<!--
-$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/dfunc.sgml,v 1.11 2000/09/29 20:21:33 petere Exp $
+$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/dfunc.sgml,v 1.12 2001/01/12 22:15:32 petere Exp $
-->
- <chapter id="dfunc">
- <title id="dfunc-title">Linking Dynamically-Loaded Functions</title>
-
- <para>
-
- After you have created and registered a user-defined
- function, your work is essentially done.
- <productname>Postgres</productname>,
- however, must load the object code
- (e.g., a <literal>.o</literal> file, or
- a shared library) that implements your function. As
- previously mentioned, <productname>Postgres</productname>
- loads your code at
- runtime, as required. In order to allow your code to be
- dynamically loaded, you may have to compile and
- link-edit it in a special way. This section briefly
- describes how to perform the compilation and
- link-editing required before you can load your user-defined
- functions into a running <productname>Postgres</productname> server.
- </para>
+<sect2 id="dfunc">
+ <title id="dfunc-title">Compiling and Linking Dynamically-Loaded Functions</title>
+
+ <para>
+ Before you are able to use your
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> extension function written in
+ C they need to be compiled and linked in a special way in order to
+ allow it to be dynamically loaded as needed by the server. To be
+ precise, a <firstterm>shared library</firstterm> needs to be created.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ For more information you should read the documentation of your
+ operating system, in particular the manual pages for the C compiler,
+ <command>cc</command>, and the link editor, <command>ld</command>.
+ In addition, the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> source code
+ contains several working examples in the
+ <filename>contrib</filename> directory. If you rely on these
+ examples you will make your modules dependent on the documentation
+ of the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> source code, however.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Creating shared libraries is generally analoguous to linking
+ executables: first the source files are compiled into object files,
+ then the object files are linked together. The object files need to
+ be created as <firstterm>position-independent code</firstterm>
+ (<acronym>PIC</acronym>), which conceptually means that it can be
+ placed at an arbitrary location in memory when it is loaded by the
+ executable. (Object files intended for executables are not compiled
+ that way.) The command to link a shared library contains special
+ flags to distinguish it from linking an executable. --- At least
+ this is the theory. On some systems the practice is much uglier.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ In the following examples we assume that your source code is in a
+ file <filename>foo.c</filename> and we will create an shared library
+ <filename>foo.so</filename>. The intermediate object file will be
+ called <filename>foo.o</filename> unless otherwise noted. A shared
+ library can contain more than one object file, but we only use one
+ here.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
<!--
- <tip>
- <para>
- The old <productname>Postgres</productname> dynamic
- loading mechanism required
- in-depth knowledge in terms of executable format, placement
- and alignment of executable instructions within memory, etc.
- on the part of the person writing the dynamic loader. Such
- loaders tended to be slow and buggy. As of Version 4.2, the
- <productname>Postgres</productname> dynamic loading mechanism
- has been rewritten to use
- the dynamic loading mechanism provided by the operating
- system. This approach is generally faster, more reliable and
- more portable than our previous dynamic loading mechanism.
- The reason for this is that nearly all modern versions of
- Unix use a dynamic loading mechanism to implement shared
- libraries and must therefore provide a fast and reliable
- mechanism. On the other hand, the object file must be
- postprocessed a bit before it can be loaded into
- <productname>Postgres</productname>. We
- hope that the large increase in speed and reliability will
- make up for the slight decrease in convenience.
- </para>
- </tip>
- </para>
+ Note: Reading GNU Libtool sources is generally a good way of figuring out
+ this information. The methods used within PostgreSQL source code are not
+ necessarily ideal.
-->
- <para>
- You should expect to read (and reread, and re-reread) the
- manual pages for the C compiler, cc(1), and the link
- editor, ld(1), if you have specific questions. In
- addition, the contrib area (<filename>PGROOT/contrib</filename>)
- and the regression test suites in the directory
- <filename>PGROOT/src/test/regress</filename> contain several
- working examples of this process. If you copy an example then
- you should not have any problems.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- The following terminology will be used below:
-
- <itemizedlist>
+ <variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><productname>BSD/OS</productname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- <firstterm>Dynamic loading</firstterm>
- is what <productname>Postgres</productname> does to an object file. The
- object file is copied into the running <productname>Postgres</productname>
- server and the functions and variables within the
- file are made available to the functions within
- the <productname>Postgres</productname> process.
