Re: format() function with string_agg

I tried both SQLs in Postgres 9.1 but they failed with same error - "ERROR:
too few arguments for format"

select format('%s %s', VARIADIC array_agg(val)) from (values ('1'),('2'))
src (val)

select format(string_agg(fmt_prt, ';'), array_agg(val))
from (values ('%s','1'),('%s','2')) src (fmt_prt, val)

==
ERROR: too few arguments for format

********** Error **********

ERROR: too few arguments for format
SQL state: 22023

It looks like the error is specific to 9.1 since it worked for you in 9.3.
I can't upgrade to 9.3 soon. Is there any workaround or another way to
achieve the formatting of message?

On Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 11:09 PM, David G Johnston <
david(dot)g(dot)johnston(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:

> Raj Gandhi wrote
> > I'm trying to use format() function with string_agg with Postgres 9.1.9
> > but
> > getting error - "too few arguments for format"
> >
> > I have two tables t_message and t_message_args. Table t_message has
> > 'message' column with text in the format 'Test message first arg is %1$s
> > and second arg %2$s end-of-message'
> >
> > id | integer |
> > message | character varying |
> >
> >
> > And the second table t_message_args contains message argument and values
> > id | integer |
> > arg | integer |
> > argvalue | character varying |
> >
> >
> > Here is the SQL that uses format() function to retrieve formatted message
> > by replacing arg value in the message:
> > =
> > select m.id, format(m.message, string_agg(a.argvalue, ',' order by
> a.arg)
> > from t_message m, t_message_args a
> > where m.id = a.id
> > group by m.id, m.message
> >
> >
> > ERROR: too few arguments for format
> >
> > ********** Error **********
> >
> > ERROR: too few arguments for format
> > SQL state: 22023
>
> format('%s %s', '1', '2'); --works
> format('%s %s, array['1','2']) -- doesn't work
>
> http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.3/interactive/xfunc-sql.html
>
> (arguably this is not SQL language specific and should be relocated to a
> more generic part of the documentation...)
>
>
> > You can't actually write that, though — or at least, it will not match
> > this function definition. A parameter marked VARIADIC matches one or more
> > occurrences of its element type, not of its own type.
> >
> > Sometimes it is useful to be able to pass an already-constructed array to
> > a variadic function; this is particularly handy when one variadic
> function
> > wants to pass on its array parameter to another one. You can do that by
> > specifying VARIADIC in the call:
>
> select format('%s %s', VARIADIC array_agg(val)) from (values ('1'),('2'))
> src (val) -- works
>
> Note the use of array_agg(); string_agg() returns text, not an array, so
> its
> not going to be of use here - unless you want to build up the specifier
> portion on the fly too:
>
> select format(string_agg(fmt_prt, ';'), array_agg(val))
> from (values ('%s','1'),('%s','2')) src (fmt_prt, val) --works
>
> David J.
>
>
>
>
>
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