literal> option also determines the
|
|
characters with which the border lines are drawn.
|
|
Plain <acronym>ASCII</acronym> characters work everywhere, but
|
|
Unicode characters look nicer on displays that recognize them.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>null</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the string to be printed in place of a null value.
|
|
The default is to print nothing, which can easily be mistaken for
|
|
an empty string. For example, one might prefer <literal>\pset null
|
|
'(null)'</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>numericlocale</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is specified
|
|
it must be either <literal>on</literal> or <literal>off</literal>
|
|
which will enable or disable display of a locale-specific character
|
|
to separate groups of digits to the left of the decimal marker.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is omitted the
|
|
command toggles between regular and locale-specific numeric output.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>pager</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Controls use of a pager program for query and <application>psql</>
|
|
help output. If the environment variable <envar>PAGER</envar>
|
|
is set, the output is piped to the specified program.
|
|
Otherwise a platform-dependent default (such as
|
|
<filename>more</filename>) is used.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
When the <literal>pager</> option is <literal>off</>, the pager
|
|
program is not used. When the <literal>pager</> option is
|
|
<literal>on</>, the pager is used when appropriate, i.e., when the
|
|
output is to a terminal and will not fit on the screen.
|
|
The <literal>pager</> option can also be set to <literal>always</>,
|
|
which causes the pager to be used for all terminal output regardless
|
|
of whether it fits on the screen. <literal>\pset pager</>
|
|
without a <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable>
|
|
toggles pager use on and off.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>pager_min_lines</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <literal>pager_min_lines</> is set to a number greater than the
|
|
page height, the pager program will not be called unless there are
|
|
at least this many lines of output to show. The default setting
|
|
is 0.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>recordsep</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies the record (line) separator to use in unaligned
|
|
output format. The default is a newline character.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>recordsep_zero</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the record separator to use in unaligned output format to a zero
|
|
byte.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>tableattr</literal> (or <literal>T</literal>)</term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
In <acronym>HTML</acronym> format, this specifies attributes
|
|
to be placed inside the <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag. This
|
|
could for example be <literal>cellpadding</literal> or
|
|
<literal>bgcolor</literal>. Note that you probably don't want
|
|
to specify <literal>border</literal> here, as that is already
|
|
taken care of by <literal>\pset border</literal>.
|
|
If no
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is given,
|
|
the table attributes are unset.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
In <literal>latex-longtable</literal> format, this controls
|
|
the proportional width of each column containing a left-aligned
|
|
data type. It is specified as a whitespace-separated list of values,
|
|
e.g. <literal>'0.2 0.2 0.6'</>. Unspecified output columns
|
|
use the last specified value.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>title</literal> (or <literal>C</literal>)</term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the table title for any subsequently printed tables. This
|
|
can be used to give your output descriptive tags. If no
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is given,
|
|
the title is unset.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>tuples_only</literal> (or <literal>t</literal>)</term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is specified
|
|
it must be either <literal>on</literal> or <literal>off</literal>
|
|
which will enable or disable tuples-only mode.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is omitted the
|
|
command toggles between regular and tuples-only output.
|
|
Regular output includes extra information such
|
|
as column headers, titles, and various footers. In tuples-only
|
|
mode, only actual table data is shown.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>unicode_border_linestyle</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the border drawing style for the <literal>unicode</literal>
|
|
line style to one of <literal>single</literal>
|
|
or <literal>double</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>unicode_column_linestyle</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the column drawing style for the <literal>unicode</literal>
|
|
line style to one of <literal>single</literal>
|
|
or <literal>double</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>unicode_header_linestyle</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the header drawing style for the <literal>unicode</literal>
|
|
line style to one of <literal>single</literal>
|
|
or <literal>double</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Illustrations of how these different formats look can be seen in
|
|
the <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-examples"
|
|
endterm="APP-PSQL-examples-title"> section.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
There are various shortcut commands for <command>\pset</command>. See
|
|
<command>\a</command>, <command>\C</command>, <command>\H</command>,
|
|
<command>\t</command>, <command>\T</command>, and <command>\x</command>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\q</literal> or <literal>\quit</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Quits the <application>psql</application> program.
|
|
In a script file, only execution of that script is terminated.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\qecho <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> [ ... ] </literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This command is identical to <command>\echo</command> except
|
|
that the output will be written to the query output channel, as
|
|
set by <command>\o</command>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\r</literal> or <literal>\reset</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Resets (clears) the query buffer.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\s [ <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Print <application>psql</application>'s command line history
|
|
to <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>.
|
|
If <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> is omitted,
|
|
the history is written to the standard output (using the pager if
|
|
appropriate). This command is not available
|
|
if <application>psql</application> was built
|
|
without <application>Readline</application> support.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\set [ <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> [ ... ] ] ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the <application>psql</> variable <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">name</replaceable> to <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">value</replaceable>, or if more than one value
|
|
is given, to the concatenation of all of them. If only one
|
|
argument is given, the variable is set to an empty-string value. To
|
|
unset a variable, use the <command>\unset</command> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para><command>\set</> without any arguments displays the names and values
|
|
of all currently-set <application>psql</> variables.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Valid variable names can contain letters, digits, and
|
|
underscores. See the section <xref
|
|
linkend="APP-PSQL-variables"
|
|
endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title"> below for details.
|
|
Variable names are case-sensitive.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Certain variables are special, in that they
|
|
control <application>psql</application>'s behavior or are
|
|
automatically set to reflect connection state. These variables are
|
|
documented in <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-variables"
|
|
endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title">, below.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This command is unrelated to the <acronym>SQL</acronym>
|
|
command <xref linkend="SQL-SET">.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\setenv <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets the environment variable <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">name</replaceable> to <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">value</replaceable>, or if the
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is
|
|
not supplied, unsets the environment variable. Example:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\setenv PAGER less</userinput>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\setenv LESS -imx4F</userinput>
|
|
</programlisting></para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\sf[+] <replaceable class="parameter">function_description</> </literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This command fetches and shows the definition of the named function,
|
|
in the form of a <command>CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION</> command.
