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-$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/psql-ref.sgml,v 1.66 2002/03/22 19:20:44 petere Exp $
+$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/psql-ref.sgml,v 1.67 2002/06/20 16:00:43 momjian Exp $
PostgreSQL documentation
-->
<title>Summary</title>
<para>
- <application>psql</application> is a terminal-based front-end to
- <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. It enables you to type in queries
- interactively, issue them to <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, and see
- the query results. Alternatively, input can be from a file.
- In addition, it provides a number of meta-commands and
- various shell-like features to facilitate writing scripts and automating a wide
- variety of tasks.
+ <application>psql</application> is a terminal-based front-end to
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. It enables you to type in
+ queries interactively, issue them to
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, and see the query results.
+ Alternatively, input can be from a file. In addition, it provides a
+ number of meta-commands and various shell-like features to
+ facilitate writing scripts and automating a wide variety of tasks.
</para>
</refsect2>
<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 also
- given). Not all these options are required, defaults do apply.
- If you omit the host name psql will connect via a Unix domain socket
- to a server on the
- local host. The default port number is compile-time determined. 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 Unix user name, as is the default
- database name.
- Note that you can't just connect to any database under any user name. Your database
- administrator should have informed you about your access rights. To save you some typing
- you can also set the environment variables <envar>PGDATABASE</envar>,
- <envar>PGHOST</envar>, <envar>PGPORT</envar> and <envar>PGUSER</envar>
- to appropriate values.
+ <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 also given). Not all
+ these options are required, defaults do apply. If you omit the host
+ name psql will connect via a Unix domain socket to a server on the
+ local host. The default port number is compile-time determined.
+ 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
+ Unix user name, as is the default database name. Note that you can't
+ just connect to any database under any user name. Your database
+ administrator should have informed you about your access rights. To
+ save you some typing you can also set the environment variables
+ <envar>PGDATABASE</envar>, <envar>PGHOST</envar>,
+ <envar>PGPORT</envar> and <envar>PGUSER</envar> to appropriate
+ values.
</para>
<para>
<title>Entering Queries</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,
+ 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>
Welcome to psql, the PostgreSQL interactive terminal.
</para>
<para>
- At the prompt, the user may type in <acronym>SQL</acronym> queries.
- Ordinarily, input lines are sent to the backend when a query-terminating
- semicolon is reached. An end of line does not terminate a query! Thus queries
- can be spread over several lines for clarity. If the query was sent and without
- error, the query results are displayed on the screen.
+ At the prompt, the user may type in <acronym>SQL</acronym> queries.
+ Ordinarily, input lines are sent to the backend when a
+ query-terminating semicolon is reached. An end of line does not
+ terminate a query! Thus queries can be spread over several lines for
+ clarity. If the query was sent and without error, the query results
+ are displayed on the screen.
</para>
<para>
<title><application>psql</application> 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 are what makes
- <application>psql</application> interesting for administration or scripting.
- Meta-commands are more commonly called slash or backslash commands.
+ 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 are what makes
+ <application>psql</application> interesting for administration or
+ scripting. Meta-commands are more commonly called slash or backslash
+ commands.
</para>
<para>
</para>
<para>
- To include whitespace into an argument you must quote it with a single
- quote. To include a single quote into such an argument, precede it by
- a backslash. Anything contained in single quotes is furthermore subject to
- C-like substitutions for <literal>\n</literal> (new line), <literal>\t</literal>
- (tab), <literal>\</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable>,
+ To include whitespace into an argument you must quote it with a
+ single quote. To include a single quote into such an argument,
+ precede it by a backslash. Anything contained in single quotes is
+ furthermore subject to C-like substitutions for
+ <literal>\n</literal> (new line), <literal>\t</literal> (tab),
+ <literal>\</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable>,
<literal>\0</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable>, and
- <literal>\0x</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable>
- (the character with the given decimal, octal, or hexadecimal code).
+ <literal>\0x</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable> (the
+ character with the given decimal, octal, or hexadecimal code).
</para>
<para>
If an unquoted argument begins with a colon (<literal>:</literal>),
- it is taken as a variable and the value of the variable is taken as the
- argument instead.
+ it is taken as a variable and the value of the variable is taken as
+ the argument instead.
</para>
<para>
- Arguments that are quoted in <quote>backticks</quote> (<literal>`</literal>)
- are taken as a command line that is passed to the shell. The output of the
- command (with a trailing newline removed) is taken as the argument value.
- The above escape sequences also apply in backticks.
+ Arguments that are quoted in <quote>backticks</quote>
+ (<literal>`</literal>) are taken as a command line that is passed to
+ the shell. The output of the command (with a trailing newline
+ removed) is taken as the argument value. The above escape sequences
+ also apply in backticks.
</para>
<para>
- Some commands take the name of an <acronym>SQL</acronym> identifier (such as
- a table name) as argument. These arguments follow the syntax rules of
- <acronym>SQL</acronym> regarding double quotes: an identifier without
- double quotes is coerced to lower-case. For all other commands
- double quotes are not special and will become part of the argument.
+ Some commands take the name of an <acronym>SQL</acronym> identifier
+ (such as a table name) as argument. These arguments follow the
+ syntax rules of <acronym>SQL</acronym> regarding double quotes: an
+ identifier without double quotes is coerced to lower-case. For all
+ other commands double quotes are not special and will become part of
+ the argument.
</para>
<para>
- Parsing for arguments stops when another unquoted backslash occurs. This
- 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> queries, 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.
+ Parsing for arguments stops when another unquoted backslash occurs.
+ This 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> queries, 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>
<listitem>
<para>
Change the current working directory to
- <replaceable>directory</replaceable>. Without argument,
- change to the current user's home directory.
+ <replaceable>directory</replaceable>. Without argument, change
+ to the current user's home directory.
</para>
<tip>
<term><literal>\C</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">title</replaceable> ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Set 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.)
+ Set 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>
<term><literal>\connect</literal> (or <literal>\c</literal>) [ <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> ] ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Establishes a connection to a new database and/or under a user name. The
- previous connection is closed.
- If <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> is <literal>-</literal>
+ Establishes a connection to a new database and/or under a user
+ name. The previous connection is closed. If <replaceable
+ class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> is <literal>-</literal>
the current database name is assumed.
</para>
<para>
- If <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> is omitted
- the current user name is assumed.
- </para>
+ If <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> is
+ omitted the current user name is assumed. </para>
<para>
- As a special rule, <command>\connect</command> without any arguments will connect
- to the default database as the default user (as you would have gotten
- by starting <application>psql</application> without any arguments).
+ As a special rule, <command>\connect</command> without any
+ arguments will connect to the default database as the default
+ user (as you would have gotten by starting
+ <application>psql</application> without any arguments).
</para>
<para>
- If the connection attempt failed (wrong user name, access denied, etc.), the
- previous connection will be kept if and only 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.
+ If the connection attempt failed (wrong user name, access
+ denied, etc.), the previous connection will be kept if and only
+ 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>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><literal>\copy</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable>
- [ <literal>with oids</literal> ] { <literal>from</literal> | <literal>to</literal> }
+ { <literal>from</literal> | <literal>to</literal> }
<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> | stdin | stdout
- [ <literal>using delimiters</literal> '<replaceable class="parameter">characters</replaceable>' ]
- [ <literal>with null as</literal> '<replaceable class="parameter">string</replaceable>' ]
+ [ <literal>with</literal> ]
+ [ <literal>oids</literal> ]
+ [ <literal>delimiter [as] </literal> '<replaceable class="parameter">character</replaceable>' ]
+ [ <literal>null [as] </literal> '<replaceable class="parameter">string</replaceable>' ]
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Performs a frontend (client) copy. This is an operation that runs an
- <acronym>SQL</acronym> <xref linkend="SQL-COPY" endterm="SQL-COPY-title"> command,
- but instead of the backend's reading or writing the specified file, and
- consequently requiring backend access and special user privilege,
- as well as being bound to the file system accessible by the backend,
- <application>psql</application> reads or writes the
- file and routes the data between the backend and the local file system.
+ Performs a frontend (client) copy. This is an operation that
+ runs an <acronym>SQL</acronym> <xref linkend="SQL-COPY"
+ endterm="SQL-COPY-title"> command, but instead of the backend's
+ reading or writing the specified file, and consequently
+ requiring backend access and special user privilege, as well as
+ being bound to the file system accessible by the backend,
+ <application>psql</application> reads or writes the file and
+ routes the data between the backend and the local file system.
</para>
<para>
- The syntax of the command is similar to that of the <acronym>SQL</acronym>
- <command>COPY</command> command (see its description for the details).