- <productname>Postgres</productname> does this using
- the dynamic loading mechanism provided by the
- operating system.
+ The compiler flag to create <acronym>PIC</acronym> is
+ <option>-fpic</option>. The linker flag to create shared
+ libraries is <option>-shared</option>.
+<programlisting>
+gcc -fpic -c foo.c
+ld -shared -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
+ This is applicable as of version 4.0 of
+ <productname>BSD/OS</productname>.
</para>
</listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><productname>FreeBSD</productname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- <firstterm>Loading and link editing</firstterm>
- is what you do to an object file in order to produce
- another kind of object file (e.g., an executable
- program or a shared library). You perform
- this using the link editing program, ld(1).
+ The compiler flag to create <acronym>PIC</acronym> is
+ <option>-fpic</option>. To create shared libraries the compiler
+ flag is <option>-shared</option>.
+<programlisting>
+gcc -fpic -c foo.c
+gcc -shared -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
+ This is applicable as of version 3.0 of
+ <productname>FreeBSD</productname>.
</para>
</listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
+ </varlistentry>
- <para>
- The following general restrictions and notes also apply
- to the discussion below:
- <itemizedlist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><productname>HP-UX</productname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Paths given to the create function command must be
- absolute paths (i.e., start with "/") that refer to
- directories visible on the machine on which the
- <productname>Postgres</productname> server is running.
-
- <tip>
- <para>
- Relative paths do in fact work,
- but are relative to
- the directory where the database resides (which is generally
- invisible to the frontend application). Obviously, it makes
- no sense to make the path relative to the directory in which
- the user started the frontend application, since the server
- could be running on a completely different machine!
- </para>
- </tip>
+ The compiler flag of the system compiler to create
+ <acronym>PIC</acronym> is <option>+z</option>. When using
+ <productname>GCC</productname> it's <option>-fpic</option>. The
+ linker flag for shared libraries is <option>-b</option>. So
+<programlisting>
+cc +z -c foo.c
+</programlisting>
+ or
+<programlisting>
+gcc -fpic -c foo.c
+</programlisting>
+ and then
+<programlisting>
+ld -b -o foo.sl foo.o
+</programlisting>
+ <productname>HP-UX</productname> uses the extension
+ <filename>.sl</filename> for shared libraries, unlike most other
+ systems.
</para>
</listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><productname>Irix</productname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The <productname>Postgres</productname> user must be able to traverse the path
- given to the create function command and be able to
- read the object file. This is because the <productname>Postgres</productname>
- server runs as the <productname>Postgres</productname> user, not as the user
- who starts up the frontend process. (Making the
- file or a higher-level directory unreadable and/or
- unexecutable by the "postgres" user is an extremely
- common mistake.)
+ <acronym>PIC</acronym> is the default, no special compiler
+ options are necessary. The linker option to produce shared
+ libraries is <option>-shared</option>.
+<programlisting>
+cc -c foo.c
+ld -shared -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><productname>Linux</productname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Symbol names defined within object files must not
- conflict with each other or with symbols defined in
- <productname>Postgres</productname>.
+ The compiler flag to create <acronym>PIC</acronym> is
+ <option>-fpic</option>. On some platforms in some situations
+ <option>-fPIC</option> must be used if <option>-fpic</option>
+ does not work. Refer to the GCC manual for more information.
+ The compiler flag to create a shared library is
+ <option>-shared</option>. A complete example looks like this:
+<programlisting>
+cc -fpic -c foo.c
+cc -shared -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><productname>NetBSD</productname></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The GNU C compiler usually does not provide the special
- options that are required to use the operating
- system's dynamic loader interface. In such cases,
- the C compiler that comes with the operating system
- must be used.
+ The compiler flag to create <acronym>PIC</acronym> is
+ <option>-fpic</option>. For <acronym>ELF</acronym> systems, the
+ compiler with the flag <option>-shared</option> is used to link
+ shared libraries. On the older non-ELF systems, <literal>ld
+ -Bshareable</literal> is used.
+<programlisting>
+gcc -fpic -c foo.c
+gcc -shared -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
+ </varlistentry>
- <sect1 id="dload-linux">
- <title>Linux</title>
-
- <para>
- Under Linux ELF, object files can be generated by specifying the compiler
- flag -fpic.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- For example,
- <programlisting>
-# simple Linux example
-% cc -fpic -c <replaceable>foo.c</replaceable>
- </programlisting>
-
- produces an object file called <replaceable>foo.o</replaceable>
- that can then be
- dynamically loaded into <productname>Postgres</productname>.
