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$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/psql-ref.sgml,v 1.19 2000/01/12 19:36:34 petere Exp $
Postgres documentation
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<refentry id="APP-PSQL">
  <refmeta>
    <refentrytitle id="app-psql-title">
        <application>psql</application>
    </refentrytitle>
    <refmiscinfo>Application</refmiscinfo>
  </refmeta>

  <refnamediv>
    <refname>
      <application>psql</application>
    </refname>
    <refpurpose>
      <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> interactive terminal
    </refpurpose>
  </refnamediv>

  <refsynopsisdiv>
    <refsynopsisdivinfo>
      <date>1999-10-26</date>
    </refsynopsisdivinfo>

    <synopsis>psql [ <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable> ] [ <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">user</replaceable> ] ]</synopsis>

  <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PSQL-1">
    <refsect2info>
      <date>1998-09-26</date>
    </refsect2info>

    <title>Input</title>
    <para>
    <application>psql</application> accepts many command-line arguments,
    a rich set of meta-commands, and the full <acronym>SQL</acronym> language
    supported by <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>.
    </para>
  </refsect2>

  <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PSQL-2">
    <refsect2info>
      <date>1998-10-26</date>
     </refsect2info>
   
    <title>Output</title>
    <para>
    <application>psql</application> returns 0 to the shell on successful
    completion of all queries, 1 for fatal errors, 2 for abrupt disconnection
    from the backend, and 3 if a non-interactive script stopped because an <acronym>SQL</acronym>
    command or psql meta-command resulted in an error.
    </para>
  </refsect2>
</refsynopsisdiv>

<refsect1 id="R1-APP-PSQL-1">
  <refsect1info>
    <date>1998-10-26</date>
  </refsect1info>

  <title>Description</title>

  <para>
  <application>psql</application> is a character-based front-end to 
  <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. It enables you to type in queries
  interactively, issue them to <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, and see
  the query results. In addition, it provides a number of meta-commands and
  various shell-like features to facilitate writing scripts and automating a wide
  variety of tasks.
  </para>

  <para>
  <application>psql</application> is a regular
  <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> client application. Hence, a
  <application>postmaster</application> process must be running on the database
  server host before <application>psql</application> is executed.  In addition,
  the correct parameters to identify the database server, such as the
  <application>postmaster</application> host name, may need to be specified as
  described below.
  </para>

  <para>
  When <application>psql</application> starts, it reads <acronym>SQL</acronym> and psql commands
  from <filename>/etc/psqlrc</filename> and then from
  <filename>$<envar>HOME</envar>/.psqlrc</filename>
  This allows commands like <command>\set</command> or the <acronym>SQL</acronym> command
  <xref linkend="SQL-SET" endterm="SQL-SET-title">, which can be used to set a variety of options,
  to be run at the start of every session.
  </para>

  <para>
  <application>psql</application> can be used in a pipe sequence, and
  automatically detects when it is not used interactively.
  </para>

  <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PSQL-3">
    <refsect2info>
      <date>1998-09-26</date>
    </refsect2info>
   
    <title>Connecting To A Database</title>

    <para>
    <application>psql</application> attempts to make a connection to the
    database name at the hostname and port number, and with the user name
    specified on the command line. If any of these are omitted, the
    <application>libpq</application> client library, upon which
    <application>psql</application> is built, will choose defaults.
    (This will usually mean the environment variables <envar>PGDATABASE</envar>,
    <envar>PGHOST</envar>, <envar>PGPORT</envar>, <envar>PGUSER</envar>,
    respectively, if they are set. Otherwise the default host is the local host
    via Unix domain sockets, the default port is decided at compile time,
    the default user is the system user name, and the default database is
    the one with the same name as the user.)
    </para>

    <para>
    If the connection could not be made for any reason (e.g., insufficient
    privileges, postmaster is not running on the server, etc.),
    <application>psql</application> will return an error and terminate.
    </para>
  </refsect2>

  <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PSQL-4">
    <refsect2info>
      <date>1998-09-26</date>
    </refsect2info>

    <title>Entering Queries</title>

    <para>
    In normal operation, <application>psql</application> provides a prompt with
    the name of the database that <application>psql</application> is currently
    connected to followed by the string "=>". For example,
<programlisting>
$ <userinput>psql testdb</userinput>
Welcome to psql, the PostgreSQL interactive terminal.