|
|
The definition is printed to the current query output channel,
|
|
as set by <command>\o</command>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The target function can be specified by name alone, or by name
|
|
and arguments, for example <literal>foo(integer, text)</>.
|
|
The argument types must be given if there is more
|
|
than one function of the same name.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, then the
|
|
output lines are numbered, with the first line of the function body
|
|
being line 1.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\sv[+] <replaceable class="parameter">view_name</> </literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This command fetches and shows the definition of the named view,
|
|
in the form of a <command>CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW</> command.
|
|
The definition is printed to the current query output channel,
|
|
as set by <command>\o</command>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, then the
|
|
output lines are numbered from 1.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\t</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Toggles the display of output column name headings and row count
|
|
footer. This command is equivalent to <literal>\pset
|
|
tuples_only</literal> and is provided for convenience.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\T <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies attributes to be placed within the
|
|
<sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag in <acronym>HTML</acronym>
|
|
output format. This command is equivalent to <literal>\pset
|
|
tableattr <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\timing [ <replaceable class="parameter">on</replaceable> | <replaceable class="parameter">off</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
With a parameter, turns displaying of how long each SQL statement
|
|
takes on or off. Without a parameter, toggles the display between
|
|
on and off. The display is in milliseconds; intervals longer than
|
|
1 second are also shown in minutes:seconds format, with hours and
|
|
days fields added if needed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\unset <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable></literal></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Unsets (deletes) the <application>psql</> variable <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">name</replaceable>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Most variables that control <application>psql</application>'s behavior
|
|
cannot be unset; instead, an <literal>\unset</> command is interpreted
|
|
as setting them to their default values.
|
|
See <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-variables"
|
|
endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title">, below.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\w</literal> or <literal>\write</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term>
|
|
<term><literal>\w</literal> or <literal>\write</literal> <literal>|</><replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Outputs the current query buffer to the file <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipes it to the shell
|
|
command <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\watch [ <replaceable class="parameter">seconds</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Repeatedly execute the current query buffer (as <literal>\g</> does)
|
|
until interrupted or the query fails. Wait the specified number of
|
|
seconds (default 2) between executions. Each query result is
|
|
displayed with a header that includes the <literal>\pset title</>
|
|
string (if any), the time as of query start, and the delay interval.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\x [ <replaceable class="parameter">on</replaceable> | <replaceable class="parameter">off</replaceable> | <replaceable class="parameter">auto</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Sets or toggles expanded table formatting mode. As such it is equivalent to
|
|
<literal>\pset expanded</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\z [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Lists tables, views and sequences with their
|
|
associated access privileges.
|
|
If a <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
|
|
specified, only tables, views and sequences whose names match the
|
|
pattern are listed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
This is an alias for <command>\dp</command> (<quote>display
|
|
privileges</quote>).
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\! [ <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Escapes to a separate shell or executes the shell command
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>. The
|
|
arguments are not further interpreted; the shell will see them
|
|
as-is. In particular, the variable substitution rules and
|
|
backslash escapes do not apply.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>\? [ <replaceable class="parameter">topic</> ]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Shows help information. The optional
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">topic</> parameter
|
|
(defaulting to <literal>commands</>) selects which part of <application>psql</application> is
|
|
explained: <literal>commands</> describes <application>psql</>'s
|
|
backslash commands; <literal>options</> describes the command-line
|
|
options that can be passed to <application>psql</>;
|
|
and <literal>variables</> shows help about <application>psql</application> configuration
|
|
variables.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<refsect3 id="APP-PSQL-patterns">
|
|
<title id="APP-PSQL-patterns-title">Patterns</title>
|
|
|
|
<indexterm>
|
|
<primary>patterns</primary>
|
|
<secondary>in psql and pg_dump</secondary>
|
|
</indexterm>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The various <literal>\d</> commands accept a <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> parameter to specify the
|
|
object name(s) to be displayed. In the simplest case, a pattern
|
|
is just the exact name of the object. The characters within a
|
|
pattern are normally folded to lower case, just as in SQL names;
|
|
for example, <literal>\dt FOO</> will display the table named
|
|
<literal>foo</>. As in SQL names, placing double quotes around
|
|
a pattern stops folding to lower case. Should you need to include
|
|
an actual double quote character in a pattern, write it as a pair
|
|
of double quotes within a double-quote sequence; again this is in
|
|
accord with the rules for SQL quoted identifiers. For example,
|
|
<literal>\dt "FOO""BAR"</> will display the table named
|
|
<literal>FOO"BAR</> (not <literal>foo"bar</>). Unlike the normal
|
|
rules for SQL names, you can put double quotes around just part
|
|
of a pattern, for instance <literal>\dt FOO"FOO"BAR</> will display
|
|
the table named <literal>fooFOObar</>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Whenever the <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> parameter
|
|
is omitted completely, the <literal>\d</> commands display all objects
|
|
that are visible in the current schema search path — this is
|
|
equivalent to using <literal>*</> as the pattern.
|
|
(An object is said to be <firstterm>visible</> if its
|
|
containing schema is in the search path and no object of the same
|
|
kind and name appears earlier in the search path. This is equivalent to the
|
|
statement that the object can be referenced by name without explicit
|
|
schema qualification.)
|
|
To see all objects in the database regardless of visibility,
|
|
use <literal>*.*</> as the pattern.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Within a pattern, <literal>*</> matches any sequence of characters
|
|
(including no characters) and <literal>?</> matches any single character.
|
|
(This notation is comparable to Unix shell file name patterns.)