- Note that, because of this, special parsing rules apply to the
- <command>\copy</command> command. In particular, the variable
- substitution rules and backslash escapes do not apply.
+ The syntax of the command is similar to that of the
+ <acronym>SQL</acronym> <command>COPY</command> command (see its
+ description for the details). Note that, because of this,
+ special parsing rules apply to the <command>\copy</command>
+ command. In particular, the 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 IP or socket connection. For large amounts of data the other
- technique may be preferable.
+ This operation is not as efficient as the <acronym>SQL</acronym>
+ <command>COPY</command> command because all data must pass
+ through the client/server IP or socket connection. For large
+ amounts of data the other technique may be preferable.
</para>
</tip>
<note>
<para>
- Note the difference in interpretation of <literal>stdin</literal> and <literal>stdout</literal>
- between frontend and backend copies: in a frontend copy these always refer
- to <application>psql</application>'s input and output stream. On a backend
- copy <literal>stdin</literal> comes from wherever the <command>COPY</command>
- itself came from (for example, a script run with the <option>-f</option> option),
- and <literal>stdout</literal> refers to the query output stream (see
+ Note the difference in interpretation of
+ <literal>stdin</literal> and <literal>stdout</literal> between
+ frontend and backend copies: in a frontend copy these always
+ refer to <application>psql</application>'s input and output
+ stream. On a backend copy <literal>stdin</literal> comes from
+ wherever the <command>COPY</command> itself came from (for
+ example, a script run with the <option>-f</option> option), and
+ <literal>stdout</literal> refers to the query output stream (see
<command>\o</command> meta-command below).
</para>
</note>
<term><literal>\copyright</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Shows the copyright and distribution terms of <application>PostgreSQL</application>.
+ Shows the copyright and distribution terms of
+ <application>PostgreSQL</application>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<listitem>
<para>
- Shows all columns of <replaceable class="parameter">relation</replaceable>
- (which could be a table, view, index, or sequence),
- their types, and any special attributes such as <literal>NOT NULL</literal>
- or defaults, if any.
- If the relation is, in fact, a table, any defined indices, primary keys, unique
- constraints and check constraints are also listed.
- If the relation is a view, the view definition is also shown.
+ Shows all columns of <replaceable
+ class="parameter">relation</replaceable> (which could be a
+ table, view, index, or sequence), their types, and any special
+ attributes such as <literal>NOT NULL</literal> or defaults, if
+ any. If the relation is, in fact, a table, any defined indices,
+ primary keys, unique constraints and check constraints are also
+ listed. If the relation is a view, the view definition is also
+ shown.
</para>
<para>
- The command form <literal>\d+</literal> is identical, but any comments
- associated with the table columns are shown as well.
+ The command form <literal>\d+</literal> is identical, but any
+ comments associated with the table columns are shown as well.
</para>
<note>
<para>
If <command>\d</command> is called without any arguments, it is
- equivalent to <command>\dtvs</command> which will show a list
- of all tables, views, and sequences. This is purely a convenience
+ equivalent to <command>\dtvs</command> which will show a list of
+ all tables, views, and sequences. This is purely a convenience
measure.
</para>
</note>
<listitem>
<para>
- Lists all available aggregate functions, together with the data type they operate on.
- If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
- (a regular expression) is specified, only matching aggregates are shown.
+ Lists all available aggregate functions, together with the data
+ type they operate on. If <replaceable
+ class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> (a regular expression)
+ is specified, only matching aggregates are shown.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>\dd</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">object</replaceable> ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Shows the descriptions of <replaceable class="parameter">object</replaceable>
- (which can be a regular expression), or of all objects if no argument is given.
- (<quote>Object</quote> covers aggregates, functions, operators, types, relations
- (tables, views, indexes, sequences, large objects), rules, and triggers.) For example:
+ Shows the descriptions of <replaceable
+ class="parameter">object</replaceable> (which can be a regular
+ expression), or of all objects if no argument is given.
+ (<quote>Object</quote> covers aggregates, functions, operators,
+ types, relations (tables, views, indexes, sequences, large
+ objects), rules, and triggers.) For example:
<programlisting>
=> <userinput>\dd version</userinput>
Object descriptions
</para>
<para>
- Descriptions for objects can be generated with the <command>COMMENT ON</command>
- <acronym>SQL</acronym> command.
+ Descriptions for objects can be generated with the
+ <command>COMMENT ON</command> <acronym>SQL</acronym> command.
</para>
<note>
<para>
- <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> stores the object descriptions in the
- pg_description system table.
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> stores the object
+ descriptions in the pg_description system table.
</para>
</note>
<term><literal>\dD</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Lists all available domains (derived types).
- If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
- (a regular expression) is specified, only matching domains are shown.
+ Lists all available domains (derived types). If <replaceable
+ class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> (a regular expression)
+ is specified, only matching domains are shown.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<listitem>
<para>
- Lists available functions, together with their argument and return types.
- If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
- (a regular expression) is specified, only matching functions are shown.
- If the form <literal>\df+</literal> is used, additional information about
+ Lists available functions, together with their argument and
+ return types. If <replaceable
+ class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> (a regular expression)
+ is specified, only matching functions are shown. If the form
+ <literal>\df+</literal> is used, additional information about
each function, including language and description, is shown.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- This is not the actual command name: The letters i, s, t, v, S stand for
- index, sequence, table, view, and system table, respectively. You can specify
- any or all of them in any order to obtain a listing of them, together with
- who the owner is.
+ This is not the actual command name: The letters i, s, t, v, S
+ stand for index, sequence, table, view, and system table,
+ respectively. You can specify any or all of them in any order to
+ obtain a listing of them, together with who the owner is.
</para>
<para>
- If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
- it is a regular expression that restricts the listing to those objects
- whose name matches. If one appends a <quote>+</quote> to the command name,
- each object is listed with its associated description, if any.
+ If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
+ specified, it is a regular expression that restricts the listing
+ to those objects whose name matches. If one appends a
+ <quote>+</quote> to the command name, each object is listed with
+ its associated description, if any.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>\dl</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- This is an alias for <command>\lo_list</command>, which shows a list of large objects.
+ This is an alias for <command>\lo_list</command>, which shows a
+ list of large objects.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<listitem>
<para>
Lists available operators with their operand and return types.
- If <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>
- is specified, only operators with that name will be shown.
+ If <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable> is
+ specified, only operators with that name will be shown.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>\dp</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- This is an alias for <command>\z</command> which was included for its
- greater mnemonic value (<quote>display permissions</quote>).
+ This is an alias for <command>\z</command> which was included
+ for its greater mnemonic value (<quote>display
+ permissions</quote>).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>\dT [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Lists all data types or only those that match <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>.
- The command form <literal>\dT+</literal> shows extra information.
+ Lists all data types or only those that match <replaceable
+ class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>. The command form
+ <literal>\dT+</literal> shows extra information.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>\du [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Lists all configured users or only those that match <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>.
+ Lists all configured users or only those that match <replaceable
+ class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<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 argument is given, the current query
- buffer is copied to a temporary file which is then edited in the same
- fashion.
+ 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 argument 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 also that
- if the query ends with (or rather contains) a semicolon, it is immediately
- executed. In other cases it will merely wait in the query buffer.
+ 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 also that
+ if the query ends with (or rather contains) a semicolon, it is
+ immediately executed. In other cases it will merely wait in the
+ query buffer.
</para>
<tip>
<para>
- <application>psql</application> searches the environment variables
- <envar>PSQL_EDITOR</envar>, <envar>EDITOR</envar>, and <envar>VISUAL</envar>
- (in that order) for an editor to use. If all of them are unset,
- <filename>/bin/vi</filename> is run.
+ <application>psql</application> searches the environment
+ variables <envar>PSQL_EDITOR</envar>, <envar>EDITOR</envar>, and
+ <envar>VISUAL</envar> (in that order) for an editor to use. If
+ all of them are unset, <filename>/bin/vi</filename> is run.
</para>
</tip>
</listitem>
<term><literal>\echo</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> [ ... ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Prints the arguments to the standard output, separated by one space and
- followed by a newline. This can be useful to
+ 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>
<tip>
<para>
- If you use the <command>\o</command> command to redirect your query output
- you may wish to use <command>\qecho</command> instead of this command.
+ If you use the <command>\o</command> command to redirect your
+ query output you may wish to use <command>\qecho</command>
+ instead of this command.
</para>
</tip>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- Sets the field separator for unaligned query output. The default is
-pipe (<literal>|</literal>). See also <command>\pset</command> for a generic way
- of setting output options.