Type:  \copyright for distribution terms
       \h for help with SQL commands
       \? for help on internal slash commands
       \g or terminate with semicolon to execute query
       \q to quit

testdb=>
</programlisting>
    </para>

    <para>
    At the prompt, the user may type in <acronym>SQL</acronym> queries.  
    Ordinarily, input lines are sent to the backend when a query-terminating
    semicolon is reached. If the database server reports success, the query
    results are displayed on the screen.
    </para>

    <para>
    Whenever a query is executed, <application>psql</application> also polls
    for asynchronous notification events generated by
    <xref linkend="SQL-LISTEN" endterm="SQL-LISTEN-title"> and
    <xref linkend="SQL-NOTIFY" endterm="SQL-NOTIFY-title">.
    </para>
  </refsect2>
</refsect1>

<refsect1 id="R1-APP-PSQL-2">
    <refsect1info>
      <date>1998-09-26</date>
    </refsect1info>

    <title><application>psql</application> Meta-Commands</title>

    <para>
    Anything you enter in <application>psql</application> that begins with an
    unquoted backslash is a <application>psql</application> meta-command.
    Anything else is <acronym>SQL</acronym> and simply goes into the current
    query buffer (and once you have at least one complete query, it gets
    automatically submitted to the backend). For this reason,
    <application>psql</application> meta-commands are more commonly called
    slash or backslash commands.
    </para>

    <para>
    The format of a <application>psql</application> command is the backslash, 
    followed immediately by a command verb, then any arguments. The arguments
    are separated from the command verb and each other by any number of white
    space characters.
    </para>

    <para>
    To include whitespace into an argument you must quote it with either single
    or double quotes. Anything contained in single quotes (except for a
    backslash-escaped single quote itself) is taken literally as the argument.
    Anything contained in double quotes is furthermore subject to C-like
    substitutions for <literal>\n</literal> (new line), <literal>\t</literal> (tab),
    <literal>\</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable>,
    <literal>\0</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable>, and
    <literal>\0x</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable>
    (the character with the given decimal, octal, or hexadecimal code).
    </para>

    <para>
    If an unquoted argument begins with a dollar sign (<literal>$</literal>),
    it is taken as a variable and the value of the variable is taken as the
    argument instead. Inside double quotes, variable values can be substituted
    by enclosing the name in a <literal>${...}</literal> sequence. See also under
    <quote><xref linkend="APP-PSQL-variables" endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title"></quote>.
    </para>

    <para>
    Arguments that are quoted in <quote>back-ticks</quote> (<literal>`</literal>)
    are taken as a command line
    that is passed to the shell. The output of the command (with a trailing
    newline removed) is taken as the argument value. Back-ticks are subject to
    the same substitution rules as double-quotes.
    </para>

    <para>
    Parsing for arguments stops when another unquoted backslash occurs. This
    is taken as the beginning of a new meta-command. The special sequence
    <literal>\\</literal>
    (two backslashes) marks the end of arguments and continues parsing
    <acronym>SQL</acronym> queries, if any. That way <acronym>SQL</acronym> and
    <application>psql</application> commands can be freely mixed on a line.
    In any case, the arguments of a meta-command cannot continue beyond the end
    of the line. 
    </para>

    <para>
    The following meta-commands are defined:

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\a</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
	If the current table output format is unaligned, switch to aligned.
	If it is not unaligned, set it to unaligned. This command is
	kept for backwards compatibility. See <command>\pset</command> for a
	general solution.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\C</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">title</replaceable> ]</term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Set the title of any tables being printed as the result of a query or
        unset any such title. This command is equivalent to
        <literal>\pset title <replaceable class="parameter">title</replaceable></literal>.
        (The name of this
        command derives from <quote>caption</quote>, as it was previously only
	used to set the caption in an <acronym>HTML</acronym> table.)
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\connect</literal> (or <literal>\c</literal>) [ <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> ] ]</term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
	Establishes a connection to a new database and/or under a user name. The
	previous connection is closed.
	If <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> is <literal>-</literal>
	the current database name is assumed.
	</para>

	<para>
	If <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> is omitted or
	<literal>-</literal> the current user name is assumed. If
	<replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> is <literal>?</literal>
	<application>psql</application> will prompt for the new user name
	interactively.
	</para>

	<para>
	As a special rule, <command>\connect</command> without any arguments will connect
	to the default database as the default user (as you would have gotten
	by starting <application>psql</application> without any arguments).
	</para>

	<para>
	If the connection attempt failed (wrong username, access denied, etc.) the
	previous connection will be kept, if and only if <application>psql</application> is
	in interactive mode. When executing a non-interactive script, processing
	will immediately stop with an error. This distinction was chosen as a user
	convenience against typos on the one hand, and a safety mechanism that
	scripts are not accidentally acting on the wrong database on the other hand.
	</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\copy</literal> [ <literal>binary</literal> ] <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable>
        [ <literal>with oids</literal> ] { <literal>from</literal> | <literal>to</literal> }
	<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> [ <literal>with delimiters</literal>
	'<replaceable class="parameter">character</replaceable>' ]
        </term>