|
|
For example, <literal>\dt int*</> displays tables whose names
|
|
begin with <literal>int</>. But within double quotes, <literal>*</>
|
|
and <literal>?</> lose these special meanings and are just matched
|
|
literally.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
A pattern that contains a dot (<literal>.</>) is interpreted as a schema
|
|
name pattern followed by an object name pattern. For example,
|
|
<literal>\dt foo*.*bar*</> displays all tables whose table name
|
|
includes <literal>bar</> that are in schemas whose schema name
|
|
starts with <literal>foo</>. When no dot appears, then the pattern
|
|
matches only objects that are visible in the current schema search path.
|
|
Again, a dot within double quotes loses its special meaning and is matched
|
|
literally.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Advanced users can use regular-expression notations such as character
|
|
classes, for example <literal>[0-9]</> to match any digit. All regular
|
|
expression special characters work as specified in
|
|
<xref linkend="functions-posix-regexp">, except for <literal>.</> which
|
|
is taken as a separator as mentioned above, <literal>*</> which is
|
|
translated to the regular-expression notation <literal>.*</>,
|
|
<literal>?</> which is translated to <literal>.</>, and
|
|
<literal>$</> which is matched literally. You can emulate
|
|
these pattern characters at need by writing
|
|
<literal>?</> for <literal>.</>,
|
|
<literal>(<replaceable class="parameter">R</replaceable>+|)</literal> for
|
|
<literal><replaceable class="parameter">R</replaceable>*</literal>, or
|
|
<literal>(<replaceable class="parameter">R</replaceable>|)</literal> for
|
|
<literal><replaceable class="parameter">R</replaceable>?</literal>.
|
|
<literal>$</> is not needed as a regular-expression character since
|
|
the pattern must match the whole name, unlike the usual
|
|
interpretation of regular expressions (in other words, <literal>$</>
|
|
is automatically appended to your pattern). Write <literal>*</> at the
|
|
beginning and/or end if you don't wish the pattern to be anchored.
|
|
Note that within double quotes, all regular expression special characters
|
|
lose their special meanings and are matched literally. Also, the regular
|
|
expression special characters are matched literally in operator name
|
|
patterns (i.e., the argument of <literal>\do</>).
|
|
</para>
|
|
</refsect3>
|
|
</refsect2>
|
|
|
|
<refsect2>
|
|
<title>Advanced Features</title>
|
|
|
|
<refsect3 id="APP-PSQL-variables">
|
|
<title id="APP-PSQL-variables-title">Variables</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<application>psql</application> provides variable substitution
|
|
features similar to common Unix command shells.
|
|
Variables are simply name/value pairs, where the value
|
|
can be any string of any length. The name must consist of letters
|
|
(including non-Latin letters), digits, and underscores.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To set a variable, use the <application>psql</application> meta-command
|
|
<command>\set</command>. For example,
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\set foo bar</userinput>
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
sets the variable <literal>foo</literal> to the value
|
|
<literal>bar</literal>. To retrieve the content of the variable, precede
|
|
the name with a colon, for example:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\echo :foo</userinput>
|
|
bar
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
This works in both regular SQL commands and meta-commands; there is
|
|
more detail in <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-interpolation"
|
|
endterm="APP-PSQL-interpolation-title">, below.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you call <command>\set</command> without a second argument, the
|
|
variable is set to an empty-string value. To unset (i.e., delete)
|
|
a variable, use the command <command>\unset</command>. To show the
|
|
values of all variables, call <command>\set</command> without any argument.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The arguments of <command>\set</command> are subject to the same
|
|
substitution rules as with other commands. Thus you can construct
|
|
interesting references such as <literal>\set :foo
|
|
'something'</literal> and get <quote>soft links</quote> or
|
|
<quote>variable variables</quote> of <productname>Perl</productname>
|
|
or <productname><acronym>PHP</acronym></productname> fame,
|
|
respectively. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), there is no way to do
|
|
anything useful with these constructs. On the other hand,
|
|
<literal>\set bar :foo</literal> is a perfectly valid way to copy a
|
|
variable.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
A number of these variables are treated specially
|
|
by <application>psql</application>. They represent certain option
|
|
settings that can be changed at run time by altering the value of
|
|
the variable, or in some cases represent changeable state of
|
|
<application>psql</application>.
|
|
By convention, all specially treated variables' names
|
|
consist of all upper-case ASCII letters (and possibly digits and
|
|
underscores). To ensure maximum compatibility in the future, avoid
|
|
using such variable names for your own purposes.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Variables that control <application>psql</application>'s behavior
|
|
generally cannot be unset or set to invalid values. An <literal>\unset</>
|
|
command is allowed but is interpreted as setting the variable to its
|
|
default value. A <literal>\set</> command without a second argument is
|
|
interpreted as setting the variable to <literal>on</>, for control
|
|
variables that accept that value, and is rejected for others. Also,
|
|
control variables that accept the values <literal>on</>
|
|
and <literal>off</> will also accept other common spellings of Boolean
|
|
values, such as <literal>true</> and <literal>false</>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The specially treated variables are:
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term>
|
|
<varname>AUTOCOMMIT</varname>
|
|
<indexterm>
|
|
<primary>autocommit</primary>
|
|
<secondary>psql</secondary>
|
|
</indexterm>
|
|
</term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
When <literal>on</> (the default), each SQL command is automatically
|
|
committed upon successful completion. To postpone commit in this
|
|
mode, you must enter a <command>BEGIN</> or <command>START
|
|
TRANSACTION</> SQL command. When <literal>off</> or unset, SQL
|
|
commands are not committed until you explicitly issue
|
|
<command>COMMIT</> or <command>END</>. The autocommit-off
|
|
mode works by issuing an implicit <command>BEGIN</> for you, just
|
|
before any command that is not already in a transaction block and
|
|
is not itself a <command>BEGIN</> or other transaction-control
|
|
command, nor a command that cannot be executed inside a transaction
|
|
block (such as <command>VACUUM</>).