+ Sets the field separator for unaligned query output. The default
+ is pipe (<literal>|</literal>). See also
+ <command>\pset</command> for a generic way of setting output
+ options.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<listitem>
<para>
- Sends the current query input buffer to the backend and optionally
- saves the output in <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>
- or pipes the output into a separate Unix shell to execute
- <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>. A bare <literal>\g</literal>
- is virtually equivalent to a semicolon. A <literal>\g</literal> with argument
- is a <quote>one-shot</quote> alternative to the <command>\o</command> command.
+ Sends the current query input buffer to the backend and
+ optionally saves the output in <replaceable
+ class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipes the output
+ into a separate Unix shell to execute <replaceable
+ class="parameter">command</replaceable>. A bare
+ <literal>\g</literal> is virtually 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>
<term><literal>\help</literal> (or <literal>\h</literal>) [ <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Give 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 (<quote>*</quote>), then
-
syntax help on all <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands is shown.
+ Give 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 (<quote>*</quote>), 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>.
+ 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>
<term><literal>\H</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.
+ 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>
<term><literal>\i</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.
+ Reads input from the file <replaceable
+ class="parameter">filename</replaceable> and executes it as
+ though it had been typed on the keyboard.
</para>
<note>
<para>
- If you want to see the lines on the screen as they are read you must set
- the variable <envar>ECHO</envar> to <literal>all</literal>.
+ If you want to see the lines on the screen as they are read you
+ must set the variable <envar>ECHO</envar> to
+ <literal>all</literal>.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<term><literal>\l</literal> (or <literal>\list</literal>)</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- List all the databases in the server as well as their owners. Append a
- <quote>+</quote> to the command name to see any descriptions
- for the databases as well. If your <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
- installation was
- compiled with multibyte encoding support, the encoding scheme of each
- database is shown as well.
+ List all the databases in the server as well as their owners.
+ Append a <quote>+</quote> to the command name to see any
+ descriptions for the databases as well. If your
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> installation was compiled
+ with multibyte encoding support, the encoding scheme of each
+ database is shown as well.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<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.
+ 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>.
+ Use <command>\lo_list</command> to find out the large object's
+ <acronym>OID</acronym>.
</para>
</tip>
<note>
<para>
- See the description of the <envar>LO_TRANSACTION</envar> variable for
- important information concerning all large object operations.
+ See the description of the <envar>LO_TRANSACTION</envar>
+ variable for important information concerning all large object
+ operations.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- Stores the file into a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> <quote>large object</quote>.
- Optionally, it associates the given comment with the object. Example:
+ Stores the file into a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
+ <quote>large object</quote>. 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 one ought to remember if one wants to access the object ever again.
- For that reason it is recommended to always associate a human-readable
- comment with every object. Those can then be seen with the
- <command>\lo_list</command> command.
+ The response indicates that the large object received object id
+ 152801 which one ought to remember if one wants to access the
+ object ever again. For that reason it is recommended to always
+ associate a human-readable comment with every object. Those can
+ then be seen 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.
+ 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>
<note>
<para>
- See the description of the <envar>LO_TRANSACTION</envar> variable for
- important information concerning all large object operations.
+ See the description of the <envar>LO_TRANSACTION</envar>
+ variable for important information concerning all large object
+ operations.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<term><literal>\lo_list</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Shows a list of all <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> <quote>large
- objects</quote> currently stored in the database, along with any
- comments provided for them.
+ Shows a list of all <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
+ <quote>large objects</quote> currently stored in the database,
+ along with any comments provided for them.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<listitem>
<para>
- Deletes the large object with <acronym>OID</acronym> <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable>
- from the database.
+ 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>.
+ Use <command>\lo_list</command> to find out the large object's
+ <acronym>OID</acronym>.
</para>
</tip>
<note>
<para>
- See the description of the <envar>LO_TRANSACTION</envar> variable for
- important information concerning all large object operations.
+ See the description of the <envar>LO_TRANSACTION</envar>
+ variable for important information concerning all large object
+ operations.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- Saves future query results to the file
- <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipes future
- results into a separate Unix shell to execute
- <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>.
- If no arguments are specified, the query output will be reset to
+ Saves future query results to the file <replaceable
+ class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipes future results
+ into a separate Unix shell to execute <replaceable
+ class="parameter">command</replaceable>. If no arguments are
+ specified, the query output will be reset to
<filename>stdout</filename>.
</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.
+ <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>.
+ To intersperse text output in between query results, use
+ <command>\qecho</command>.
</para>
</tip>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- This command sets options affecting the output of query result tables.
- <replaceable class="parameter">parameter</replaceable> describes which option
- is to be set. The semantics of <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable>
- depend thereon.
+ This command sets options affecting the output of query result
+ tables. <replaceable class="parameter">parameter</replaceable>
+ describes which option is to be set. The semantics of
+ <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> depend
+ thereon.
</para>
<para>
<listitem>
<para>
Sets the output format to one of <literal>unaligned</literal>,
- <literal>aligned</literal>, <literal>html</literal>, or <literal>latex</literal>.
- Unique abbreviations are allowed. (That would mean one letter is enough.)
+ <literal>aligned</literal>, <literal>html</literal>, or
+ <literal>latex</literal>. Unique abbreviations are allowed.
+ (That would mean one letter is enough.)
</para>
<para>
- <quote>Unaligned</quote> writes all fields of a tuple on a line, separated
- by the currently active field separator. This is intended to create output
- that might be intended to be read in by other programs (tab-separated,
- comma-separated).
- <quote>Aligned</quote> mode is the
- standard, human-readable, nicely formatted text output that is default.
- The <quote><acronym>HTML</acronym></quote> and <quote>LaTeX</quote> modes
- 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 so dramatic in <acronym>HTML</acronym>, but in LaTeX you must
+ <quote>Unaligned</quote> writes all fields of a tuple on a
+ line, separated by the currently active field separator. This
+ is intended to create output that might be intended to be read
+ in by other programs (tab-separated, comma-separated).
+ <quote>Aligned</quote> mode is the standard, human-readable,
+ nicely formatted text output that is default. The
+ <quote><acronym>HTML</acronym></quote> and
+ <quote>LaTeX</quote> modes 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
+ so dramatic in <acronym>HTML</acronym>, but in LaTeX you must
have a complete document wrapper.)
</para>
</listitem>
<term><literal>border</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The second argument must be a number. In general, the higher the number
- the more borders and lines the tables will have, but this depends on
- the particular format. In <acronym>HTML</acronym> mode, this will
- translate directly into the <literal>border=...</literal> attribute, in
- the others only values 0 (no border), 1 (internal dividing lines), and 2
- (table frame) make sense.
+ The second argument must be a number. In general, the higher
+ the number the more borders and lines the tables will have,
+ but this depends on the particular format. In
+ <acronym>HTML</acronym> mode, this will translate directly
+ into the <literal>border=...</literal> attribute, in the
+ others only values 0 (no border), 1 (internal dividing lines),
+ and 2 (table frame) make sense.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>expanded</literal> (or <literal>x</literal>)</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Toggles between regular and expanded format. When expanded format is
- enabled, all output has two columns with the field 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.
+ Toggles between regular and expanded format. When expanded
+ format is enabled, all output has two columns with the field
+ 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.
</para>
<para>
<term><literal>null</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The second argument is a string that should be printed whenever a field
- is null. The default is not to print anything, which can easily be mistaken
- for, say, an empty string. Thus, one might choose to write
- <literal>\pset null '(null)'</literal>.
+ The second argument is a string that should be printed
+ whenever a field is null. The default is not to print
+ anything, which can easily be mistaken for, say, an empty
+ string. Thus, one might choose to write <literal>\pset null
+ '(null)'</literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>fieldsep</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Specifies the field separator to be used in unaligned output mode. 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
+ Specifies the field separator to be used in unaligned output
+ mode. 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 <quote>pipe</quote> symbol).
</para>
</listitem>
<term><literal>footer</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Toggles the display of the default footer <literal>(x rows)</literal>.
+ Toggles the display of the default footer <literal>(x
+ rows)</literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>recordsep</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Specifies the record (line) separator to use in unaligned output mode. The default
- is a newline character.
+ Specifies the record (line) separator to use in unaligned
+ output mode. The default is a newline character.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>tuples_only</literal> (or <literal>t</literal>)</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Toggles between tuples only and full display. Full display may show
- extra information such as column headers, titles, and various footers.
- In tuples only mode, only actual table data is shown.
