This is pgin.tcl/REFERENCE, programmer's reference to pgin.tcl.
Last updated for pgin.tcl-2.2.0 on 2004-11-11
The project home page is: http://gborg.postgresql.org/project/pgintcl/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a concise reference to pgin.tcl commands.  For more information on
the details of the Core and Large Object commands, refer to the libpgtcl or
pgtcl-ng documentation. Pgin.tcl attempts to emulate the command usage and
behavior of other versions of this interface wherever possible.

(Note: The syntax ?...? refers to optional values, per the Tcl documentation.)


CORE COMMANDS:

pg_conndefaults

  Get the connection parameter defaults.

  Returns:
    A list of elements. Each element describes one connection parameter
    in the following form:
      { OptionName Display-label display-flag display-length default-value }
    For example, for the "user" parameter: { user Database-User {} 20 yourname }


pg_connect -conninfo conninfo

  Connects to a database. Only the newer "-conninfo" format is supported,
  not the older form: pg_connect dbname ?-host name ...?.
  The conninfo argument has a series of 'option=value' entries.
  Commonly used connection option names are:
          dbname host port user password
  Values need to be in single quotes if they contain spaces.
  Within single quoted values, use \\ for \ and \' for '.

  Values default to environment variables or built-in defaults.
  Host defaults to the environment variable PGHOST, or to "localhost"
  if no PGHOST. (libpgtcl defaults to using a Unix Domain Socket
  in that case, but pgin.tcl cannot support UDS.)

  Parameters:
    -conninfo   Fixed argument.
    conninfo    Connection info string, with the form: "option=value..."

  Returns:
    A connection handle which is used with all other commands to access the
    database.


pg_disconnect db

  Disconnect from database. Also destroys any left-over result
  structures associated with this connection.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle to close


pg_select db query arrayName script

  Execute a query and iterate a command script over each result row.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    query       Query to execute, almost always a SELECT
    arrayName   Name of an array variable. For each row, each column value
                is assigned to an element of this array with the column
                name as the index.
    script      A command script to execute for each row. The script
                can use break, continue, error, and return.


pg_exec db query ?args...?

  Execute SQL and return a result handle.
  If optional args are supplied, they replace parameters in the query
  (written as $1, $2, etc. - remember to escape the $ for Tcl). This can
  be used to insert parameters in SQL without concern for quoting or escaping.
  It only works with text arguments - it is not binary safe. See also
  pg_exec_params.  Note: Optional args feature was added in pgin.tcl-2.1.0

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    query       Query to execute
    args...     Optional argument values to replace $1, $2, etc. in the query.

  Returns:
    A result handle for use with pg_result. Must be freed when no longer
    needed.


pg_execute ?-oid oidName? ?-array arrayName? db query ?script?

  Execute SQL and optionally iterate a script over the rows.
  This was added to libpgtcl in PostgreSQL 7.1, and can replace both
  pg_exec and pg_select in many cases.
  If -array is not given on a Select, a variable is created for
  each field in the query result.
  If no proc is supplied, only the first query result row is saved.

  Options:
    -oid oidName      A variable to receive the OID of an inserted row
    -array arrayName  An array variable name to store each row into

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    query       Query to execute
    script      Optional command script to execute for each row.
                The script can use break, continue, error, and return.

  Returns:
    The number of tuples queried or affected by the command.


pg_result result option ?args?

  Get information about a result. The option indicates the desired
  information, which is returned by the command.

  Parameters:
    result      A result handle returned by pg_exec, pg_exec_prepared,
                or pg_exec_params.
    option      One of the command options listed below.
    args        option-dependent command arguments.

  Returns:
    Depends on the command option

  Options:
    -status          Returns the result status (see notes)
    -error ?c?       Returns the error message if no code 'c' is provided,
                        or a error field if a code is provided (see below).
                        [Before 2.2.0, did not support optional 'c' parameter]
    -errorField ?c?  Same as -error
                        [Before 2.2.0, the 'c' parameter was required]
    -conn            Returns the connection handle for this result
    -oid             Returns the OID of an inserted tuple
    -numTuples       Returns the number of tuples in the result
    -numAttrs        Returns the number of attributes
    -assign A        Assign the query result data to A(tuple,attribName)
    -assignbyidx A s Assign results to an array (see the libpgtcl docs)
    -getTuple N      Return a list of values for tuple N
    -getNull N       Return a list of NULL flags for tuple N
    -tupleArray N A  Store the Nth tuple in array A as A(attribName)
    -attributes      Return a list of attributes
    -lAttributes     Return a list of attributes as {{name type size}...}
    -lxAttributes    Return a list of extended information about
                     attributes as: {{name type size size_modifier
                        format table_OID table_column}...}
    -cmdTuples       Return number of tuples INSERTed, DELETEd, UPDATEd
    -cmdStatus       Return command status tag.
    -list            Return result set as a list of values.
    -llist           Return result set as a list of tuple data, each
                     of which is a list of values.
    -clear           Deallocate the result structure. Returns nothing.