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
In autocommit-off mode, you must explicitly abandon any failed
|
|
transaction by entering <command>ABORT</> or <command>ROLLBACK</>.
|
|
Also keep in mind that if you exit the session
|
|
without committing, your work will be lost.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The autocommit-on mode is <productname>PostgreSQL</>'s traditional
|
|
behavior, but autocommit-off is closer to the SQL spec. If you
|
|
prefer autocommit-off, you might wish to set it in the system-wide
|
|
<filename>psqlrc</filename> file or your
|
|
<filename>~/.psqlrc</filename> file.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>COMP_KEYWORD_CASE</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Determines which letter case to use when completing an SQL key word.
|
|
If set to <literal>lower</literal> or <literal>upper</literal>, the
|
|
completed word will be in lower or upper case, respectively. If set
|
|
to <literal>preserve-lower</literal>
|
|
or <literal>preserve-upper</literal> (the default), the completed word
|
|
will be in the case of the word already entered, but words being
|
|
completed without anything entered will be in lower or upper case,
|
|
respectively.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>DBNAME</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The name of the database you are currently connected to. This is
|
|
set every time you connect to a database (including program
|
|
start-up), but can be changed or unset.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>ECHO</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If set to <literal>all</literal>, all nonempty input lines are printed
|
|
to standard output as they are read. (This does not apply to lines
|
|
read interactively.) To select this behavior on program
|
|
start-up, use the switch <option>-a</option>. If set to
|
|
<literal>queries</literal>,
|
|
<application>psql</application> prints each query to standard output
|
|
as it is sent to the server. The switch to select this behavior is
|
|
<option>-e</option>. If set to <literal>errors</literal>, then only
|
|
failed queries are displayed on standard error output. The switch
|
|
for this behavior is <option>-b</option>. If set to
|
|
<literal>none</literal> (the default), then no queries are displayed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>ECHO_HIDDEN</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
When this variable is set to <literal>on</> and a backslash command
|
|
queries the database, the query is first shown.
|
|
This feature helps you to study
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> internals and provide
|
|
similar functionality in your own programs. (To select this behavior
|
|
on program start-up, use the switch <option>-E</option>.) If you set
|
|
this variable to the value <literal>noexec</literal>, the queries are
|
|
just shown but are not actually sent to the server and executed.
|
|
The default value is <literal>off</>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>ENCODING</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The current client character set encoding.
|
|
This is set every time you connect to a database (including
|
|
program start-up), and when you change the encoding
|
|
with <literal>\encoding</>, but it can be changed or unset.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>FETCH_COUNT</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If this variable is set to an integer value greater than zero,
|
|
the results of <command>SELECT</command> queries are fetched
|
|
and displayed in groups of that many rows, rather than the
|
|
default behavior of collecting the entire result set before
|
|
display. Therefore only a
|
|
limited amount of memory is used, regardless of the size of
|
|
the result set. Settings of 100 to 1000 are commonly used
|
|
when enabling this feature.
|
|
Keep in mind that when using this feature, a query might
|
|
fail after having already displayed some rows.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<varname>FETCH_COUNT</varname> is ignored if it is unset or does not
|
|
have a positive value. It cannot be set to a value that is not
|
|
syntactically an integer.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Although you can use any output format with this feature,
|
|
the default <literal>aligned</> format tends to look bad
|
|
because each group of <varname>FETCH_COUNT</varname> rows
|
|
will be formatted separately, leading to varying column
|
|
widths across the row groups. The other output formats work better.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>HISTCONTROL</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If this variable is set to <literal>ignorespace</literal>,
|
|
lines which begin with a space are not entered into the history
|
|
list. If set to a value of <literal>ignoredups</literal>, lines
|
|
matching the previous history line are not entered. A value of
|
|
<literal>ignoreboth</literal> combines the two options. If
|
|
set to <literal>none</literal> (the default), all lines
|
|
read in interactive mode are saved on the history list.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
|
|
<application>Bash</application>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>HISTFILE</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The file name that will be used to store the history list. If unset,
|
|
the file name is taken from the <envar>PSQL_HISTORY</envar>
|
|
environment variable. If that is not set either, the default
|
|
is <filename>~/.psql_history</filename>,
|
|
or <filename>%APPDATA%\postgresql\psql_history</filename> on Windows.
|
|
For example, putting:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
\set HISTFILE ~/.psql_history- :DBNAME
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
in <filename>~/.psqlrc</filename> will cause
|
|
<application>psql</application> to maintain a separate history for
|
|
each database.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
|
|
<application>Bash</application>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>HISTSIZE</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The maximum number of commands to store in the command history.
|
|
If unset, at most 500 commands are stored by default.
|
|
If set to a value that is negative or not an integer, no limit is
|
|
applied.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
|
|
<application>Bash</application>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>HOST</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The database server host you are currently connected to. This is
|
|
set every time you connect to a database (including program
|
|
start-up), but can be changed or unset.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>IGNOREEOF</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If unset, sending an <acronym>EOF</> character (usually
|
|
<keycombo action="simul"><keycap>Control</><keycap>D</></>)
|
|
to an interactive session of <application>psql</application>
|
|
will terminate the application. If set to a numeric value,
|
|
that many <acronym>EOF</> characters are ignored before the
|
|
application terminates. If the variable is set but not to a
|
|
numeric value, the default is 10.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
|
|
<application>Bash</application>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>LASTOID</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The value of the last affected OID, as returned from an
|
|
<command>INSERT</command> or <command>\lo_import</command>
|
|
command. This variable is only guaranteed to be valid until
|
|
after the result of the next <acronym>SQL</acronym> command has
|
|
been displayed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term>
|
|
<varname>ON_ERROR_ROLLBACK</varname>
|
|
<indexterm>
|
|
<primary>rollback</primary>
|
|
<secondary>psql</secondary>
|
|
</indexterm>
|
|
</term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
When set to <literal>on</>, if a statement in a transaction block
|
|
generates an error, the error is ignored and the transaction
|
|
continues. When set to <literal>interactive</>, such errors are only
|
|
ignored in interactive sessions, and not when reading script
|
|
files. When set to <literal>off</> (the default), a statement in a
|
|
transaction block that generates an error aborts the entire
|
|
transaction. The error rollback mode works by issuing an
|
|
implicit <command>SAVEPOINT</> for you, just before each command
|
|
that is in a transaction block, and then rolling back to the
|
|
savepoint if the command fails.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>ON_ERROR_STOP</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
By default, command processing continues after an error. When this
|
|
variable is set to <literal>on</>, processing will instead stop
|
|
immediately. In interactive mode,
|
|
<application>psql</application> will return to the command prompt;
|
|
otherwise, <application>psql</application> will exit, returning
|
|
error code 3 to distinguish this case from fatal error
|
|
conditions, which are reported using error code 1. In either case,
|
|
any currently running scripts (the top-level script, if any, and any
|
|
other scripts which it may have in invoked) will be terminated
|
|
immediately. If the top-level command string contained multiple SQL
|
|
commands, processing will stop with the current command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>PORT</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The database server port to which you are currently connected.