+ Toggles between tuples only and full display. Full display may
+ show extra information such as column headers, titles, and
+ various footers. In tuples only mode, only actual table data
+ is shown.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>title</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Sets the table title for any subsequently printed tables. This can be
- used to give your output descriptive tags. If no argument is given,
- the title is unset.
+ Sets the table title for any subsequently printed tables. This
+ can be used to give your output descriptive tags. If no
+ argument is given, the title is unset.
</para>
<note>
<para>
- This formerly only affected <acronym>HTML</acronym> mode. You can now
- set titles in any output format.
+ This formerly only affected <acronym>HTML</acronym> mode. You
+ can now set titles in any output format.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<term><literal>tableattr</literal> (or <literal>T</literal>) [ <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Allows you to specify any attributes to be placed inside the <acronym>HTML</acronym>
- <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>.
+ Allows you to specify any attributes to be placed inside the
+ <acronym>HTML</acronym> <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>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>pager</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Toggles the list of a pager to do table output. If the environment variable
- <envar>PAGER</envar> is set, the output is piped to the specified program.
- Otherwise <filename>more</filename> is used.
+ Toggles the list of a pager to do table output. If the
+ environment variable <envar>PAGER</envar> is set, the output
+ is piped to the specified program. Otherwise
+ <filename>more</filename> is used.
</para>
<para>
- In any case, <application>psql</application> only uses the pager if it
- seems appropriate. That means among other things that the output is to
- a terminal and that the table would normally not fit on the screen.
- Because of the modular nature of the printing routines it is not always
- possible to predict the number of lines that will actually be printed.
- For that reason <application>psql</application> might not appear very
+ In any case, <application>psql</application> only uses the
+ pager if it seems appropriate. That means among other things
+ that the output is to a terminal and that the table would
+ normally not fit on the screen. Because of the modular nature
+ of the printing routines it is not always possible to predict
+ the number of lines that will actually be printed. For that
+ reason <application>psql</application> might not appear very
discriminating about when to use the pager and when not to.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
Illustrations on how these different formats look can be seen in
- the <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-examples" endterm="APP-PSQL-examples-title"> section.
+ the <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-examples"
+ endterm="APP-PSQL-examples-title"> section.
</para>
<tip>
<note>
<para>
- It is an error to call <command>\pset</command> without arguments. In the future
- this call might show the current status of all printing options.
+ It is an error to call <command>\pset</command> without
+ arguments. In the future this call might show the current status
+ of all printing options.
</para>
</note>
<term><literal>\qecho</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> [ ... ] </term>
<listitem>
<para>
- This command is identical to <command>\echo</command> except that
- all output will be written to the query output channel, as set by
- <command>\o</command>.
+ This command is identical to <command>\echo</command> except
+ that all output will be written to the query output channel, as
+ set by <command>\o</command>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>\s</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Print or save the 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.
- This option is only available if <application>psql</application> is
-
configured to use the <acronym>GNU</acronym> history library.
+ Print or save the 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. This option is only available
+ if <application>psql</application> is configured to use the
+ <acronym>GNU</acronym> history library.
</para>
<note>
<para>
- In the current version, it is no longer
- necessary to save the command history, since that will be done
- automatically on program termination. The history is
- also loaded automatically every time <application>psql</application>
- starts up.
+ In the current version, it is no longer necessary to save the
+ command history, since that will be done automatically on
+ program termination. The history is also loaded automatically
+ every time <application>psql</application> starts up.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- Sets the internal 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 no second argument
- is given, the variable is just set with no value. To unset a variable, use
- the <command>\unset</command> command.
+ Sets the internal 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 no second
+ argument is given, the variable is just set with no value. To
+ unset a variable, use the <command>\unset</command> command.
</para>
<para>
- Valid variable names can contain characters, digits, and underscores.
- See the section about <application>psql</application> variables for details.
+ Valid variable names can contain characters, digits, and
+ underscores. See the section about
+ <application>psql</application> variables for details.
</para>
<para>
- Although you are welcome to set any variable to anything you want,
- <application>psql</application> treats several variables as special.
- They are documented in the section about variables.
+ Although you are welcome to set any variable to anything you
+ want, <application>psql</application> treats several variables
+ as special. They are documented in the section about variables.
</para>
<note>
<para>
- This command is totally separate from the <acronym>SQL</acronym> command
- <xref linkend="SQL-SET" endterm="SQL-SET-title">.
+ This command is totally separate from the <acronym>SQL</acronym>
+ command <xref linkend="SQL-SET" endterm="SQL-SET-title">.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<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.
+ 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>
<term><literal>\T</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Allows you to specify options to be placed within the <sgmltag>table</sgmltag>
- tag in <acronym>HTML</acronym> tabular output mode. This command is
- equivalent to <literal>\pset tableattr <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></literal>.
+ Allows you to specify options to be placed within the
+ <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag in <acronym>HTML</acronym> tabular
+ output mode. This command is equivalent to <literal>\pset
+ tableattr <replaceable
+ class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>\w</literal> {<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> | <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 Unix command <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>.
+ Outputs the current query buffer to the file <replaceable
+ class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipes it to the Unix
+ command <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>\z</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Produces a list of all tables in the database with their appropriate
- access permissions listed. If an argument is given it is taken as a regular
- expression which limits the listing to those tables which match it.
+ Produces a list of all tables in the database with their
+ appropriate access permissions listed. If an argument is given
+ it is taken as a regular expression which limits the listing to
+ those tables which match it.
</para>
<para>
<listitem>
<para>
<literal>"=r"</literal>: <literal>PUBLIC</literal> has read
- (<command>SELECT</command>) permission on the table.
+ (<command>SELECT</command>) permission on the table.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- <literal>"joe=arwR"</literal>: User <literal>joe</literal> has read,
- write (<command>UPDATE</command>, <command>DELETE</command>),
- <quote>append</quote> (<command>INSERT</command>) permissions,
- and permission to create rules on the table.
+ <literal>"joe=arwR"</literal>: User <literal>joe</literal> has
+ read, write (<command>UPDATE</command>,
+ <command>DELETE</command>), <quote>append</quote>
+ (<command>INSERT</command>) permissions, and permission to
+ create rules on the table.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- <literal>"group staff=ar"</literal>: Group <literal>staff</literal>
- has <command>SELECT</command> and <command>INSERT</command> permission.
+ <literal>"group staff=ar"</literal>: Group
+ <literal>staff</literal> has <command>SELECT</command> and
+ <command>INSERT</command> permission.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Escapes to a separate Unix shell or executes the Unix command
- <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>. The arguments
- are not further interpreted, the shell will see them as is.
+ <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>. The
+ arguments are not further interpreted, the shell will see them
+ as is.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>\?</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Get help information about the backslash (<quote>\</quote>) commands.
+ Get help information about the backslash (<quote>\</quote>)
+ commands.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<title>Command-line Options</title>
<para>
- If so configured, <application>psql</application> understands both standard
- Unix short options, and <acronym>GNU</acronym>-style long options. The latter
- are not available on all systems.
+ If so configured, <application>psql</application> understands both
+ standard Unix short options, and <acronym>GNU</acronym>-style long
+ options. The latter are not available on all systems.
</para>
<para>
<term>-a, --echo-all</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Print all the lines to the screen as they are read. This is more useful for
- script processing rather than interactive mode.
- This is equivalent to setting the variable <envar>ECHO</envar> to <literal>all</literal>.
+ Print all the lines to the screen as they are read. This is more
+ useful for script processing rather than interactive mode. This is
+ equivalent to setting the variable <envar>ECHO</envar> to
+ <literal>all</literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-A, --no-align</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Switches to unaligned output mode. (The default output mode is otherwise
- aligned.)
+ Switches to unaligned output mode. (The default output mode is
+ otherwise aligned.)
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-c, --command <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Specifies that <application>psql</application>
- is to execute one query string, <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable>,
- and then exit. This is useful in shell scripts.
+ Specifies that <application>psql</application> is to execute one
+ query string, <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable>,
+ and then exit. This is useful in shell scripts.
</para>
<para>
- <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable> must be either a query string
- that is completely parseable by the backend (i.e., it contains no <application>psql</application>
- specific features), or it is a single backslash command. Thus
- you cannot mix <acronym>SQL</acronym> and <application>psql</application>
+ <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable> must be either
+ a query string that is completely parseable by the backend (i.e.,
+ it contains no <application>psql</application> specific features),
+ or it is a single backslash command. Thus you cannot mix
+ <acronym>SQL</acronym> and <application>psql</application>
meta-commands. To achieve that, you could pipe the string into
- <application>psql</application>, like this:
- <literal>echo "\x \\ select * from foo;" | psql</literal>.