- No additional loading or link-editing must be performed.
- </para>
- </sect1>
-
-<!--
- <sect1 id="dload-ultrix">
- <title><acronym>ULTRIX</acronym></title>
-
- <para>
- It is very easy to build dynamically-loaded object
- files under ULTRIX. ULTRIX does not have any shared library
- mechanism and hence does not place any restrictions on
- the dynamic loader interface. On the other
- hand, we had to (re)write a non-portable dynamic loader
- ourselves and could not use true shared libraries.
- Under ULTRIX, the only restriction is that you must
- produce each object file with the option -G 0. (Notice
- that that's the numeral ``0'' and not the letter
- ``O''). For example,
- <programlisting>
-# simple ULTRIX example
-% cc -G 0 -c foo.c
- </programlisting>
- produces an object file called foo.o that can then be
- dynamically loaded into <productname>Postgres</productname>.
- No additional loading or link-editing must be performed.
- </para>
- </sect1>
--->
-
- <sect1 id="dload-osf">
- <title><acronym>DEC OSF/1</acronym></title>
-
- <para>
- Under DEC OSF/1, you can take any simple object file
- and produce a shared object file by running the ld command
- over it with the correct options. The commands to
- do this look like:
- <programlisting>
-# simple DEC OSF/1 example
-% cc -c foo.c
-% ld -shared -expect_unresolved '*' -o foo.so foo.o
- </programlisting>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><productname>OpenBSD</productname></term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The compiler flag to create <acronym>PIC</acronym> is
+ <option>-fpic</option>. <literal>ld -Bshareable</literal> is
+ used to link shared libraries.
+<programlisting>
+gcc -fpic -c foo.c
+ld -Bshareable -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
- The resulting shared object file can then be loaded
- into <productname>Postgres</productname>. When specifying the object file name to
- the create function command, one must give it the name
- of the shared object file (ending in .so) rather than
- the simple object file.
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Digital Unix/Tru64 UNIX</term>
- <tip>
+ <listitem>
<para>
- Actually, <productname>Postgres</productname> does not care
- what you name the
- file as long as it is a shared object file. If you prefer
- to name your shared object files with the extension .o, this
- is fine with <productname>Postgres</productname>
- so long as you make sure that the correct
- file name is given to the create function command. In
- other words, you must simply be consistent. However, from a
- pragmatic point of view, we discourage this practice because
- you will undoubtedly confuse yourself with regards to which
- files have been made into shared object files and which have
- not. For example, it's very hard to write Makefiles to do
- the link-editing automatically if both the object file and
- the shared object file end in .o!
+ <acronym>PIC</acronym> is the default, so the compilation command
+ is the usual one. <command>ld</command> with special options is
+ used to do the linking:
+<programlisting>
+cc -c foo.c
+ld -shared -expect_unresolved '*' -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
+ The same procedure is used with GCC instead of the system
+ compiler; no special options are required.
</para>
- </tip>
-
- If the file you specify is
- not a shared object, the backend will hang!
- </para>
- </sect1>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
- <sect1 id="dload-other">
- <title>
- <acronym>SunOS 4.x</acronym>, <acronym>Solaris 2.x</acronym> and
- <acronym>HP-UX</acronym></title>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><productname>Solaris</productname></term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The compiler flag to create <acronym>PIC</acronym> is
+ <option>-KPIC</option> with the Sun compiler and
+ <option>-fpic</option> with <productname>GCC</productname>. To
+ link shared libraries, the compiler option is
+ <option>-G</option> with either compiler or alternatively
+ <option>-shared</option> with <productname>GCC</productname>.
+<programlisting>
+cc -KPIC -c foo.c
+cc -G -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
+ or
+<programlisting>
+gcc -fpic -c foo.c
+gcc -G -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
- <para>
- Under SunOS 4.x, Solaris 2.x and HP-UX, the simple
- object file must be created by compiling the source
- file with special compiler flags and a shared library
- must be produced.