|
|
This is set every time you connect to a database (including
|
|
program start-up), but can be changed or unset.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>PROMPT1</varname></term>
|
|
<term><varname>PROMPT2</varname></term>
|
|
<term><varname>PROMPT3</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
These specify what the prompts <application>psql</application>
|
|
issues should look like. See <xref
|
|
linkend="APP-PSQL-prompting"
|
|
endterm="APP-PSQL-prompting-title"> below.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>QUIET</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Setting this variable to <literal>on</> is equivalent to the command
|
|
line option <option>-q</option>. It is probably not too useful in
|
|
interactive mode.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>SHOW_CONTEXT</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This variable can be set to the
|
|
values <literal>never</>, <literal>errors</>, or <literal>always</>
|
|
to control whether <literal>CONTEXT</> fields are displayed in
|
|
messages from the server. The default is <literal>errors</> (meaning
|
|
that context will be shown in error messages, but not in notice or
|
|
warning messages). This setting has no effect
|
|
when <varname>VERBOSITY</> is set to <literal>terse</>.
|
|
(See also <command>\errverbose</>, for use when you want a verbose
|
|
version of the error you just got.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>SINGLELINE</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Setting this variable to <literal>on</> is equivalent to the command
|
|
line option <option>-S</option>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>SINGLESTEP</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Setting this variable to <literal>on</> is equivalent to the command
|
|
line option <option>-s</option>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>USER</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The database user you are currently connected as. This is set
|
|
every time you connect to a database (including program
|
|
start-up), but can be changed or unset.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>VERBOSITY</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This variable can be set to the values <literal>default</>,
|
|
<literal>verbose</>, or <literal>terse</> to control the verbosity
|
|
of error reports.
|
|
(See also <command>\errverbose</>, for use when you want a verbose
|
|
version of the error you just got.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><varname>VERSION</varname></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This variable is set at program start-up to
|
|
reflect <application>psql</>'s version. It can be changed or unset.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
|
|
</refsect3>
|
|
|
|
<refsect3 id="APP-PSQL-interpolation">
|
|
<title id="APP-PSQL-interpolation-title"><acronym>SQL</acronym> Interpolation</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
A key feature of <application>psql</application>
|
|
variables is that you can substitute (<quote>interpolate</quote>)
|
|
them into regular <acronym>SQL</acronym> statements, as well as the
|
|
arguments of meta-commands. Furthermore,
|
|
<application>psql</application> provides facilities for
|
|
ensuring that variable values used as SQL literals and identifiers are
|
|
properly quoted. The syntax for interpolating a value without
|
|
any quoting is to prepend the variable name with a colon
|
|
(<literal>:</literal>). For example,
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\set foo 'my_table'</userinput>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM :foo;</userinput>
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
would query the table <literal>my_table</literal>. Note that this
|
|
may be unsafe: the value of the variable is copied literally, so it can
|
|
contain unbalanced quotes, or even backslash commands. You must make sure
|
|
that it makes sense where you put it.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
When a value is to be used as an SQL literal or identifier, it is
|
|
safest to arrange for it to be quoted. To quote the value of
|
|
a variable as an SQL literal, write a colon followed by the variable
|
|
name in single quotes. To quote the value as an SQL identifier, write
|
|
a colon followed by the variable name in double quotes.
|
|
These constructs deal correctly with quotes and other special
|
|
characters embedded within the variable value.
|
|
The previous example would be more safely written this way:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\set foo 'my_table'</userinput>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM :"foo";</userinput>
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Variable interpolation will not be performed within quoted
|
|
<acronym>SQL</acronym> literals and identifiers. Therefore, a
|
|
construction such as <literal>':foo'</> doesn't work to produce a quoted
|
|
literal from a variable's value (and it would be unsafe if it did work,
|
|
since it wouldn't correctly handle quotes embedded in the value).
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
One example use of this mechanism is to
|
|
copy the contents of a file into a table column.
|
|
First load the file into a variable and then interpolate the variable's
|
|
value as a quoted string:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\set content `cat my_file.txt`</userinput>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (:'content');</userinput>
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
(Note that this still won't work if <filename>my_file.txt</filename> contains NUL bytes.
|
|
<application>psql</application> does not support embedded NUL bytes in variable values.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Since colons can legally appear in SQL commands, an apparent attempt
|
|
at interpolation (that is, <literal>:name</literal>,
|
|
<literal>:'name'</literal>, or <literal>:"name"</literal>) is not
|
|
replaced unless the named variable is currently set. In any case, you
|
|
can escape a colon with a backslash to protect it from substitution.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The colon syntax for variables is standard <acronym>SQL</acronym> for
|
|
embedded query languages, such as <application>ECPG</application>.