+ <application>psql</application>, like this: <literal>echo "\x \\
+ select * from foo;" | psql</literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-d, --dbname <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Specifies the name of the database to connect to. This is equivalent to specifying
- <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> as the first non-option
+ Specifies the name of the database to connect to. This is
+ equivalent to specifying <replaceable
+ class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> as the first non-option
argument on the command line.
</para>
</listitem>
<term>-e, --echo-queries</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Show all queries that are sent to the backend.
- This is equivalent to setting the variable <envar>ECHO</envar>
- to <literal>queries</literal>.
+ Show all queries that are sent to the backend. This is equivalent
+ to setting the variable <envar>ECHO</envar> to
+ <literal>queries</literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-E, --echo-hidden</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Echoes the actual queries generated by \d and other backslash commands.
- You can use this if you wish to include similar functionality into
- your own programs. This is equivalent to setting the variable
- <envar>ECHO_HIDDEN</envar> from within <application>psql</application>.
+ Echoes the actual queries generated by \d and other backslash
+ commands. You can use this if you wish to include similar
+ functionality into your own programs. This is equivalent to
+ setting the variable <envar>ECHO_HIDDEN</envar> from within
+ <application>psql</application>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<para>
Use the file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>
as the source of queries instead of reading queries interactively.
- After the file is processed, <application>psql</application> terminates.
- This is in many ways equivalent to the internal command <command>\i</command>.
+ After the file is processed, <application>psql</application>
+ terminates. This is in many ways equivalent to the internal
+ command <command>\i</command>.
</para>
<para>
</para>
<para>
- Using this option is subtly different from writing
- <literal>psql < <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></literal>.
- In general, both will do what you expect, but using <literal>-f</literal>
- 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 that you would have gotten had you entered everything by hand.
+ Using this option is subtly different from writing <literal>psql
+ < <replaceable
+ class="parameter">filename</replaceable></literal>. In general,
+ both will do what you expect, but using <literal>-f</literal>
+ 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 that you would have gotten had you entered
+ everything by hand.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-F, --field-separator <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Use <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable> as the field separator.
- This is equivalent to <command>\pset fieldsep</command> or <command>\f</command>.
+ Use <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable> as the
+ field separator. This is equivalent to <command>\pset
+ fieldsep</command> or <command>\f</command>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<listitem>
<para>
Specifies the host name of the machine on which the
- <application>postmaster</application> is running.
- If host begins with a slash, it is used
- as the directory for the unix domain socket.
+ <application>postmaster</application> is running. If host begins
+ with a slash, it is used as the directory for the unix domain
+ socket.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-H, --html</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Turns on <acronym>HTML</acronym> tabular output. This is equivalent
- to <literal>\pset format html</literal> or the <command>\H</command>
- command.
+ Turns on <acronym>HTML</acronym> tabular output. This is
+ equivalent to <literal>\pset format html</literal> or the
+ <command>\H</command> command.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-l, --list</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Lists all available databases, then exits. Other non-connection options
- are ignored. This is similar to the internal command <command>\list</command>.
+ Lists all available databases, then exits. Other non-connection
+ options are ignored. This is similar to the internal command
+ <command>\list</command>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-o, --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>.
+ Put all query output into file <replaceable
+ class="parameter">filename</replaceable>. This is equivalent to
+ the command <command>\o</command>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-p, --port <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Specifies the TCP/IP port or, by omission, the local Unix domain socket file
- extension on which the <application>postmaster</application>
- is listening for connections. Defaults to the value of the
- <envar>PGPORT</envar> environment variable or, if not set, to the port
- specified at compile time, usually 5432.
+ Specifies the TCP/IP port or, by omission, the local Unix domain
+ socket file extension on which the
+ <application>postmaster</application> is listening for
+ connections. Defaults to the value of the <envar>PGPORT</envar>
+ environment variable or, if not set, to the port specified at
+ compile time, usually 5432.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-P, --pset <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Allows you to specify printing options in the style of <command>\pset</command>
- on the command line. Note that here you have to separate name and value with
- an equal sign instead of a space. Thus to set the output format to LaTeX, you
- could write <literal>-P format=latex</literal>.
+ Allows you to specify printing options in the style of
+ <command>\pset</command> on the command line. Note that here you
+ have to separate name and value with an equal sign instead of a
+ space. Thus to set the output format to LaTeX, you could write
+ <literal>-P format=latex</literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-q</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. Within <application>psql</application> you can
- also set the <envar>QUIET</envar> variable to achieve the same effect.
+ 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.
+ Within <application>psql</application> you can also set the
+ <envar>QUIET</envar> variable to achieve the same effect.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-R, --record-separator <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Use <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable> as the record separator.
- This is equivalent to the <command>\pset recordsep</command> command.
+ Use <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable> as the
+ record separator. This is equivalent to the <command>\pset
+ recordsep</command> command.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-s, --single-step</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Run in single-step mode. That means the user is prompted before each query
- is sent to the backend, with the option to cancel execution as well.
- Use this to debug scripts.
+ Run in single-step mode. That means the user is prompted before
+ each query is sent to the backend, with the option to cancel
+ execution as well. Use this to debug scripts.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-S, --single-line</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Runs in single-line mode where a newline terminates a query, as a semicolon does.
+ Runs in single-line mode where a newline terminates a query, 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.
+ 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>
<term>-t, --tuples-only</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Turn off printing of column names and result row count footers, etc.
- It is completely equivalent to the <command>\t</command> meta-command.
+ Turn off printing of column names and result row count footers,
+ etc. It is completely equivalent to the <command>\t</command>
+ meta-command.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-T, --table-attr <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Allows you to specify options to be placed within the <acronym>HTML</acronym>
- <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag. See <command>\pset</command> for details.
+ Allows you to specify options to be placed within the
+ <acronym>HTML</acronym> <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag. See
+ <command>\pset</command> for details.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-u</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Makes <application>psql</application> prompt for the user name and password
- before connecting to the database.
+ Makes <application>psql</application> prompt for the user name and
+ password before connecting to the database.
</para>
<para>
- This option is deprecated, as it is conceptually flawed. (Prompting for
- a non-default user name and prompting for a password because the
- backend requires it are really two different things.) You are encouraged
- to look at the <option>-U</option> and <option>-W</option> options instead.
+ This option is deprecated, as it is conceptually flawed.
+ (Prompting for a non-default user name and prompting for a
+ password because the backend requires it are really two different
+ things.) You are encouraged to look at the <option>-U</option> and
+ <option>-W</option> options instead.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-U, --username <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Connects to the database as the user <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable>
- instead of the default. (You must have permission to do so, of course.)
+ Connects 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>
<listitem>
<para>
Performs a variable assignment, like the <command>\set</command>
- internal 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 just set a variable
- without a value, use the equal sign but leave off the value.
- These assignments are done during a very early stage of
- start-up, so variables reserved for internal purposes might get
- overwritten later.
+ internal 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 just set a variable without a value,
+ use the equal sign but leave off the value. These assignments are
+ done during a very early stage of start-up, so variables reserved
+ for internal purposes might get overwritten later.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-W, --password</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Requests that <application>psql</application> should prompt for a password
- before connecting to a database. This will remain set for the entire
- session, even if you change the database connection with the meta-command
- <command>\connect</command>.
+ Requests that <application>psql</application> should prompt for a
+ password before connecting to a database. This will remain set for
+ the entire session, even if you change the database connection
+ with the meta-command <command>\connect</command>.
</para>
<para>
- In the current version, <application>psql</application> automatically issues a
- password prompt whenever the backend requests password authentication.
- Because this is currently based on a hack, the automatic
- recognition might mysteriously fail, hence this option to force a prompt.
- If no password prompt is issued and the backend requires password authentication
- the connection attempt will fail.
+ In the current version, <application>psql</application>
+ automatically issues a password prompt whenever the backend
+ requests password authentication. Because this is currently based
+ on a hack, the automatic recognition might mysteriously fail,
+ hence this option to force a prompt. If no password prompt is
+ issued and the backend requires password authentication the
+ connection attempt will fail.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-x, --expanded</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Turns on extended row format mode. This is equivalent to the command
- <command>\x</command>.
+ Turns on extended row format mode. This is equivalent to the
+ command <command>\x</command>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>-?, --help</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Shows help about <application>psql</application> command line arguments.
+ Shows help about <application>psql</application> command line
+ arguments.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<title id="APP-PSQL-variables-title">Variables</title>
<para>
- <application>psql</application> provides variable substitution features
- similar to common Unix command shells. This feature is new and not very
- sophisticated, yet, but there are plans to expand it in the future.