- The necessary steps with HP-UX are as follows. The +z
- flag to the HP-UX C compiler produces
- <firstterm>Position Independent Code</firstterm> (PIC)
- and the +u flag removes
- some alignment restrictions that the PA-RISC architecture
- normally enforces. The object file must be turned
- into a shared library using the HP-UX link editor with
- the -b option. This sounds complicated but is actually
- very simple, since the commands to do it are just:
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><productname>Unixware</productname></term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The compiler flag to create <acronym>PIC</acronym> is <option>-K
+ PIC</option> with the SCO compiler and <option>-fpic</option>
+ with <productname>GCC</productname>. To link shared libraries,
+ the compiler option is <option>-G</option> with the SCO compiler
+ and <option>-shared</option> with
+ <productname>GCC</productname>.
+<programlisting>
+cc -K PIC -c foo.c
+cc -G -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
+ or
+<programlisting>
+gcc -fpic -c foo.c
+gcc -shared -o foo.so foo.o
+</programlisting>
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
- <programlisting>
-# simple HP-UX example
-% cc +z +u -c foo.c
-% ld -b -o foo.sl foo.o
- </programlisting>
- </para>
+ </variablelist>
+ </para>
- <para>
- As with the .so files mentioned in the last subsection,
- the create function command must be told which file is
- the correct file to load (i.e., you must give it the
- location of the shared library, or .sl file).
- Under SunOS 4.x, the commands look like:
- <programlisting>
-# simple SunOS 4.x example
-% cc -PIC -c foo.c
-% ld -dc -dp -Bdynamic -o foo.so foo.o
- </programlisting>
+ <tip>
+ <para>
+ If you want to package your extension modules for wide distribution
+ you should consider using <ulink
+ url="http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/"><productname>GNU
+ Libtool</productname></ulink> for building shared libraries. It
+ encapsulates the platform differences into a general and powerful
+ interface. Serious packaging also requires considerations about
+ library versioning, symbol resolution methods, and other issues.
+ </para>
+ </tip>
- and the equivalent lines under Solaris 2.x are:
- <programlisting>
-# simple Solaris 2.x example
-% cc -K PIC -c foo.c
-% ld -G -Bdynamic -o foo.so foo.o
- </programlisting>
- or
- <programlisting>
-# simple Solaris 2.x example
-% gcc -fPIC -c foo.c
-% ld -G -Bdynamic -o foo.so foo.o
- </programlisting>
- </para>
+ <para>
+ The resulting shared library file can then be loaded into
+ <productname>Postgres</productname>. When specifying the file name
+ to the <command>CREATE FUNCTION</command> command, one must give it
+ the name of the shared library file (ending in
+ <filename>.so</filename>) rather than the simple object file.
+ <note>
<para>
- When linking shared libraries, you may have to specify
- some additional shared libraries (typically system
- libraries, such as the C and math libraries) on your ld
- command line.
+ Actually, <productname>Postgres</productname> does not care what
+ you name the file as long as it is a shared library file.
</para>
- </sect1>
-
- <!--
- Future integration: Create separate sections for these operating
- systems and integrate the info from this old man page.
- - thomas 2000-04-21
+ </note>
+
+ Paths given to the <command>CREATE FUNCTION</command> command must
+ be absolute paths (i.e., start with <literal>/</literal>) that refer
+ to directories visible on the machine on which the
+ <productname>Postgres</productname> server is running. Relative
+ paths do in fact work, but are relative to the directory where the
+ database resides (which is generally invisible to the frontend
+ application). Obviously, it makes no sense to make the path
+ relative to the directory in which the user started the frontend
+ application, since the server could be running on a completely
+ different machine! The user id the
+ <productname>Postgres</productname> server runs as must be able to
+ traverse the path given to the <command>CREATE FUNCTION</command>
+ command and be able to read the shared library file. (Making the
+ file or a higher-level directory not readable and/or not executable
+ by the <quote>postgres</quote> user is a common mistake.)
+ </para>
-Under HP-UX, DEC OSF/1, AIX and SunOS 4, all object files must be
-turned into
-.IR "shared libraries"
-using the operating system's native object file loader,
-.IR ld(1).
-.PP
-Under HP-UX, an object file must be compiled using the native HP-UX C
-compiler,
-.IR /bin/cc ,
-with both the \*(lq+z\*(rq and \*(lq+u\*(rq flags turned on. The
-first flag turns the object file into \*(lqposition-independent
-code\*(rq (PIC); the second flag removes some alignment restrictions
-that the PA-RISC architecture normally enforces. The object file must
-then be turned into a shared library using the HP-UX loader,
-.IR /bin/ld .