|
|
The colon syntaxes for array slices and type casts are
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> extensions, which can sometimes
|
|
conflict with the standard usage. The colon-quote syntax for escaping a
|
|
variable's value as an SQL literal or identifier is a
|
|
<application>psql</application> extension.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</refsect3>
|
|
|
|
<refsect3 id="APP-PSQL-prompting">
|
|
<title id="APP-PSQL-prompting-title">Prompting</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The prompts <application>psql</application> issues can be customized
|
|
to your preference. The three variables <varname>PROMPT1</varname>,
|
|
<varname>PROMPT2</varname>, and <varname>PROMPT3</varname> contain strings
|
|
and special escape sequences that describe the appearance of the
|
|
prompt. Prompt 1 is the normal prompt that is issued when
|
|
<application>psql</application> requests a new command. Prompt 2 is
|
|
issued when more input is expected during command entry, for example
|
|
because the command was not terminated with a semicolon or a quote
|
|
was not closed.
|
|
Prompt 3 is issued when you are running an <acronym>SQL</acronym>
|
|
<command>COPY FROM STDIN</command> command and you need to type in
|
|
a row value on the terminal.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The value of the selected prompt variable is printed literally,
|
|
except where a percent sign (<literal>%</literal>) is encountered.
|
|
Depending on the next character, certain other text is substituted
|
|
instead. Defined substitutions are:
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%M</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The full host name (with domain name) of the database server,
|
|
or <literal>[local]</literal> if the connection is over a Unix
|
|
domain socket, or
|
|
<literal>[local:<replaceable>/dir/name</replaceable>]</literal>,
|
|
if the Unix domain socket is not at the compiled in default
|
|
location.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%m</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The host name of the database server, truncated at the
|
|
first dot, or <literal>[local]</literal> if the connection is
|
|
over a Unix domain socket.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%></literal></term>
|
|
<listitem><para>The port number at which the database server is listening.</para></listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%n</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The database session user name. (The expansion of this
|
|
value might change during a database session as the result
|
|
of the command <command>SET SESSION
|
|
AUTHORIZATION</command>.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%/</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem><para>The name of the current database.</para></listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%~</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem><para>Like <literal>%/</literal>, but the output is <literal>~</literal>
|
|
(tilde) if the database is your default database.</para></listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%#</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If the session user is a database superuser, then a
|
|
<literal>#</literal>, otherwise a <literal>></literal>.
|
|
(The expansion of this value might change during a database
|
|
session as the result of the command <command>SET SESSION
|
|
AUTHORIZATION</command>.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%p</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>The process ID of the backend currently connected to.</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%R</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
In prompt 1 normally <literal>=</literal>,
|
|
but <literal>^</literal> if in single-line mode,
|
|
or <literal>!</literal> if the session is disconnected from the
|
|
database (which can happen if <command>\connect</command> fails).
|
|
In prompt 2 <literal>%R</literal> is replaced by a character that
|
|
depends on why <application>psql</application> expects more input:
|
|
<literal>-</literal> if the command simply wasn't terminated yet,
|
|
but <literal>*</literal> if there is an unfinished
|
|
<literal>/* ... */</literal> comment,
|
|
a single quote if there is an unfinished quoted string,
|
|
a double quote if there is an unfinished quoted identifier,
|
|
a dollar sign if there is an unfinished dollar-quoted string,
|
|
or <literal>(</literal> if there is an unmatched left parenthesis.
|
|
In prompt 3 <literal>%R</literal> doesn't produce anything.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%x</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Transaction status: an empty string when not in a transaction
|
|
block, or <literal>*</> when in a transaction block, or
|
|
<literal>!</> when in a failed transaction block, or <literal>?</>
|
|
when the transaction state is indeterminate (for example, because
|
|
there is no connection).
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%l</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The line number inside the current statement, starting from <literal>1</>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%</literal><replaceable class="parameter">digits</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The character with the indicated octal code is substituted.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%:</literal><replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable><literal>:</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The value of the <application>psql</application> variable
|
|
<replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>. See the
|
|
section <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-variables"
|
|
endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title"> for details.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%`</literal><replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable><literal>`</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The output of <replaceable
|
|
class="parameter">command</replaceable>, similar to ordinary
|
|
<quote>back-tick</quote> substitution.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>%[</literal> ... <literal>%]</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Prompts can contain terminal control characters which, for
|
|
example, change the color, background, or style of the prompt
|
|
text, or change the title of the terminal window. In order for
|
|
the line editing features of <application>Readline</application> to work properly, these
|
|
non-printing control characters must be designated as invisible
|
|
by surrounding them with <literal>%[</literal> and
|
|
<literal>%]</literal>. Multiple pairs of these can occur within
|
|
the prompt. For example:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> \set PROMPT1 '%[%033[1;33;40m%]%n@%/%R%[%033[0m%]%# '
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
results in a boldfaced (<literal>1;</literal>) yellow-on-black
|
|
(<literal>33;40</literal>) prompt on VT100-compatible, color-capable
|
|
terminals.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
|
|
To insert a percent sign into your prompt, write
|
|
<literal>%%</literal>. The default prompts are
|
|
<literal>'%/%R%# '</literal> for prompts 1 and 2, and
|
|
<literal>'>> '</literal> for prompt 3.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
|
|
<application>tcsh</application>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
|
|
</refsect3>
|
|
|
|
<refsect3>
|
|
<title>Command-Line Editing</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<application>psql</application> supports the <application>Readline</application>
|
|
library for convenient line editing and retrieval. The command
|
|
history is automatically saved when <application>psql</application>
|
|
exits and is reloaded when
|
|
<application>psql</application> starts up. Tab-completion is also
|
|
supported, although the completion logic makes no claim to be an
|
|
<acronym>SQL</acronym> parser. The queries generated by tab-completion
|
|
can also interfere with other SQL commands, e.g. <literal>SET
|
|
TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL</>.