- Variables are simply name/value
- pairs, where the value can be any string of any length. To set variables,
- use the <application>psql</application> meta-command <command>\set</command>:
+ <application>psql</application> provides variable substitution
+ features similar to common Unix command shells. This feature is new
+ and not very sophisticated, yet, but there are plans to expand it in
+ the future. Variables are simply name/value pairs, where the value
+ can be any string of any length. To set variables, use the
+ <application>psql</application> meta-command
+ <command>\set</command>:
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\set foo bar</userinput>
</programlisting>
- sets the variable <quote>foo</quote> to the value <quote>bar</quote>. To retrieve
- the content of the variable, precede the name with a colon and use it
- as the argument of any slash command:
+ sets the variable <quote>foo</quote> to the value
+ <quote>bar</quote>. To retrieve the content of the variable, precede
+ the name with a colon and use it as the argument of any slash
+ command:
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\echo :foo</userinput>
bar
<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.
+ 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>
- If you call <command>\set</command> without a second argument, the variable is simply
- set, but has no value. To unset (or delete) a variable, use the command
- <command>\unset</command>.
+ If you call <command>\set</command> without a second argument, the
+ variable is simply set, but has no value. To unset (or delete) a
+ variable, use the command <command>\unset</command>.
</para>
<para>
- <application>psql</application>'s internal variable names can consist of
- letters, numbers, and underscores in any order and any number of them.
- A number of regular variables are treated specially by <application>psql</application>.
- They indicate certain option settings that can be changed at run time
- by altering the value of the variable or represent some state of the application.
- Although you can use these
- variables for any other purpose, this is not recommended, as the
- program behavior might grow really strange really quickly.
- By convention, all specially treated variables consist of all upper-case letters
- (and possibly numbers and underscores). To ensure maximum compatibility in the
- future, avoid such variables.
- A list of all specially treated variables follows.
+ <application>psql</application>'s internal variable names can
+ consist of letters, numbers, and underscores in any order and any
+ number of them. A number of regular variables are treated specially
+ by <application>psql</application>. They indicate certain option
+ settings that can be changed at run time by altering the value of
+ the variable or represent some state of the application. Although
+ you can use these variables for any other purpose, this is not
+ recommended, as the program behavior might grow really strange
+ really quickly. By convention, all specially treated variables
+ consist of all upper-case letters (and possibly numbers and
+ underscores). To ensure maximum compatibility in the future, avoid
+ such variables. A list of all specially treated variables follows.
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><envar>DBNAME</envar></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 unset.
+ 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 unset.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>ECHO</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- If set to <quote><literal>all</literal></quote>, all lines entered or from a script
- are written to the standard output before they
- are parsed or executed. To specify this on program start-up, use the switch
- <option>-a</option>. If set to <quote><literal>queries</literal></quote>,
- <application>psql</application> merely prints all queries as they are sent to the
- backend. The option for this is <option>-e</option>.
+ If set to <quote><literal>all</literal></quote>, all lines
+ entered or from a script are written to the standard output
+ before they are parsed or executed. To specify this on program
+ start-up, use the switch <option>-a</option>. If set to
+ <quote><literal>queries</literal></quote>,
+ <application>psql</application> merely prints all queries as
+ they are sent to the backend. The option for this is
+ <option>-e</option>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>ECHO_HIDDEN</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- When this variable is set and a backslash command queries the database, the query
- is first shown. This way you can study the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
- internals and provide similar functionality in your own programs. If you set the
- variable to the value <quote>noexec</quote>, the queries are just shown but are
- not actually sent to the backend and executed.
+ When this variable is set and a backslash command queries the
+ database, the query is first shown. This way you can study the
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> internals and provide
+ similar functionality in your own programs. If you set the
+ variable to the value <quote>noexec</quote>, the queries are
+ just shown but are not actually sent to the backend and
+ executed.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>ENCODING</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The current client multibyte encoding. If you are not set up to use
- multibyte characters, this variable will always contain
+ The current client multibyte encoding. If you are not set up to
+ use multibyte characters, this variable will always contain
<quote>SQL_ASCII</quote>.
</para>
</listitem>
<term><envar>HISTCONTROL</envar></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 unset, or if set to any other value than those above, all lines read
- in interactive mode are saved on the history list.
+ 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
+ unset, or if set to any other value than those above, all lines
+ read in interactive mode are saved on the history list.
</para>
<note>
<para>
- This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from <application>bash</application>.
+ This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
+ <application>bash</application>.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<term><envar>HISTSIZE</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The number of commands to store in the command history.
- The default value is 500.
+ The number of commands to store in the command history. The
+ default value is 500.
</para>
<note>
<para>
- This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from <application>bash</application>.
+ This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
+ <application>bash</application>.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<term><envar>HOST</envar></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 unset.
+ 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 unset.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>IGNOREEOF</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- If unset, sending an EOF character (usually Control-D) to an interactive session of
- <application>psql</application> will terminate the application.
- If set to a numeric value, that many EOF characters are ignored before the application
- terminates. If the variable is set but has no numeric value, the default is 10.
+ If unset, sending an EOF character (usually Control-D) to an
+ interactive session of <application>psql</application> will
+ terminate the application. If set to a numeric value, that many
+ EOF characters are ignored before the application terminates.
+ If the variable is set but has no numeric value, the default is
+ 10.
</para>
<note>
<para>
- This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from <application>bash</application>.
+ This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
+ <application>bash</application>.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
<term><envar>LASTOID</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The value of the last affected oid, as returned from an <command>INSERT</command>
- or <command>lo_insert</command> command. This variable is only guaranteed to be
- valid until after the result of the next <acronym>SQL</acronym> command has been
- displayed.
+ The value of the last affected oid, as returned from an
+ <command>INSERT</command> or <command>lo_insert</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>
<term><envar>LO_TRANSACTION</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- If you use the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> large object
- interface to specially store data that does not fit into one tuple,
- all the operations must be contained in a transaction block. (See the
- documentation of the large object interface for more information.) Since
- <application>psql</application> has no way to tell if you already
- have a transaction in progress when you call one of its internal
- commands (<command>\lo_export</command>, <command>\lo_import</command>,
- <command>\lo_unlink</command>) it must take some arbitrary action. This
- action could either be to roll back any transaction that might already
- be in progress, or to commit any such transaction, or to do nothing at
- all. In the last case you must provide your own
- <command>BEGIN TRANSACTION</command>/<command>COMMIT</command> block or
- the results will be unpredictable (usually resulting in the desired
- action's not being performed in any case).
+ If you use the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> large
+ object interface to specially store data that does not fit into
+ one tuple, all the operations must be contained in a transaction
+ block. (See the documentation of the large object interface for
+ more information.) Since <application>psql</application> has no
+ way to tell if you already have a transaction in progress when
+ you call one of its internal commands
+ (<command>\lo_export</command>, <command>\lo_import</command>,
+ <command>\lo_unlink</command>) it must take some arbitrary
+ action. This action could either be to roll back any transaction
+ that might already be in progress, or to commit any such
+ transaction, or to do nothing at all. In the last case you must
+ provide your own <command>BEGIN
+ TRANSACTION</command>/<command>COMMIT</command> block or the
+ results will be unpredictable (usually resulting in the desired
+ action's not being performed in any case).
</para>
<para>
To choose what you want to do you set this variable to one of
- <quote>rollback</quote>, <quote>commit</quote>, or <quote>nothing</quote>.
- The default is to roll back the transaction. If you just want to load one
- or a few objects this is fine. However, if you intend to transfer many
- large objects, it might be advisable to provide one explicit transaction
- block around all commands.
+ <quote>rollback</quote>, <quote>commit</quote>, or
+ <quote>nothing</quote>. The default is to roll back the
+ transaction. If you just want to load one or a few objects this
+ is fine. However, if you intend to transfer many large objects,
+ it might be advisable to provide one explicit transaction block
+ around all commands.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>ON_ERROR_STOP</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- By default, if non-interactive scripts encounter an error, such as a
- malformed <acronym>SQL</acronym> query or internal meta-command,
- processing continues. This has been the traditional behavior of
- <application>psql</application> but it is sometimes not desirable. If this variable
- is set, script processing will immediately terminate. If the script was
- called from another script it will terminate in the same fashion.
- If the outermost script was not called from an interactive <application>psql</application>
- session but rather using the <option>-f</option> option, <application>psql</application>
- will return error code 3, to distinguish this case from fatal
- error conditions (error code 1).
