This statement runs great from the psql prompt. Does exactly what I want. select datname from pg_database WHERE datname !~ 'template|postgres' ORDER BY datname;
But it doesn't work so well from the bash prompt. Not escaping the "!" generates a bunch of garbage, while escaping throws an sql syntax error. psql -Xc "select datname from pg_database WHERE datname \!~ 'template|postgres' ORDER BY datname;" ERROR: syntax error at or near "\" What's the magic syntax? (Yes, I could create a view and then query the view, but I'm going to be running this remotely against dozens of servers, so I don't want to have to create dozens of views, then need to recreate them every time I want to change the query.) -- Death to <Redacted>, and butter sauce. Don't boil me, I'm still alive. <Redacted> lobster!