|
|
If for some reason you do not like the tab completion, you
|
|
can turn it off by putting this in a file named
|
|
<filename>.inputrc</filename> in your home directory:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
$if psql
|
|
set disable-completion on
|
|
$endif
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
(This is not a <application>psql</application> but a
|
|
<application>Readline</application> feature. Read its documentation
|
|
for further details.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
</refsect3>
|
|
</refsect2>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<refsect1 id="app-psql-environment">
|
|
<title id="app-psql-environment-title">Environment</title>
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><envar>COLUMNS</envar></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If <literal>\pset columns</> is zero, controls the
|
|
width for the <literal>wrapped</> format and width for determining
|
|
if wide output requires the pager or should be switched to the
|
|
vertical format in expanded auto mode.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><envar>PAGER</envar></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If the query results do not fit on the screen, they are piped
|
|
through this command. Typical values are
|
|
<literal>more</literal> or <literal>less</literal>. The default
|
|
is platform-dependent. Use of the pager can be disabled by setting
|
|
<envar>PAGER</envar> to empty, or by using pager-related options of
|
|
the <command>\pset</command> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><envar>PGDATABASE</envar></term>
|
|
<term><envar>PGHOST</envar></term>
|
|
<term><envar>PGPORT</envar></term>
|
|
<term><envar>PGUSER</envar></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Default connection parameters (see <xref linkend="libpq-envars">).
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><envar>PSQL_EDITOR</envar></term>
|
|
<term><envar>EDITOR</envar></term>
|
|
<term><envar>VISUAL</envar></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Editor used by the <command>\e</command>, <command>\ef</command>,
|
|
and <command>\ev</command> commands.
|
|
These variables are examined in the order listed;
|
|
the first that is set is used.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The built-in default editors are <filename>vi</filename> on Unix
|
|
systems and <filename>notepad.exe</filename> on Windows systems.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><envar>PSQL_EDITOR_LINENUMBER_ARG</envar></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
When <command>\e</command>, <command>\ef</command>, or
|
|
<command>\ev</command> is used
|
|
with a line number argument, this variable specifies the
|
|
command-line argument used to pass the starting line number to
|
|
the user's editor. For editors such as <productname>Emacs</> or
|
|
<productname>vi</>, this is a plus sign. Include a trailing
|
|
space in the value of the variable if there needs to be space
|
|
between the option name and the line number. Examples:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
PSQL_EDITOR_LINENUMBER_ARG='+'
|
|
PSQL_EDITOR_LINENUMBER_ARG='--line '
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The default is <literal>+</literal> on Unix systems
|
|
(corresponding to the default editor <filename>vi</filename>,
|
|
and useful for many other common editors); but there is no
|
|
default on Windows systems.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><envar>PSQL_HISTORY</envar></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Alternative location for the command history file. Tilde (<literal>~</literal>) expansion is performed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><envar>PSQLRC</envar></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Alternative location of the user's <filename>.psqlrc</filename> file. Tilde (<literal>~</literal>) expansion is performed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><envar>SHELL</envar></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Command executed by the <command>\!</command> command.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><envar>TMPDIR</envar></term>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Directory for storing temporary files. The default is
|
|
<filename>/tmp</filename>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
This utility, like most other <productname>PostgreSQL</> utilities,
|
|
also uses the environment variables supported by <application>libpq</>
|
|
(see <xref linkend="libpq-envars">).
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Files</title>
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><filename>psqlrc</filename> and <filename>~/.psqlrc</filename></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Unless it is passed an <option>-X</option> option,
|
|
<application>psql</application> attempts to read and execute commands
|
|
from the system-wide startup file (<filename>psqlrc</filename>) and then
|
|
the user's personal startup file (<filename>~/.psqlrc</filename>), after
|
|
connecting to the database but before accepting normal commands.
|
|
These files can be used to set up the client and/or the server to taste,
|
|
typically with <command>\set</command> and <command>SET</command>
|
|
commands.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The system-wide startup file is named <filename>psqlrc</filename> and is
|
|
sought in the installation's <quote>system configuration</> directory,
|
|
which is most reliably identified by running <literal>pg_config
|
|
--sysconfdir</>. By default this directory will be <filename>../etc/</>
|
|
relative to the directory containing
|
|
the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> executables. The name of this
|
|
directory can be set explicitly via the <envar>PGSYSCONFDIR</envar>
|
|
environment variable.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The user's personal startup file is named <filename>.psqlrc</filename>
|
|
and is sought in the invoking user's home directory. On Windows, which
|
|
lacks such a concept, the personal startup file is named
|
|
<filename>%APPDATA%\postgresql\psqlrc.conf</filename>.
|
|
The location of the user's startup file can be set explicitly via
|
|
the <envar>PSQLRC</envar> environment variable.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Both the system-wide startup file and the user's personal startup file
|
|
can be made <application>psql</application>-version-specific
|
|
by appending a dash and the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
|
|
major or minor release number to the file name,
|
|
for example <filename>~/.psqlrc-9.2</filename> or
|
|
<filename>~/.psqlrc-9.2.5</filename>. The most specific
|
|
version-matching file will be read in preference to a
|
|
non-version-specific file.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><filename>.psql_history</filename></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The command-line history is stored in the file
|
|
<filename>~/.psql_history</filename>, or
|
|
<filename>%APPDATA%\postgresql\psql_history</filename> on Windows.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The location of the history file can be set explicitly via
|
|
the <varname>HISTFILE</varname> <application>psql</> variable or
|
|
the <envar>PSQL_HISTORY</envar> environment variable.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Notes</title>
|
|
|
|
<itemizedlist>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para><application>psql</application> works best with servers of the same
|
|
or an older major version. Backslash commands are particularly likely
|
|
to fail if the server is of a newer version than <application>psql</>
|
|
itself. However, backslash commands of the <literal>\d</> family should
|
|
work with servers of versions back to 7.4, though not necessarily with
|
|
servers newer than <application>psql</> itself. The general
|
|
functionality of running SQL commands and displaying query results
|
|
should also work with servers of a newer major version, but this cannot
|
|
be guaranteed in all cases.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you want to use <application>psql</application> to connect to several
|
|
servers of different major versions, it is recommended that you use the
|
|
newest version of <application>psql</application>. Alternatively, you
|
|
can keep around a copy of <application>psql</application> from each
|
|
major version and be sure to use the version that matches the
|
|
respective server. But in practice, this additional complication should
|
|
not be necessary.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Before <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> 9.6,
|
|
the <option>-c</option> option implied <option>-X</option>
|
|
(<option>--no-psqlrc</>); this is no longer the case.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Before <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> 8.4,
|
|
<application>psql</application> allowed the
|
|
first argument of a single-letter backslash command to start
|
|
directly after the command, without intervening whitespace.