  Notes:
    Result status from pg_result -status is one of these string values:
        PGRES_TUPLES_OK PGRES_COMMAND_OK PGRES_FATAL_ERROR
        PGRES_COPY_OUT PGRES_COPY_IN PGRES_EMPTY_QUERY

    -oid returns 0 if the query was not an INSERT.

    -cmdTuples is an extension, recently added to the bundled interface.
        It returns an empty string if the query was not INSERT, UPDATE,
        or DELETE. This is the expected future behavior of libpgtcl.

    -cmdStatus is an extension which returns the command status tag.
        This is the SQL command (for example: "INSERT", "CREATE") possibly
        followed by additional data (such as the number of rows affected).

    -list and -llist are extensions added to Gborg pgtcl.

    -errorField is an extension to access error message subfields.
        As of 2.2.0, the error field name or code is optional in -errorField,
        and can also be supplied to pg_result -error. So -error and
        -errorField are now equivalent. The optional field name
        or code can be one of the following:
             Field name:        Code:   Notes:
             SEVERITY           S       ERROR or FATAL for example
             SQLSTATE           C       5-character SQL State
             MESSAGE_PRIMARY    M       Main error message
             MESSAGE_DETAIL     D       Optional detailed message
             MESSAGE_HINT       H       Optional suggestion
             STATEMENT_POSITION P       Decimal integer cursor position
             CONTEXT            W       Call stack-trace
             SOURCE_FILE        F       PostgreSQL source code filename
             SOURCE_LINE        L       PostgreSQL source code line number
             SOURCE_FUNCTION    R       PostgreSQL function name
             PRIMARY                    *Main error message
             DETAIL                     *Optional detailed message
             HINT                       *Optional suggestion
             POSITION                   *Decimal integer cursor position
             FILE                       *PostgreSQL source code filename
             LINE                       *PostgreSQL source code line number
             FUNCTION                   *PostgreSQL function name.

         (*) These field names were added for compatibility with Gborg pgtcl.
         Field names and codes are not case sensitive (also for compatibility
         with Gborg pgtcl).

         If the field name or code is defined, pg_result returns
         the value of that field (if defined), else an empty string.
         Note: pg_result -error without a code returns the SEVERITY
         followed by the MESSAGE_PRIMARY as a single string.

     -lxAttributes is an extension. It returns the same information as
         -lAttributes plus additional information provided by the PostgreSQL
         server about the result attributes.

     -getNull is an extension. It returns a list with a flag for each column
         in the tuple. The flag is 1 is the column value is NULL, else 0.
         This gives you a way to tell if a database result column is NULL,
         which otherwise looks the same as an empty string.


pg_listen db name ?script?

  Listen for PostgreSQL notifications and call a procedure proc, or unlisten.
  See NOTIFICATIONS below.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    name        Notification condition name to start or stop listening for 
    script      If provided, command script to call when notification
                arrives. If not provided, clear current notification
                listen for condition 'name'.


pg_escape_string str

  Escape a string for including in SQL strings. That is, returns str with
  single quotes and backslashes doubled up.  This command was first seen
  in beta Gborg pgtcl in CVS, but was later removed (see pg_quote).

  Parameters:
    str         String to escape

  Returns: 
    The escaped string.


pg_quote str

  Escape a string for including in SQL strings, and return it with leading
  and trailing quotes. These commands are equivalent:
             set s '[pg_escape_string $str]'
             set s [pg_quote $str]
  This command was first seen in beta Gborg pgtcl in CVS, replacing the
  pg_escape_string command. pgin.tcl supports both versions.

  Parameters:
    str         String to escape

  Returns: 
    The escaped string inside single quotes.


pg_escape_bytea binstr

  Escape a binary string for inclusing in SQL strings, intended for use
  with bytea (byte array) columns.

  Parameters:
    binstr      String to escape. This can contain arbitrary binary data.

  Returns:
    The escaped string. Put it in single quotes when using in SQL.

  Notes:
    This is slow on large strings. Consider using binary prepared queries
    instead.


pg_unescape_bytea str

  Unescape a string coming back from a PostgreSQL query on a bytea (byte
  array) column, and return the original binary string.