-The command lines to compile a C source file, \*(lqfoo.c\*(rq, look
-like:
-.nf
-cc <other flags> +z +u -c foo.c
-ld <other flags> -b -o foo.sl foo.o
-.fi
-The object file name in the
-.BR as
-clause should end in \*(lq.sl\*(rq.
-.PP
-An extra step is required under versions of HP-UX prior to 9.00. If
-the Postgres header file
-.nf
-include/c.h
-.fi
-is not included in the source file, then the following line must also
-be added at the top of every source file:
-.nf
-#pragma HP_ALIGN HPUX_NATURAL_S500
-.fi
-However, this line must not appear in programs compiled under HP-UX
-9.00 or later.
-.PP
-Under DEC OSF/1, an object file must be compiled and then turned
-into a shared library using the OSF/1 loader,
-.IR /bin/ld .
-In this case, the command lines look like:
-.nf
-cc <other flags> -c foo.c
-ld <other flags> -shared -expect_unresolved '*' -o foo.so foo.o
-.fi
-The object file name in the
-.BR as
-clause should end in \*(lq.so\*(rq.
-.PP
-Under SunOS 4, an object file must be compiled and then turned into a
-shared library using the SunOS 4 loader,
-.IR /bin/ld .
-The command lines look like:
-.nf
-cc <other flags> -PIC -c foo.c
-ld <other flags> -dc -dp -Bdynamic -o foo.so foo.o
-.fi
-The object file name in the
-.BR as
-clause should end in \*(lq.so\*(rq.
-.PP
+<!--
Under AIX, object files are compiled normally but building the shared
library requires a couple of steps. First, create the object file:
.nf
-->
- </chapter>
+</sect2>
<!-- Keep this comment at the end of the file
Local variables:
<!--
-$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/xfunc.sgml,v 1.26 2000/12/26 00:10:37 petere Exp $
+$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/xfunc.sgml,v 1.27 2001/01/12 22:15:32 petere Exp $
-->
<chapter id="xfunc">
the <literal>int4</literal> type on Unix
machines might be:
+<programlisting>
/* 4-byte integer, passed by value */
typedef int int4;
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
be passed by-reference. For example, here is a sample
implementation of a <productname>Postgres</productname> type:
+<programlisting>
/* 16-byte structure, passed by reference */
typedef struct
{
double x, y;
} Point;
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
(i.e., it includes the size of the length field
itself). We can define the text type as follows:
+<programlisting>
typedef struct {
int4 length;
char data[1];
} text;
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
For example, if we wanted to store 40 bytes in a text
structure, we might use a code fragment like this:
+<programlisting>
#include "postgres.h"
...
char buffer[40]; /* our source data */
destination->length = VARHDRSZ + 40;
memmove(destination->data, buffer, 40);
...
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
<title>Version-0 Calling Conventions for C-Language Functions</title>
<para>
- We present the "old style" calling convention first --- although
+ We present the <quote>old style</quote> calling convention first --- although
this approach is now deprecated, it's easier to get a handle on
initially. In the version-0 method, the arguments and result
of the C function are just declared in normal C style, but being
<para>
Here are some examples:
+<programlisting>
#include <string.h>
#include "postgres.h"
strncat(VARDATA(new_text), VARDATA(arg2), VARSIZE(arg2)-VARHDRSZ);
return new_text;
}
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
we could define the functions to <productname>Postgres</productname>
with commands like this:
+<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION add_one(int4) RETURNS int4
AS '<replaceable>PGROOT</replaceable>/tutorial/funcs.so' LANGUAGE 'c'
WITH (isStrict);
CREATE FUNCTION concat_text(text, text) RETURNS text
AS '<replaceable>PGROOT</replaceable>/tutorial/funcs.so' LANGUAGE 'c'
WITH (isStrict);
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
The version-1 calling convention relies on macros to suppress most
of the complexity of passing arguments and results. The C declaration
of a version-1 function is always
- Datum funcname(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
- </programlisting>
+<programlisting>
+Datum funcname(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
+</programlisting>
In addition, the macro call
- PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(funcname);
- </programlisting>
+<programlisting>
+PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(funcname);
+</programlisting>
must appear in the same source file (conventionally it's written
just before the function itself). This macro call is not needed
for "internal"-language functions, since Postgres currently assumes
</para>
<para>
- In a version-1 function,
- each actual argument is fetched using a PG_GETARG_xxx() macro that
- corresponds to the argument's datatype, and the result is returned
- using a PG_RETURN_xxx() macro for the return type.