        <listitem>
        <para>
        Performs a frontend (client) copy. This is an operation that runs an
	<acronym>SQL</acronym> <xref linkend="SQL-COPY" endterm="SQL-COPY-title"> command,
        but instead of the backend reading or writing the specified file, and 
        consequently requiring backend access and special user privilege, 
	as well as being bound to the file system accessible by the backend,
        <application>psql</application> reads or writes the 
        file and routes the data to or from the backend onto the local file system.
	</para>

	<para>
	The syntax of the command is in analogy to the <acronym>SQL</acronym>
	<command>COPY</command> command, see its description for the details.
	Note that because of this, special parsing rules apply to the
	<command>\copy</command> command. In particular, the variable
	substitution rules and backslash escapes do not apply.
	</para>

        <tip>
        <para>
	This operation is not as efficient as the <acronym>SQL</acronym> 
	<command>COPY</command> command because all data must pass through the
	client/server IP or socket connection. For large amounts of data this other
	technique may be preferable.
        </para>
        </tip>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\copyright</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Shows the copyright and distribution terms of <application>PostgreSQL</application>.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\d</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">relation</replaceable> </term>

        <listitem>
        <para>
	Shows all columns of <replaceable class="parameter">relation</replaceable>
	(which could be a table, view, index, or sequence),
	their types, and any special attributes such as <literal>NOT NULL</literal>
	or defaults, if any.
	If the relation is, in fact, a table, any defined indices are also listed.
	If the relation is a view, the view definition is also shown.
	</para>

	<para>
	The command form <literal>\d+</literal> is identical, but any comments
        associated with the table columns are shown as well.
	</para>

	<note>
	<para>
	If <command>\d</command> is called without any arguments, it is
	equivalent to <command>\dtvs</command> which will show a list
	of all tables, views, and sequences. This is purely a convenience
	measure.
	</para>
	</note>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\da</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</term>

        <listitem>
        <para>
        Lists all available aggregate functions, together with the data type they operate on.
	If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
	(a regular expression) is specified, only matching aggregates are shown.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\dd</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">object</replaceable> ]</term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Shows the descriptions of <replaceable class="parameter">object</replaceable>
        (which can be a regular expression), or of all objects if no argument is given.
        (<quote>Object</quote> covers aggregates, functions, operators, types, relations
        (tables, views, indices, sequences, large objects), rules, and triggers.) For example:
<programlisting>
=> <userinput>\dd version</userinput>
              Object descriptions
  Name   |   What   |        Description
---------+----------+---------------------------
 version | function | PostgreSQL version string
(1 row)
</programlisting>
        </para>

        <para>
        Descriptions for objects can be generated with the <command>COMMENT ON</command>
        <acronym>SQL</acronym> command.
	</para>

        <note>
        <para>
        <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> stores the object descriptions in the
        pg_description system table.
        </para>
        </note>

        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\df [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</literal></term>

        <listitem>
        <para>
        Lists available functions, together with their argument and return types.
        If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
        (a regular expression) is specified, only matching functions are shown.
        If the form <literal>\df+</literal> is used, additional information about
        each function, including language and description is shown.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\distvS [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</literal></term>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	This is not the actual command name: The letters i, s, t, v, S stand for
	index, sequence, table, view, and system table, respectively. You can specify
	any or all of them in any order to obtain a listing of them, together with
	who the owner is.
	</para>

	<para>
	If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
	it is a regular expression restricts the listing to those objects
	whose name matches. If one appends a <quote>+</quote> to the command name,
	each object is listed with its associated description, if any.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\dl</literal></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	This is an alias for <command>\lo_list</command>, which shows a list of large objects.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\do [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Lists available operators with their operand and return types.
        If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
        is specified, only operators with that name will be shown.
        (Since this is a regular expression, be sure to quote all special
        characters in you operator name with backslashes. To prevent
        interpretation of the backslash as a new command, you might also
        wish to quote the argument.)
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\dp</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	This is an alias for <command>\z</command> which was included for its
	greater mnemonic value (<quote>display permissions</quote>).
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\dT [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Lists all data types or only those that match <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>.
        The command form <literal>\dT+</literal> shows extra information.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\edit</literal> (or <literal>\e</literal>) [ <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> ]</term>

        <listitem>
        <para>
        If <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> is specified,
        the file is edited and after the editor exit its content is copied
        back to the query buffer. If no argument is given, the current query
        buffer is copied to a temporary file which is then edited in the same
        fashion.
        </para>

