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3.15. pg_proc

This catalog stores information about functions (or procedures). The description of CREATE FUNCTION and the Programmer's Guide contain more information about the meaning of some fields.

Table 3-15. pg_proc Columns

Name Type References Description
proname name   Name of the function
proowner int4 pg_shadow.usesysid Owner (creator) of the function
prolang oid pg_language.oid Implementation language or call interface of this function
proisinh bool   unused
proistrusted bool   not functional
proiscachable bool   Function returns same result for same input values
proisstrict bool   Function returns null if any call argument is null. In that case the function won't actually be called at all. Functions that are not "strict" must be prepared to handle null inputs.
pronargs int2   Number of arguments
proretset bool   Function returns a set (ie, multiple values of the specified datatype)
prorettype oid pg_type.oid Data type of the return value (0 if the function does not return a value)
proargtypes oidvector pg_type.oid A vector with the data types of the function arguments
probyte_pct int4   dead code
properbyte_cpu int4   dead code
propercall_cpu int4   dead code
prooutin_ratio int4   dead code
prosrc text   This tells the function handler how to invoke the function. It might be the actual source code of the function for interpreted languages, a link symbol, a file name, or just about anything else, depending on the implementation language/call convention.
probin bytea   Additional information about how to invoke the function. Again, the interpretation is language-specific.

Currently, prosrc contains the function's C-language name (link symbol) for compiled functions, both built-in and dynamically loaded. For all other language types, prosrc contains the function's source text.

Currently, probin is unused except for dynamically-loaded C functions, for which it gives the name of the shared library file containing the function.