+ In a version-1 function, each actual argument is fetched using a
+ <function>PG_GETARG_<replaceable>xxx</replaceable>()</function>
+ macro that corresponds to the argument's datatype, and the result
+ is returned using a
+ <function>PG_GETARG_<replaceable>xxx</replaceable>()</function>
+ macro for the return type.
</para>
<para>
Here we show the same functions as above, coded in new style:
+<programlisting>
#include <string.h>
#include "postgres.h"
#include "fmgr.h"
strncat(VARDATA(new_text), VARDATA(arg2), VARSIZE(arg2)-VARHDRSZ);
PG_RETURN_TEXT_P(new_text);
}
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
</para>
<para>
- At first glance, the version-1 coding conventions may appear to be
- just pointless obscurantism. However, they do offer a number of
- improvements, because the macros can hide unnecessary detail.
+ At first glance, the version-1 coding conventions may appear to
+ be just pointless obscurantism. However, they do offer a number
+ of improvements, because the macros can hide unnecessary detail.
An example is that in coding add_one_float8, we no longer need to
- be aware that float8 is a pass-by-reference type. Another example
- is that the GETARG macros for variable-length types hide the need
- to deal with fetching "toasted" (compressed or out-of-line) values.
- The old-style copytext and concat_text functions shown above are
- actually wrong in the presence of toasted values, because they don't
- call pg_detoast_datum() on their inputs. (The handler for old-style
- dynamically-loaded functions currently takes care of this detail,
- but it does so less efficiently than is possible for a version-1
- function.)
+ be aware that float8 is a pass-by-reference type. Another
+ example is that the GETARG macros for variable-length types hide
+ the need to deal with fetching "toasted" (compressed or
+ out-of-line) values. The old-style <function>copytext</function>
+ and <function>concat_text</function> functions shown above are
+ actually wrong in the presence of toasted values, because they
+ don't call <function>pg_detoast_datum()</function> on their
+ inputs. (The handler for old-style dynamically-loaded functions
+ currently takes care of this detail, but it does so less
+ efficiently than is possible for a version-1 function.)
</para>
<para>
The version-1 function call conventions also make it possible to
- test for NULL inputs to a non-strict function, return a NULL result
- (from either strict or non-strict functions), return "set" results,
- and implement trigger functions and procedural-language call handlers.
- For more details see <filename>src/backend/utils/fmgr/README</filename>.
+ test for NULL inputs to a non-strict function, return a NULL
+ result (from either strict or non-strict functions), return
+ <quote>set</quote> results, and implement trigger functions and
+ procedural-language call handlers. For more details see
+ <filename>src/backend/utils/fmgr/README</filename> in the source
+ distribution.
</para>
</sect2>
function as an opaque structure of type <literal>TUPLE</literal>.
Suppose we want to write a function to answer the query
- * SELECT name, c_overpaid(EMP, 1500) AS overpaid
- FROM EMP
- WHERE name = 'Bill' or name = 'Sam';
- </programlisting>
+<programlisting>
+SELECT name, c_overpaid(emp, 1500) AS overpaid
+FROM emp
+WHERE name = 'Bill' OR name = 'Sam';
+</programlisting>
In the query above, we can define c_overpaid as:
+<programlisting>
#include "postgres.h"
#include "executor/executor.h" /* for GetAttributeByName() */
PG_RETURN_BOOL(salary > limit);
}
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
<function>GetAttributeByName</function> is the
<productname>Postgres</productname> system function that
returns attributes out of the current instance. It has
- three arguments: the argument of type TupleTableSlot* passed into
+ three arguments: the argument of type <type>TupleTableSlot*</type> passed into
the function, the name of the desired attribute, and a
return parameter that tells whether the attribute
is null. <function>GetAttributeByName</function> returns a Datum
value that you can convert to the proper datatype by using the
- appropriate DatumGetXXX() macro.
+ appropriate <function>DatumGet<replaceable>XXX</replaceable>()</function> macro.