        <para>
        The new query buffer is then re-parsed according to the normal rules of
        <application>psql</application>, where the whole buffer is treated as
        a single line. (Thus you cannot make <quote>scripts</quote> this way,
        use <command>\i</command> for that.) This means also that
        if the query ends with (or rather contains) a semicolon, it is immediately
        executed. In other cases it will merely wait in the query buffer.
        </para>

        <tip>
        <para>
        <application>psql</application> searches the environment variables
        <envar>PSQL_EDITOR</envar>, <envar>EDITOR</envar>, and <envar>VISUAL</envar>
        (in that order) for an editor to use. If all of them are unset,
        <filename>/bin/vi</filename> is run.
        </para>
        </tip>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\echo</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> [ ... ]</term>
        <listitem>
	<para>
        Prints the arguments to the standard output. This can be useful to
        intersperse information in the output of scripts. For example:
<programlisting>
=> <userinput>\echo `date`</userinput>
Tue Oct 26 21:40:57 CEST 1999
</programlisting>
	</para>

	<tip>
	<para>
	If you use the <command>\o</command> command to redirect your query output
	you may wish to use <command>\qecho</command> instead of this command.
	</para>
	</tip>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\f</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">string</replaceable> ]</term>

        <listitem>
        <para>
        Sets the field separator for unaligned query output. The default is <quote><literal>|</literal></quote>
	(a <quote>pipe</quote> symbol). See also <command>\pset</command> for a generic way
	of setting output options.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\g</literal> [ { <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> | <literal>|</literal><replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> } ]</term>

        <listitem>
        <para>
        Sends the current query input buffer to the backend and optionally
        saves the output in <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>
        or pipes the output into a separate Unix shell to execute
        <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>. A bare <literal>\g</literal>
	is virtually equivalent to a semicolon. A <literal>\g</literal> with argument
	is a <quote>one-shot</quote> alternative to the <command>\o</command> command.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\help</literal> (or <literal>\h</literal>) [ <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> ]</term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Give syntax help on the specified <acronym>SQL</acronym> command.  
        If <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> is not specified,
        then <application>psql</application> will 
        list all the commands for which syntax help is
        available.  If <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>
        is an asterisk (<quote>*</quote>), then
        syntax help on all <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands is shown.
        </para>

	<note>
	<para>
	To simplify typing, commands that consists of several words do not have to be quoted.
	Thus it is fine to type <userinput>\help alter table</userinput>.
	</para>
	</note>	
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\H</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
	Turns on <acronym>HTML</acronym> query output format. If the <acronym>HTML</acronym>
	format is already on, it is switched back to the default aligned text format. This
	command is for compatibility and convenience, but see <command>\pset</command> about
	setting other output options.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\i</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Reads input from the file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>
	and executes it as though it had been typed on the keyboard.
        </para>
	<note>
	<para>
	If you want to see the lines on the screen as they are read you must set
	the variable <envar>echo</envar>.
	</para>
	</note>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\l</literal> (or <literal>\list</literal>)</term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        List all the databases in the server as well as their owners. Append a
        <quote>+</quote> to the command name to see any descriptions
        for the databases as well. If your <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
	installation was
	compiled with multibyte encoding support, the encoding scheme of each
	database is shown as well.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\lo_export</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	Reads the large object with <acronym>OID</acronym> <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable>
	from the database and writes it to <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>.
	Note that this is subtly different from the server function <function>lo_export</function>,
	which acts with the permissions of the user that the database server runs as and
	on the server's file system.
	</para>
	<tip>
	<para>
	Use <command>\lo_list</command> to find out the large object's <acronym>OID</acronym>.
	</para>
	</tip>
	<note>
	<para>
	See the description of the <envar>lo_transaction</envar> variable for
	important information concerning all large object operations.
	</para>
	</note>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\lo_import</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">comment</replaceable> ]</term>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	Stores the file into a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> <quote>large object</quote>.
	Optionally, it associates the given comment with the object. Example:
<programlisting>
foo=> <userinput>\lo_import '/home/me/pictures/photo.xcf' 'a picture of me'</userinput>
lo_import 152801
</programlisting>
	The response indicates that the large object received object id 152801
	which one ought to remember if one wants to access the object ever again.
	For that reason it is recommended to always associate a human-readable
	comment with every object. Those can then be seen with the
	<command>\lo_list?</command> command.
	</para>

	<para>
	Note that this command is subtly different from the server-side <function>lo_import</function>
	because it acts as the local user on the local file system, rather than the server's
	user and file system.
	</para>