  Parameters:
    str      String to unescape. This should be the result of a
             query on a bytea column; other uses are undefined (see notes)

  Returns:
    The unescaped binary string.

  Notes:
    Consider using binary prepared queries instead, for better performance.

    This command does not fully emulate the corresponding libpq function
    PQunescapeBytea, and will return different results for some strings.
    (Specifically, it uses the Tcl subst command which unescapes more
    sequences than the PQunescapeBytea.)
    But it will return the correct data for all strings which can possibly
    be returned by a PostgreSQL server in response to a query on a bytea
    column. So it acts correctly when used in the intended way.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXTENSIONS:

pgin.tcl has some extended commands and variables.
NOTE: These commands are subject to change, and those changes may break
code which uses these commands. These commands do not exist in libpgtcl. If
equivalent but different commands are added to libpgtcl, it is likely that
pgin.tcl will be changed to match.

pg_notice_handler db ?command?

  Query or set a command to handle Notice or Warning messages.
  If the command is supplied, sets the handler to that command, and
  returns the previous command. If the command is not supplied,
  returns the current handler command.  See NOTICES below.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    command     Command to execute on receipt of notice or warning

  Returns:
    The previous handler command


pg_endcopy result

  This must be called after SQL COPY FROM or COPY TO completes.
  See COPY FROM/TO below.

  Parameters:
    result      Result handle on which a COPY is done.


pg_copy_read result

  Read the next line (record) for SQL COPY TO STDOUT.  Returns the line
  read, or an empty string when COPY is done.  The returned line does
  not end in a newline, so you can just split it on tab to get the
  column values.  With PostgreSQL-7.4 support, you must use this
  routine for COPY TO STDOUT; reading from the socket no longer works.

  Parameters:
    result      Result handle on which a COPY is active.

  Returns:
    The line read from the server, or empty when done.


pg_copy_write result line

  Write one line (record) $line for SQL COPY FROM STDIN.
  The passed argument must not end in a newline.
  With PostgreSQL-7.4 support, you must use this routine for
  COPY FROM STDIN; writing to the socket no longer works.

  Parameters:
    result      Result handle on which a COPY is active.
    line        One record to write to the server.

$pgtcl::version
  This variable has the pgin.tcl version number. The existence of
  this variable can also be used to determine if pgin.tcl has been loaded.
  Note: This is deprecated in favor of using Tcl's package management.
  Use [package present pgintcl] to test for pgin.tcl and get its version.


pg_callfn db fname result arginfo arg...
pg_callfn_int db fname arginfo arg...

  These two commands allow access to the PostgreSQL back-end "fast-path"
  function call interface. This is not intended for routine use.
  See the INTERNALS document for more information.


pg_parameter_status db param

  Fetch the value of a parameter supplied by a PostgreSQL-7.4 or higher
  backend. Returns the value of the named parameter (or an empty string
  if no such parameter has been sent by the backend).  The following
  parameters are commonly sent by the backend:
      client_encoding DateStyle is_superuser server_encoding
      server_version session_authorization

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    param       Name of the parameter to get the value of


pg_exec_params db query res_formats arg_formats arg_types arg...

  Parse SQL statement, bind parameters, and execute statement.
  This is similar to pg_exec_prepared (see below), but doesn't use a
  pre-prepared statement, and if you want to binary parameters you
  must also provide the type OIDs. 

  res_formats is a list (but see note below) describing the query result
  columns, and arg_formats is a list describing the query parameter formats,
  as follows. An empty list means all parameters or result columns are text
  (or, that there are no parameters/result columns).  A single word "TEXT"
  (or "T"), or "BINARY" (or "B"), indicates the format of all parameters or
  of all result columns.  Finally, a list of those words indicates the format
  of each individual parameter or result column. For example:
        {}             All text format
        T              All text format
        T B            One text, one binary format
        B B B          Three binary format

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    query       Query to execute, may contain parameters $1, $2, ...
    res_formats A list describing results: B* => binary, else text
    arg_formats A list describing args: B* => Binary, else Text.
    arg_types   A list of type OIDs for each argument (if Binary).
    args        Variable number of arguments to bind to the query params.
  Returns:
    A result handle, for use with pg_result.

  Notes:
    There is no support for passing NULL arguments

    If there are any binary format arguments, an arg_type must be specified
    for each argument, although the value will be ignored for each text
    format argument.

    libpq does not support mixed Text/Binary result columns in prepared
    queries. Although pgin.tcl does, this is not recommended because it
    will not be compatible with libpq-based versions of the pgtcl interface.
    So the res_formats argument should contain at most a single word.


pg_exec_prepared db stmt_name res_formats arg_formats arg...

