Re: Re: [COMMITTERS] pgsql: Make the pg_stat_activity view call a SRF

On Monday 18 August 2008 10:53:51 Bruce Momjian wrote:
> Tom Lane wrote:
> > >> Thanks, and while I approve of that TODO, that's not actually the one
> > >> I was talking about in the email. The one I was talking about was
> > >> "change builtin set-returning functions to use OUT parameters so you
> > >> can query them without knowing the result format" or something like
> > >> that.
> > >>
> > >> So, please keep the one you added, but add this one as well.
> > >
> > > Uh, I need more details on this.  Can you give an example?
> >
> > Good:
> >
> > regression=# select * from pg_get_keywords();
> >        word        | catcode |        catdesc
> > -------------------+---------+-----------------------
> >  abort             | U       | Unreserved
> >  absolute          | U       | Unreserved
> >  access            | U       | Unreserved
> >  ...
> >
> > Not so good:
> >
> > regression=# select * from pg_show_all_settings();
> > ERROR:  a column definition list is required for functions returning
> > "record"
> >
> > There's no longer any very good reason for built-in SRFs to not define
> > their own output record type.
>
> TODO updated:
>
>     * Fix all set-returning system functions so they support a wildcard
>       target list
>
>       SELECT * FROM pg_get_keywords() works but SELECT * FROM
>       pg_show_all_settings() does not.
>

If this isn't critical, and no one is working on it yet, I can see about 
whittling away at it for 8.4. 

-- 
Robert Treat
Build A Brighter LAMP :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL