On Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 10:52 AM, Jasen Betts <ja...@xnet.co.nz> wrote:
> On 2009-06-16, gvimrc <gvi...@googlemail.com> wrote: > > I'm fairly new to PostgreSQL and completely new to using pl/pgsql > > though I've used MySQL's procedural language a little. > > I heard pl/pgsql is similar to Oracle's pl/sql so would it be possible, > > given that pl/pgsql literature is a bit thin on the ground, to use books > > on pl/sql for developing pl/pgsql code? > > For inspiration perhaps, not as a textbook. > differences from oracle: > http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.3/interactive/plpgsql-porting.html > > the postgresql manual chapter on pl-pgsql (and the preceeding chapters) > contain all that you really need. > > pl-pgsql chapter: > http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.3/interactive/plpgsql.html > full manual: > http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.3/interactive/index.html > > plpgsql is much like any other procedural language > only you can embed SQL queries very very easily > > some hints you may find useful: > > The syntax checker doesn't always give useful advice when it rejects > your code so develop a habit of step-wise testing. > > if you say "IF" and forget to say "THEN" it will lead a confusing > error message. > > "ELSIF" (and "ELSEIF") are different to "ELSE IF" in the number of > "END IF"s youll need to use later. > > -- sql comments and > /* c-style > comments */ can both be used. > > And a major one is, that it cannot detect semantic error's (like missing table, or wrong column name, or wrong expression assignment) until you execute the function. This implies that if you have branches in code, say IF .. THEN .. ELSE .. END IF then you will not see errors from a branch until that branch of code is executed. Best regards, -- Lets call it Postgres EnterpriseDB http://www.enterprisedb.com gurjeet[.sin...@enterprisedb.com singh.gurj...@{ gmail | hotmail | indiatimes | yahoo }.com Mail sent from my BlackLaptop device
