Re: Matching the MYSQL "Describe <table-name>" command

On 2005-04-24, Alan Chandler <alan(at)chandlerfamily(dot)org(dot)uk> wrote:
> I am rather new to Postgres (running 7.4) but I am trying to port some PHP
> code that has been built to run with mysql.
>
> I have got stuck trying to find the equivalent of the Mysql "DESCRIBE
><tablename>;" SQL statement that lists the columns and type identifiers of a
> table.
>
> I think I am going to do a SELECT on the "pg_attribute" table,

Steer clear of reading the system catalogs directly; getting the right
answers from them can be much harder than it appears, since they are
organized purely for the convenience of the backend.

For this specific task, information_schema.columns should be pretty close
to what you need.

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Andrew, Supernews
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