  Executes a pre-prepared SQL statement with text and/or binary parameters
  and text and/or binary result columns. Parameter place-holders in the
  prepared statement are designated $1, $2, etc.
  This allows binding arguments to SQL statement parameters without
  quoting problems, and sending and receiving raw binary data.

  The statement must be prepared with the SQL command
       PREPARE statement_name (args) AS ...

  res_formats is a list (but see note below) describing the query result
  columns, and arg_formats is a list describing the query parameter formats,
  as follows. An empty list means all parameters or result columns are text
  (or, that there are no parameters/result columns).  A single word "TEXT"
  (or "T"), or "BINARY" (or "B"), indicates the format of all parameters or
  of all result columns.  Finally, a list of those words indicates the format
  of each individual parameter or result column. (See pg_exec_params)

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    stmt_name   Name of a pre-prepared SQL statement
    res_formats A list describing results: B* => binary, else text
    arg_formats A list describing args: B* => Binary, else Text.
    args        Variable number of arguments to bind to the query params.

  Returns:
    A result handle, for use with pg_result.

  Notes:
    There is no support for passing NULL arguments

    libpq does not support mixed Text/Binary result columns in prepared
    queries. Although pgin.tcl does, this is not recommended because it
    will not be compatible with libpq-based versions of the pgtcl interface.
    So the res_formats argument should contain at most a single word.


pg_transaction_status db

  Returns the current in-transaction status.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle

  Returns:
    The status - one of the following strings:
      IDLE        (Connection is idle, not in a transaction)
      INTRANS     (Connection is idle, in a valid transaction block)
      INERROR     (Connection is in a failed transaction block)
      UNKNOWN     (Connection is bad or in an unknown state)



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LARGE OBJECTS:

pgin.tcl implements the Large Object commands of libpgtcl.

Remember that these routines must be used inside transactions. Also note
that you, not PostgreSQL, are responsible for tracking the large objects by
their OIDs in your database schema tables.  So for example you will
generally have to pair a database INSERT with a pg_lo_creat, and a database
DELETE with a pg_lo_unlink.

All of the Large Object commands throw a Tcl error if an error occurs, with
the exception of pg_lo_read and pg_lo_write, which return -1 on error.
This is inconsistent, but the read and write commands were already
documented in the PostgreSQL manual to return -1 on error, so that is how
pgin.tcl implements them. Error behavior of the other routines was not
documented; as coded some returned a negative number and some threw an
error.  The decision to have the pgin.tcl implementation of these commands
always throw a Tcl error was made because otherwise there is no way to get
at the error message text. It is possible that future versions of the
interface will also have pg_lo_read and pg_lo_write throw a Tcl error if an
error occurs.


pg_lo_creat db mode

  Create a large object. Mode should be one of the strings INV_READ,
  INV_WRITE, or INV_READ|INV_WRITE, although to be honest I do not know
  what the difference is. As an extension, to be compatible with pg_lo_open,
  this command also accepts mode of "r", "w", or "rw".

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    mode        Mode to create large object: INV_READ|INV_WRITE

  Returns:
    A large object OID, which you should promptly insert into a table.


pg_lo_open db loid mode

  Open a large object and returns a large object file descriptor.
  Mode can be "r", "w", or "rw" specifying read and/or write. As an
  extension, to be compatible with pg_lo_creat and libPQ, this command
  also accepts mode of INV_READ, INV_WRITE, or "INV_READ|INV_WRITE".
  The $loid usually comes from the return value of pg_lo_creat directly,
  or indirectly as an oid-type field in a table.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    loid        Large Object ID identifying the large object to open
    mode        Mode to open large object in: "r", "w", "rw"

  Returns:
    A large object file descriptor (a lofd) for use with the commands below.


pg_lo_close db lofd

  Close a large object opened with pg_lo_open.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    lofd        Large Object file descriptor to close


pg_lo_unlink db loid

  Delete a large object.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    loid        Large Object ID identifying the large object to delete


pg_lo_read db lofd buf_name maxlen

  Read from a large object.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    lofd        Large Object file descriptor to read from
    buf_name    Name of the buffer variable to read into
    maxlen      Maximum number of bytes to read from the large object

  Returns:
    The number of bytes actually read, 0 on end of large object, -1 on error.


pg_lo_write db lofd buf len

  Write to a large object.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    lofd        Large Object file descriptor to write to
    buf         Buffer containing data to write to the large object
    len         Maximum number of bytes to write from buf to the large object.
                (If buf has fewer than len bytes, just write all of buf.)

