PostgreSQL 9.6.24 Documentation | |||
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Server-side functions tailored for manipulating large objects from SQL are listed in Table 33-1.
Table 33-1. SQL-oriented Large Object Functions
Function | Return Type | Description | Example | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
lo_from_bytea(loid oid, string bytea) |
oid | Create a large object and store data there, returning its OID. Pass 0 to have the system choose an OID. | lo_from_bytea(0, '\xffffff00') | 24528 |
lo_put(loid oid, offset bigint, str bytea) |
void | Write data at the given offset. | lo_put(24528, 1, '\xaa') | |
lo_get(loid oid [, from bigint, for int]) |
bytea | Extract contents or a substring thereof. | lo_get(24528, 0, 3) | \xffaaff |
There are additional server-side functions corresponding to each of the client-side functions described earlier; indeed, for the most part the client-side functions are simply interfaces to the equivalent server-side functions. The ones just as convenient to call via SQL commands are lo_creat
, lo_create
, lo_unlink
, lo_import
, and lo_export
. Here are examples of their use:
CREATE TABLE image ( name text, raster oid ); SELECT lo_creat(-1); -- returns OID of new, empty large object SELECT lo_create(43213); -- attempts to create large object with OID 43213 SELECT lo_unlink(173454); -- deletes large object with OID 173454 INSERT INTO image (name, raster) VALUES ('beautiful image', lo_import('/etc/motd')); INSERT INTO image (name, raster) -- same as above, but specify OID to use VALUES ('beautiful image', lo_import('/etc/motd', 68583)); SELECT lo_export(image.raster, '/tmp/motd') FROM image WHERE name = 'beautiful image';
The server-side lo_import
and lo_export
functions behave considerably differently from their client-side analogs. These two functions read and write files in the server's file system, using the permissions of the database's owning user. Therefore, their use is restricted to superusers. In contrast, the client-side import and export functions read and write files in the client's file system, using the permissions of the client program. The client-side functions do not require superuser privilege.
The functionality of lo_read
and lo_write
is also available via server-side calls, but the names of the server-side functions differ from the client side interfaces in that they do not contain underscores. You must call these functions as loread
and lowrite
.