|
|
Now, some whitespace is required.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</itemizedlist>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Notes for Windows Users</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<application>psql</application> is built as a <quote>console
|
|
application</>. Since the Windows console windows use a different
|
|
encoding than the rest of the system, you must take special care
|
|
when using 8-bit characters within <application>psql</application>.
|
|
If <application>psql</application> detects a problematic
|
|
console code page, it will warn you at startup. To change the
|
|
console code page, two things are necessary:
|
|
|
|
<itemizedlist>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Set the code page by entering <userinput>cmd.exe /c chcp
|
|
1252</userinput>. (1252 is a code page that is appropriate for
|
|
German; replace it with your value.) If you are using Cygwin,
|
|
you can put this command in <filename>/etc/profile</filename>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Set the console font to <literal>Lucida Console</>, because the
|
|
raster font does not work with the ANSI code page.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</itemizedlist></para>
|
|
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<refsect1 id="APP-PSQL-examples">
|
|
<title id="APP-PSQL-examples-title">Examples</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The first example shows how to spread a command over several lines of
|
|
input. Notice the changing prompt:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>CREATE TABLE my_table (</userinput>
|
|
testdb(> <userinput> first integer not null default 0,</userinput>
|
|
testdb(> <userinput> second text)</userinput>
|
|
testdb-> <userinput>;</userinput>
|
|
CREATE TABLE
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
Now look at the table definition again:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\d my_table</userinput>
|
|
Table "public.my_table"
|
|
Column | Type | Collation | Nullable | Default
|
|
--------+---------+-----------+----------+---------
|
|
first | integer | | not null | 0
|
|
second | text | | |
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
Now we change the prompt to something more interesting:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\set PROMPT1 '%n@%m %~%R%# '</userinput>
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=>
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
Let's assume you have filled the table with data and want to take a
|
|
look at it:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT * FROM my_table;
|
|
first | second
|
|
-------+--------
|
|
1 | one
|
|
2 | two
|
|
3 | three
|
|
4 | four
|
|
(4 rows)
|
|
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
You can display tables in different ways by using the
|
|
<command>\pset</command> command:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 2</userinput>
|
|
Border style is 2.
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM my_table;</userinput>
|
|
+-------+--------+
|
|
| first | second |
|
|
+-------+--------+
|
|
| 1 | one |
|
|
| 2 | two |
|
|
| 3 | three |
|
|
| 4 | four |
|
|
+-------+--------+
|
|
(4 rows)
|
|
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 0</userinput>
|
|
Border style is 0.
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM my_table;</userinput>
|
|
first second
|
|
----- ------
|
|
1 one
|
|
2 two
|
|
3 three
|
|
4 four
|
|
(4 rows)
|
|
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 1</userinput>
|
|
Border style is 1.
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset format unaligned</userinput>
|
|
Output format is unaligned.
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset fieldsep ","</userinput>
|
|
Field separator is ",".
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset tuples_only</userinput>
|
|
Showing only tuples.
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT second, first FROM my_table;</userinput>
|
|
one,1
|
|
two,2
|
|
three,3
|
|
four,4
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
Alternatively, use the short commands:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\a \t \x</userinput>
|
|
Output format is aligned.
|
|
Tuples only is off.
|
|
Expanded display is on.
|
|
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM my_table;</userinput>
|
|
-[ RECORD 1 ]-
|
|
first | 1
|
|
second | one
|
|
-[ RECORD 2 ]-
|
|
first | 2
|
|
second | two
|
|
-[ RECORD 3 ]-
|
|
first | 3
|
|
second | three
|
|
-[ RECORD 4 ]-
|
|
first | 4
|
|
second | four
|
|
</programlisting></para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
When suitable, query results can be shown in a crosstab representation
|
|
with the <command>\crosstabview</command> command:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>SELECT first, second, first > 2 AS gt2 FROM my_table;</userinput>
|
|
first | second | gt2
|
|
-------+--------+-----
|
|
1 | one | f
|
|
2 | two | f
|
|
3 | three | t
|
|
4 | four | t
|
|
(4 rows)
|
|
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>\crosstabview first second</userinput>
|
|
first | one | two | three | four
|
|
-------+-----+-----+-------+------
|
|
1 | f | | |
|
|
2 | | f | |
|
|
3 | | | t |
|
|
4 | | | | t
|
|
(4 rows)
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
|
|
This second example shows a multiplication table with rows sorted in reverse
|
|
numerical order and columns with an independent, ascending numerical order.
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
testdb=> <userinput>SELECT t1.first as "A", t2.first+100 AS "B", t1.first*(t2.first+100) as "AxB",</userinput>
|
|
testdb(> <userinput>row_number() over(order by t2.first) AS ord</userinput>
|
|
testdb(> <userinput>FROM my_table t1 CROSS JOIN my_table t2 ORDER BY 1 DESC</userinput>
|
|
testdb(> <userinput>\crosstabview "A" "B" "AxB" ord</userinput>
|
|
A | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104
|
|
---+-----+-----+-----+-----
|
|
4 | 404 | 408 | 412 | 416
|
|
3 | 303 | 306 | 309 | 312
|
|
2 | 202 | 204 | 206 | 208
|
|
1 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104
|
|
(4 rows)
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
</refentry>
|