  Returns:
    The number of bytes actually written, -1 on error.

pg_lo_lseek db lofd offset whence

  Reposition the (virtual) file position pointer in a large object.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    lofd        Large Object file descriptor to position
    offset      New position, interpreted per "whence"
    whence      Position mode: SEEK_SET, SEEK_CUR, or SEEK_END specifying
                that offset is a byte count relative to start of large object,
                current position, or end of large object respectively.


pg_lo_tell db lofd

  Get the current large object position pointer.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    lofd        Large Object file descriptor to get position of.

  Returns:
    The integer (virtual) file offset of the current file position
    pointer in the large object.


pg_lo_import db filename

  Create a new large object, and import the contents of a file into it.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    filename    Pathname of a file to import as a large object

  Returns:
    A large object OID, which you should promptly insert into a table.


pg_lo_export db loid filename

  Export a large object and write its contents into a file.

  Parameters:
    db          Connection handle
    loid        Large Object ID identifying the large object to export
    filename    Pathname of a file to export the large object into


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICES:

If the backend sends a notice or warning message, the notice handler will
be executed with the text of the notice as the final parameter. The default
procedure just prints the message to stderr (like libPQ does). You may
replace this by defining your own procedure and execute
      pg_notice_handler $conn_handle "notice_command ..."
The actual message will be appended as an additional argument to your
command.

If you want to suppress notice and warning messages completely, you can set
the notice handler to an empty string. For example, if you need to
temporarily suppress notices and warnings, use something like this:
    set save_handler [pg_notice_handler $conn_handle {}]
    ... commands with no notice or warning messages reported ...
    pg_notice_handler $conn_handle $save_handler
But note that a better way to ignore NOTICE messages is to increase the
message threshold with: SET CLIENT_MIN_MESSAGES TO WARNING

Don't confuse Notices with Notification.  Notice and warning messages are
generated by the server in response to a command from the client, but do
not imply failure of the command so they don't affect the result status.
An example of a notice is index creation as a result of creating a table
with a primary key. An example of a warning is if ROLLBACK is issued
outside a transaction.  By contrast, notifications are messages sent on
behalf of another database client.

Previous versions of this interface used the following syntax instead:
      pg_configure $conn_handle notice "notice_command ..."
This is still supported but deprecated.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTIFICATIONS:

Support for backend notifications differs from libpgtcl. With libpgtcl, the
notification will be received as soon as Tcl enters the idle loop, e.g. if
you use "update". libpgtcl does not need to be reading from the backend to
get a notification. With pgin.tcl, the notification from the backend will
only be seen while something is being read from the backend; that is,
during pg_exec, pg_select, or pg_execute processing. After a notification
is read, it will be delivered the next time Tcl enters the idle loop.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
COPY FROM/TO:

Front-end copy is a bulk import or export operation where multiple rows
are sent between the PostgreSQL back-end and client front-end with minimal
formatting. This is implemented in PostgreSQL with the following SQL:
         COPY tablename TO STDOUT;   -- Export table
         COPY tablename FROM STDIN;  -- Import table
Each row is transmitted as one line, with columns separated by a delimiter
which defaults to tab, backslash (\) escaping of control characters, and
\N used for NULL.

(Note: You never have to use COPY FROM/TO. You can always use the standard
SQL SELECT and INSERT instead. COPY FROM/TO is said to be more efficient
for large amounts of data.)

The COPY protocol changed with PostgreSQL-7.4, and it is no longer possible
to directly read and write to the connection handle as with previous
versions of pgin.tcl. You must use the routines below to read and write
records during COPY. This is currently incompatible with libpgtcl.

To copy out a table, first issue "COPY tablename TO STDOUT" using pg_exec.
The result status will change to PGRES_COPY_OUT. Then use pg_copy_read to
read each record. Returned records will not end in a newline. Repeat
pg_copy_read until it returns an empty string, then execute pg_endcopy.
For example:

        while {[set line [pg_copy_read $result_handle]] != ""} {
           ... Process record in $line ...
        }
        pg_endcopy $result_handle

After pg_endcopy returns, the result status should be PGRES_COMMAND_OK if
the copy was successful.

To copy in a table, first issue "COPY tablename FROM STDIN" using pg_exec.
The result status will change to PGRES_COPY_IN. Then use pg_copy_write to
write each record. Do not append a newline to the record. Repeat
pg_copy_write until you are done, then execute pg_endcopy. For example:
        while {... more data to send ...} {
          pg_copy_write $result_handle $tab_separated_data_line
        }
        pg_endcopy $result_handle

After pg_endcopy returns, the result status should be PGRES_COMMAND_OK if
the copy was successful.

Do not write or expect to read the old COPY delimiter "\.".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

