Re: pgsql functions: get column headers; optional arguments

Mark wrote:
> I am writing a function to extract data either from a table or a query

> and output it in xml. I have the logic down, but I cannot work out a
few
> things.
>
> 1. How can I read the column headings from the returned data set? I
have
> resorted to writing the same function in tcl in which I can work out
how
> to do this, but what about pgsql? I can't use the system tables for
> this, since the data may not come from a table.

I don't think there is a way.

> 2. It it possible, either in tcl or pgsql, to have optional function
> arguments?

No.

Before you do a lot of work on this, check out the xml2 contrib module.
It may provide a lot of what you need.

There will also be XML stuff in 8.3 core.

Yours,
Laurenz Albe