Re: Seeking Clarification on Function Definitions in PostgreSQL Extensions

On Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 2:37 PM David G. Johnston <
david(dot)g(dot)johnston(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:

> On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, Ron Johnson <ronljohnsonjr(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>
>> On Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 1:57 PM David G. Johnston <
>> david(dot)g(dot)johnston(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, Ron Johnson <ronljohnsonjr(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> But I stand by returning OUT params and records at the same time.
>>>>
>>>
>>> You mean you dislike adding the optional returns clause when output
>>> parameters exist?
>>>
>>
>> Correct. It breaks the distinction between function and procedure.
>>
>
> How so?
>
> The two distinctions are functions can produce sets while procedures get
> transaction control.
>
> They both can produce a single multi-column output record. The presence
> or absence of the optional return clause on a function definition doesn’t
> change that fact.
>

"A function returns a value*, but a procedure does not."

*In the case of SQL, "value" might be a set.