</para>
<para>
The following query lets <productname>Postgres</productname>
- know about the c_overpaid function:
+ know about the <function>c_overpaid</function> function:
-CREATE FUNCTION c_overpaid(EMP, int4)
+<programlisting>
+CREATE FUNCTION c_overpaid(emp, int4)
RETURNS bool
AS '<replaceable>PGROOT</replaceable>/tutorial/obj/funcs.so'
LANGUAGE 'c';
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
We now turn to the more difficult task of writing
programming language functions. Be warned: this section
of the manual will not make you a programmer. You must
- have a good understanding of <acronym>C</acronym>
+ have a good understanding of <acronym>C</acronym>
(including the use of pointers and the malloc memory manager)
before trying to write <acronym>C</acronym> functions for
use with <productname>Postgres</productname>. While it may
</para>
<para>
- C functions with base type arguments can be written in a
- straightforward fashion. The C equivalents of built-in Postgres types
- are accessible in a C file if
- <filename><replaceable>PGROOT</replaceable>/src/backend/utils/builtins.h</filename>
- is included as a header file. This can be achieved by having
-
- <programlisting>
-#include <utils/builtins.h>
- </programlisting>
-
- at the top of the C source file.
- </para>
-
- <para>
The basic rules for building <acronym>C</acronym> functions
are as follows:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
- Most of the header (include) files for
- <productname>Postgres</productname>
- should already be installed in
- <filename><replaceable>PGROOT</replaceable>/include</filename> (see Figure 2).
- You should always include
-
- <programlisting>
--I$PGROOT/include
- </programlisting>
-
- on your cc command lines. Sometimes, you may
- find that you require header files that are in
- the server source itself (i.e., you need a file
- we neglected to install in include). In those
- cases you may need to add one or more of
-
- <programlisting>
--I$PGROOT/src/backend
--I$PGROOT/src/backend/include
--I$PGROOT/src/backend/port/<PORTNAME>
--I$PGROOT/src/backend/obj
- </programlisting>
+ The relevant header (include) files are installed under
+ <filename>/usr/local/pgsql/include</filename> or equivalent.
+ You can use <literal>pg_config --includedir</literal> to find
+ out where it is on your system (or the system that your
+ users will be running on). For very low-level work you might
+ need to have a complete <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
+ source tree available.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
- (where <PORTNAME> is the name of the port, e.g.,
- alpha or sparc).
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ When allocating memory, use the
+ <productname>Postgres</productname> routines
+ <function>palloc</function> and <function>pfree</function>
+ instead of the corresponding <acronym>C</acronym> library
+ routines <function>malloc</function> and
+ <function>free</function>. The memory allocated by
+ <function>palloc</function> will be freed automatically at the
+ end of each transaction, preventing memory leaks.
</para>
</listitem>
+
<listitem>
<para>
- When allocating memory, use the
- <productname>Postgres</productname>
- routines palloc and pfree instead of the
- corresponding <acronym>C</acronym> library routines
- malloc and free.
- The memory allocated by palloc will be freed
- automatically at the end of each transaction,
- preventing memory leaks.
+ Always zero the bytes of your structures using
+ <function>memset</function> or <function>bzero</function>.
+ Several routines (such as the hash access method, hash join
+ and the sort algorithm) compute functions of the raw bits
+ contained in your structure. Even if you initialize all
+ fields of your structure, there may be several bytes of
+ alignment padding (holes in the structure) that may contain
+ garbage values.
</para>
</listitem>
+
<listitem>
<para>
- Always zero the bytes of your structures using
- memset or bzero. Several routines (such as the
- hash access method, hash join and the sort algorithm)
- compute functions of the raw bits contained in
- your structure. Even if you initialize all fields
- of your structure, there may be
- several bytes of alignment padding (holes in the
- structure) that may contain garbage values.
+ Most of the internal <productname>Postgres</productname> types
+ are declared in <filename>postgres.h</filename>, the function
+ manager interfaces (<symbol>PG_FUNCTION_ARGS</symbol>, etc.)
+ are in <filename>fmgr.h</filename>, so you will need to
+ include at least these two files. Including
+ <filename>postgres.h</filename> will also include
+ <filename>elog.h</filename> and <filename>palloc.h</filename>
+ for you.
</para>
</listitem>
+
<listitem>
<para>
- Most of the internal <productname>Postgres</productname>
- types are declared in <filename>postgres.h</filename>,
- so it's a good
- idea to always include that file as well. Including
- postgres.h will also include elog.h and palloc.h for you.
+ Symbol names defined within object files must not conflict
+ with each other or with symbols defined in the
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server executable. You
+ will have to rename your functions or variables if you get
+ error messages to this effect.
</para>
</listitem>
+
<listitem>
<para>
Compiling and loading your object code so that
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect2>
+
+&dfunc;
+
</sect1>
<sect1 id="xfunc-overload">
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