Specifying Rowtypes

So currently the only way to specify a row type is by using a table,
right? E.g.:
   CREATE TABLE t2_retval (value1 int NOT NULL DEFAULT -1,value2 int NOT NULL,value3 int   );

Are there plans to add another way of declaring this sort of thing so
that I don't have to add a new table to my schema for every function
that returns a rowtype?

Second, it seems that there's still a problem with NULLs here:
   CREATE FUNCTION t2()RETURNS t2_retval   AS '   DECLAREretval t2_retval%ROWTYPE;   BEGINSELECT INTO retval null,
null,null;RETURN retval;   END   ' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';
 

This is returning a row that (to my mind) doesn't match the type of the
table above, because it's returning null for non-nullable columns:

cjs=> select coalesce(value1, -999), coalesce(value2, -999),
cjs->     coalesce(value3, -999) from t2();case | case | case
------+------+-------999 | -999 | -999
(1 row)

(You get the same result if you delete the SELECT INTO line above.)

Am I misunderstanding something here, or is this a bug?

cjs
-- 
Curt Sampson  <cjs@cynic.net>   +81 90 7737 2974   http://www.netbsd.org   Don't you know, in this new Dark Age, we're
alllight.  --XTC