how to list privileges on the database object itself via SQL?

May I suggest PgAdmin GUI

From: richard coleman <rcoleman(dot)ascentgl(at)gmail(dot)com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2023 12:50 PM
To: Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us>
Cc: pgsql-admin(at)lists(dot)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: how to list privileges on the database object itself via SQL?

Tom,
Thanks for that. It still seems rather weird that there isn't a more straightforward way to get access to that information.

Also the SQL generated by psql -E doesn't seem to work on earlier versions of PostgreSQL:
SELECT d.datname as "Name",
pg_catalog.pg_get_userbyid(d.datdba) as "Owner",
pg_catalog.pg_encoding_to_char(d.encoding) as "Encoding",
d.datcollate as "Collate",
d.datctype as "Ctype",
-- start this section works in pg15, but not in pg11
d.daticulocale as "ICU Locale",
CASE d.datlocprovider WHEN 'c' THEN 'libc' WHEN 'i' THEN 'icu' END AS "Locale Provider",
-- end this section works in pg15, but not in pg11
pg_catalog.array_to_string(d.datacl, E'\n') AS "Access privileges"
FROM pg_catalog.pg_database d
ORDER BY 1;

Even then, the results are a potentially very long concatenated string, or originally an array, in the "Access privileges" column.

Are you sure there isn't a more straightforward way to access this information? Are you saying that the only place this information is stored is in an array in the datacl column of the pg_catalog.pg_database table?
If that's the case then I am going to be forced to either write code to parse out that array, or write a looping union of multiple "has_database_privilege()" calls.

Either case seems like overkill to get such basic information out of PostgreSQL....

rik.

On Wed, Apr 26, 2023 at 1:22 PM Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us<mailto:tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us>> wrote:
richard coleman <rcoleman(dot)ascentgl(at)gmail(dot)com<mailto:rcoleman(dot)ascentgl(at)gmail(dot)com>> writes:
> Thanks, but no. I am looking for the SQL statement.
> I very rarely venture into psql, unless it's to run an SQL code block from
> the terminal.
> Is there an SQL way to do this?

psql is still a useful reference. Run it with the -E option and
look at the SQL it issues when you say "\l". Trim to fit your
requirements.

regards, tom lane