+ By default, if non-interactive scripts encounter an error, such
+ as a malformed <acronym>SQL</acronym> query or internal
+ meta-command, processing continues. This has been the
+ traditional behavior of <application>psql</application> but it
+ is sometimes not desirable. If this variable is set, script
+ processing will immediately terminate. If the script was called
+ from another script it will terminate in the same fashion. If
+ the outermost script was not called from an interactive
+ <application>psql</application> session but rather using the
+ <option>-f</option> option, <application>psql</application> will
+ return error code 3, to distinguish this case from fatal error
+ conditions (error code 1).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>PORT</envar></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 unset.
+ 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 unset.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>PROMPT1</envar>, <envar>PROMPT2</envar>, <envar>PROMPT3</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- These specify what the prompt <application>psql</application> issues is
- supposed to look like. See
- <quote><xref linkend="APP-PSQL-prompting" endterm="APP-PSQL-prompting-title"></quote>
- below.
+ These specify what the prompt <application>psql</application>
+ issues is supposed to look like. See <quote><xref
+ linkend="APP-PSQL-prompting"
+ endterm="APP-PSQL-prompting-title"></quote> below.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>QUIET</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- This variable is equivalent to the command line option <option>-q</option>.
- It is probably not too useful in interactive mode.
+ This variable is equivalent to the command line option
+ <option>-q</option>. It is probably not too useful in
+ interactive mode.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>SINGLELINE</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- This variable is set by the command line option <option>-S</option>. You
- can unset or reset it at run time.
+ This variable is set by the command line option
+ <option>-S</option>. You can unset or reset it at run time.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>SINGLESTEP</envar></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- This variable is equivalent to the command line option <option>-s</option>.
+ This variable is equivalent to the command line option
+ <option>-s</option>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><envar>USER</envar></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 unset.
+ 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 unset.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<title id="APP-PSQL-sql-interpol-title"><acronym>SQL</acronym> Interpolation</title>
<para>
- An additional useful feature of <application>psql</application> variables
- is that you can substitute (<quote>interpolate</quote>) them into
- regular <acronym>SQL</acronym> statements. The syntax for this is again to prepend
- the variable name with a colon (<literal>:</literal>).
+ An additional useful feature of <application>psql</application>
+ variables is that you can substitute (<quote>interpolate</quote>)
+ them into regular <acronym>SQL</acronym> statements. The syntax for
+ this is again to prepend the variable name with a colon
+ (<literal>:</literal>).
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\set foo 'my_table'</userinput>
testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM :foo;</userinput>
</programlisting>
- would then query the table <literal>my_table</literal>. The value of the
- variable is copied literally, so it can even contain unbalanced quotes or
- backslash commands. You must make sure that it makes sense where you put it.
- Variable interpolation will not be performed into quoted <acronym>SQL</acronym>
- entities.
+ would then query the table <literal>my_table</literal>. The value of
+ the variable is copied literally, so it can even contain unbalanced
+ quotes or backslash commands. You must make sure that it makes sense
+ where you put it. Variable interpolation will not be performed into
+ quoted <acronym>SQL</acronym> entities.
</para>
<para>
- A popular application of this facility is to refer to the last inserted
- <acronym>OID</acronym> in subsequent statements to build a foreign key
- scenario.
- Another possible use of this mechanism is to copy the contents of a file
- into a field. First load the file into a variable and then proceed as above.
+ A popular application of this facility is to refer to the last
+ inserted <acronym>OID</acronym> in subsequent statements to build a
+ foreign key scenario. Another possible use of this mechanism is to
+ copy the contents of a file into a field. First load the file into a
+ variable and then proceed as above.
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\set content '\'' `cat my_file.txt` '\''</userinput>
testdb=> <userinput>INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (:content);</userinput>
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\set content '\'' `sed -e "s/'/\\\\\\'/g" < my_file.txt` '\''</userinput>
</programlisting>
- Observe the correct number of backslashes (6)! You can resolve it this way: After
- <application>psql</application> has parsed this line, it passes
- <literal>sed -e "s/'/\\\'/g" < my_file.txt</literal> to the shell. The shell
- will do its own thing inside the double quotes and execute <filename>sed</filename>
- with the arguments <literal>-e</literal> and <literal>s/'/\\'/g</literal>.
- When <application>sed</application> parses this it will replace the two
- backslashes with a single one and then do the substitution. Perhaps at
- one point you thought it was great that all Unix commands use the same
- escape character. And this is ignoring the fact that you might have to
- escape all backslashes as well because <acronym>SQL</acronym> text constants
- are also subject to certain interpretations. In that case you might
- be better off preparing the file externally.
+ Observe the correct number of backslashes (6)! You can resolve it
+ this way: After <application>psql</application> has parsed this
+ line, it passes <literal>sed -e "s/'/\\\'/g" < my_file.txt</literal>
+ to the shell. The shell will do its own thing inside the double
+ quotes and execute <filename>sed</filename> with the arguments
+ <literal>-e</literal> and <literal>s/'/\\'/g</literal>. When
+ <application>sed</application> parses this it will replace the two
+ backslashes with a single one and then do the substitution. Perhaps
+ at one point you thought it was great that all Unix commands use the
+ same escape character. And this is ignoring the fact that you might
+ have to escape all backslashes as well because
+ <acronym>SQL</acronym> text constants are also subject to certain
+ interpretations. In that case you might be better off preparing the
+ file externally.
</para>
<para>
- Since colons may legally appear in queries, the following rule applies: If the variable
- is not set, the character sequence <quote>colon+name</quote> is not changed. In any
- case you can escape a colon with a backslash to protect it from interpretation.
- (The colon syntax for variables is standard <acronym>SQL</acronym> for embedded
- query languages, such as <application>ecpg</application>. The colon syntax for
- array slices and type casts are <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> extensions,
- hence the conflict.)
+ Since colons may legally appear in queries, the following rule
+ applies: If the variable is not set, the character sequence
+ <quote>colon+name</quote> is not changed. In any case you can escape
+ a colon with a backslash to protect it from interpretation. (The
+ colon syntax for variables is standard <acronym>SQL</acronym> for
+ embedded query languages, such as <application>ecpg</application>.
+ The colon syntax for array slices and type casts are
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> extensions, hence the
+ conflict.)
</para>
</refsect2>
<title id="APP-PSQL-prompting-title">Prompting</title>
<para>
- The prompts <application>psql</application> issues can be customized to
- your preference. The three variables <envar>PROMPT1</envar>, <envar>PROMPT2</envar>,
- and <envar>PROMPT3</envar> 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 query.
- Prompt 2 is issued when more input is expected during query input because
- the query was not terminated with a semicolon or a quote was not closed.
- Prompt 3 is issued when you run an <acronym>SQL</acronym> <command>COPY</command>
- command and you are expected to type in the tuples on the terminal.
+ The prompts <application>psql</application> issues can be customized
+ to your preference. The three variables <envar>PROMPT1</envar>,
+ <envar>PROMPT2</envar>, and <envar>PROMPT3</envar> 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 query. Prompt 2 is
+ issued when more input is expected during query input because the
+ query was not terminated with a semicolon or a quote was not closed.
+ Prompt 3 is issued when you run an <acronym>SQL</acronym>
+ <command>COPY</command> command and you are expected to type in the
+ tuples on the terminal.
</para>
<para>
- The value of the respective prompt variable is printed literally, except where
- a percent sign (<quote>%</quote>) is encountered. Depending on the next
- character, certain other text is substituted instead. Defined substitutions are:
+ The value of the respective prompt variable is printed literally,
+ except where a percent sign (<quote>%</quote>) is encountered.
+ Depending on the next character, certain other text is substituted
+ instead. Defined substitutions are:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<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
+ 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>
<listitem>
<para>
The host name of the database server, truncated after the
- first dot, or <literal>[local]</literal> if the connection
- is over a Unix domain socket.
+ first dot, or <literal>[local]</literal> if the connection is
+ over a Unix domain socket.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><literal>%R</literal></term>
- <listitem><para>
- In prompt 1 normally <quote>=</quote>, but <quote>^</quote> if in single-line
- mode, and <quote>!</quote> if the session is disconnected from the database
- (which can happen if <command>\connect</command> fails). In prompt 2 the
- sequence is replaced by <quote>-</quote>, <quote>*</quote>, a single quote,
- or a double quote, depending on whether <application>psql</application>
- expects more input because the query wasn't terminated yet, because you are
- inside a <literal>/* ... */</literal> comment, or because you are inside
- a quote. In prompt 3 the sequence doesn't resolve to anything.</para>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ In prompt 1 normally <quote>=</quote>, but <quote>^</quote> if
+ in single-line mode, and <quote>!</quote> if the session is
+ disconnected from the database (which can happen if
+ <command>\connect</command> fails). In prompt 2 the sequence is
+ replaced by <quote>-</quote>, <quote>*</quote>, a single quote,
+ or a double quote, depending on whether
+ <application>psql</application> expects more input because the
+ query wasn't terminated yet, because you are inside a
+ <literal>/* ... */</literal> comment, or because you are inside
+ a quote. In prompt 3 the sequence doesn't resolve to anything.
+ </para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><literal>%</literal><replaceable class="parameter">digits</replaceable></term>
- <listitem><para>
- If <replaceable class="parameter">digits</replaceable> starts with
- <literal>0x</literal> the rest of the characters are interpreted as a
- hexadecimal digit and the character with the corresponding code is
- substituted. If the first digit is <literal>0</literal> the characters are
- interpreted as on octal number and the corresponding character is
- substituted. Otherwise a decimal number is assumed.</para>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ If <replaceable class="parameter">digits</replaceable> starts
+ with <literal>0x</literal> the rest of the characters are
+ interpreted as a hexadecimal digit and the character with the
+ corresponding code is substituted. If the first digit is
+ <literal>0</literal> the characters are interpreted as on octal
+ number and the corresponding character is substituted. Otherwise
+ a decimal number is assumed.
+ </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
- <quote><xref linkend="APP-PSQL-variables" endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title"></quote>
- for details.</para>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The value of the <application>psql</application>, variable
+ <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>. See the
+ section <quote><xref linkend="APP-PSQL-variables"
+ endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title"></quote> 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>
+ <para>
+ The output of <replaceable
+ class="parameter">command</replaceable>, similar to ordinary
+ <quote>back-tick</quote> substitution.
+ </para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
- To insert a percent sign into your prompt, write <literal>%%</literal>. The
- default prompts are equivalent to <literal>'%/%R%# '</literal> for prompts 1
- and 2, and <literal>'>> '</literal> for prompt 3.
+ To insert a percent sign into your prompt, write
+ <literal>%%</literal>. The default prompts are equivalent to
+ <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>.
+ This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
+ <application>tcsh</application>.
</para>
</note>
<title id="APP-PSQL-MISC-title">Miscellaneous</title>
<para>
- <application>psql</application> returns 0 to the shell if it finished normally,
- 1 if a fatal error of its own (out of memory, file not found) occurs, 2 if the
- connection to the backend went bad and the session is not interactive, and 3 if
- an error occurred in a script and the variable <envar>ON_ERROR_STOP</envar> was
- set.
+ <application>psql</application> returns 0 to the shell if it
+ finished normally, 1 if a fatal error of its own (out of memory,
+ file not found) occurs, 2 if the connection to the backend went bad
+ and the session is not interactive, and 3 if an error occurred in a
+ script and the variable <envar>ON_ERROR_STOP</envar> was set.
</para>
<para>
- Before starting up, <application>psql</application> attempts
- to read and execute commands from the file <filename>$HOME/.psqlrc</filename>. It
- could be used to set up the client or the server to taste (using the <command>\set
- </command> and <command>SET</command> commands).
+ Before starting up, <application>psql</application> attempts to read
+ and execute commands from the file
+ <filename>$HOME/.psqlrc</filename>. It could be used to set up the
+ client or the server to taste (using the <command>\set </command>
+ and <command>SET</command> commands).
</para>
</refsect2>
<title><acronym>GNU</acronym> readline</title>
<para>
- <application>psql</application> supports the readline and history libraries for
- convenient line editing and retrieval. The command history is stored in a file
- named <filename>.psql_history</filename> in your home directory 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.
- When available, <application>psql</application> is automatically built to use these
- features. If for some reason you do not like the tab completion, you can turn if off
- by putting this in a file named <filename>.inputrc</filename> in your
- home directory:
+ <application>psql</application> supports the readline and history
+ libraries for convenient line editing and retrieval. The command
+ history is stored in a file named <filename>.psql_history</filename>
+ in your home directory 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. When available,
+ <application>psql</application> is automatically built to use these
+ features. If for some reason you do not like the tab completion, you
+ can turn if 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.)
+ (This is not a <application>psql</application> but a
+ <application>readline</application> feature. Read its documentation
+ for further details.)
</para>
<para>
- If you have the readline library installed but <application>psql</application>
- does not seem to use it, you must make sure that <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>'s
- top-level <filename>configure</filename> script finds it. <filename>configure</filename>
- needs to find both the library <filename>libreadline.a</filename>
- (or a shared library equivalent)
- <emphasis>and</emphasis> the header files <filename>readline.h</filename> and
- <filename>history.h</filename> (or <filename>readline/readline.h</filename> and
- <filename>readline/history.h</filename>) in appropriate directories. If
- you have the library and header files installed in an obscure place you
- must tell <filename>configure</filename> about them, for example:
+ If you have the readline library installed but
+ <application>psql</application> does not seem to use it, you must
+ make sure that <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>'s top-level
+ <filename>configure</filename> script finds it.
+ <filename>configure</filename> needs to find both the library
+ <filename>libreadline.a</filename> (or a shared library equivalent)
+ <emphasis>and</emphasis> the header files
+ <filename>readline.h</filename> and <filename>history.h</filename>
+ (or <filename>readline/readline.h</filename> and
+ <filename>readline/history.h</filename>) in appropriate directories.
+ If you have the library and header files installed in an obscure
+ place you must tell <filename>configure</filename> about them, for
+ example:
<programlisting>
$ ./configure --with-includes=/opt/gnu/include --with-libs=/opt/gnu/lib ...
</programlisting>
- Then you have to recompile <application>psql</application> (not necessarily
- the entire code tree).
+ Then you have to recompile <application>psql</application> (not
+ necessarily the entire code tree).
</para>
<para>
- The <acronym>GNU</acronym> readline library can be obtained from the <acronym>GNU</acronym>
- project's <acronym>FTP</acronym> server at <ulink URL="ftp://ftp.gnu.org">ftp://ftp.gnu.org</ulink>.
+ The <acronym>GNU</acronym> readline library can be obtained from the
+ <acronym>GNU</acronym> project's <acronym>FTP</acronym> server at
+ <ulink URL="ftp://ftp.gnu.org">ftp://ftp.gnu.org</ulink>.
</para>
</refsect2>
<note>
<para>
- This section only shows a few examples specific to <application>psql</application>.
- If you want to learn <acronym>SQL</acronym> or get familiar with
- <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, you might wish to read the Tutorial that
- is included in the distribution.
+ This section only shows a few examples specific to
+ <application>psql</application>. If you want to learn
+ <acronym>SQL</acronym> or get familiar with
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, you might wish to read the
+ Tutorial that is included in the distribution.
</para>
</note>
<para>
- The first example shows how to spread a query over several lines of input.
- Notice the changing prompt:
+ The first example shows how to spread a query 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>\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:
+ 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
(4 rows)
</programlisting>
- You can make this table look differently by using the <command>\pset</command>
- command:
+ You can make this table look differently by using the
+ <command>\pset</command> command:
<programlisting>
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 2</userinput>
Border style is 2.
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
- In some earlier life <application>psql</application> allowed the first
- argument to start directly after the (single-letter) command. For
- compatibility this is still supported to some extent but I am not
- going to explain the details here as this use is discouraged. But
- if you get strange messages, keep this in mind. For example
+ In some earlier life <application>psql</application> allowed the
+ first argument to start directly after the (single-letter)
+ command. For compatibility this is still supported to some extent
+ but I am not going to explain the details here as this use is
+ discouraged. But if you get strange messages, keep this in mind.
+ For example
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\foo</userinput>
Field separator is "oo",
<listitem>
<para>
- <application>psql</application> only works smoothly with servers of the
- same version. That does not mean other combinations will fail outright,
- but subtle and not-so-subtle problems might come up.
+ <application>psql</application> only works smoothly with servers
+ of the same version. That does not mean other combinations will
+ fail outright, but subtle and not-so-subtle problems might come
+ up.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- Pressing Control-C during a <quote>copy in</quote> (data sent to the
- server) doesn't show the most ideal of behaviors. If you get a message
- such as <quote>COPY state must be terminated first</quote>,
- simply reset the connection by entering <literal>\c - -</literal>.
+ Pressing Control-C during a <quote>copy in</quote> (data sent to
+ the server) doesn't show the most ideal of behaviors. If you get a
+ message such as <quote>COPY state must be terminated
+ first</quote>, simply reset the connection by entering <literal>\c
+ - -</literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
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