	<note>
	<para>
	See the description of the <envar>lo_transaction</envar> variable for
	important information concerning all large object operations.
	</para>
	</note>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\lo_list</literal></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	Shows a list of all <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> <quote>large
	objects</quote> currently stored in the database along with their owners.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\lo_unlink</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable></term>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	Deletes the large object with <acronym>OID</acronym> <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable>
	from the database.
	</para>

	<tip>
	<para>
	Use <command>\lo_list</command> to find out the large object's <acronym>OID</acronym>.
	</para>
	</tip>
	<note>
	<para>
	See the description of the <envar>lo_transaction</envar> variable for
	important information concerning all large object operations.
	</para>
	</note>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\o</literal> [ {<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> | <literal>|</literal><replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>} ]</term>

        <listitem>
        <para>
        Saves future query results to the file
	<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipe future
        results into a separate Unix shell to execute
	<replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>.
        If no arguments are specified, the query output will be reset to
        <filename>stdout</filename>.
        </para>

	<para>
	<quote>Query results</quote> includes all tables and notices obtained
	from the database server, as well as output of various backslash
	commands that query the database (such as <command>\d</command>).
	</para>

	<tip>
	<para>
	To intersperse text output in between query results, use <command>\qecho</command>.
	</para>
	</tip>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\p</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Print the current query buffer to the standard output.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\pset</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">parameter</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> ]</term>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	This command sets options affecting the output of query result tables.
	<replaceable class="parameter">parameter</replaceable> describes which option
	is to be set. The semantics of <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable>
	depend thereon.
	</para>

	<para>
	Adjustable printing options are:
	<variablelist>
	  <varlistentry>
	  <term><literal>format</literal></term>
	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  Sets the output format to one of <literal>unaligned</literal>,
	  <literal>aligned</literal>, <literal>html</literal>, or <literal>latex</literal>.
	  Unique abbreviations are allowed. (That would mean one letter is enough.)
	  </para>

	  <para>
	  <quote>Unaligned</quote> writes all fields of a tuple on a line, separated
	  by the currently active field separator. This is intended to create output
	  that might be intended to be read in by other programs (tab-separated,
	  comma-separated).
	  <quote>Aligned</quote> mode is the
	  standard, human-readable, nicely formatted text output that is default.
	  The <quote><acronym>HTML</acronym></quote> and <quote>LaTeX</quote> modes
	  put out tables that are intended to be included in documents using the
	  respective mark-up language. They are not complete documents! (This might
	  not be so dramatic in <acronym>HTML</acronym>, but in LaTeX you must
	  have a complete document wrapper.)
	  </para>
	  </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

	  <varlistentry>
	  <term><literal>border</literal></term>
	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  The second argument must be a number. In general, the higher the number
	  the more borders and lines the tables will have, but this depends on
	  the particular format. In <acronym>HTML</acronym> mode, this will
	  translate directly into the <literal>border=...</literal> attribute, in
	  the others only values 0 (no border), 1 (internal dividing lines), and 2
	  (table frame) make sense.
	  </para>
	  </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>

	  <varlistentry>
	  <term><literal>expanded</literal> (or <literal>x</literal>)</term>
	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  Toggles between regular and expanded format. When expanded format is
	  enabled, all output has two columns with the field name on the left
	  and the data on the right. This mode is useful if the data wouldn't
	  fit on the screen in the normal <quote>horizontal</quote> mode.
	  </para>

	  <para>
	  Expanded mode is support by all four output modes.
	  </para>
	  </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>

	  <varlistentry>
	  <term><literal>null</literal></term>
	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  The second argument is a string that should be printed whenever a field
	  is null. The default is not to print anything, which can easily be mistaken
	  for, say, an empty string. Thus, one might choose to write
	  <literal>\pset null "(null)"</literal>.
	  </para>
	  </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>

	  <varlistentry>
	  <term><literal>fieldsep</literal></term>
	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  Specifies the field separator to be used in unaligned output mode. That way
	  one can create, for example, tab- or comma-separated output, which other
	  programs might prefer. To set a tab as field separator, type
	  <literal>\pset fieldsep "\t"</literal>. The default field separator is
	  <quote><literal>|</literal></quote> (a <quote>pipe</quote> symbol).
	  </para>
	  </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>

	  <varlistentry>
	  <term><literal>tuples_only</literal> (or <literal>t</literal>)</term>
	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  Toggles between tuples only and full display. Full display may show
	  extra information such as column headers, titles, and various footers.
	  In tuples only mode, only actual table data is shown.
	  </para>
	  </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>

	  <varlistentry>
	  <term><literal>title</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> ]</term>
	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  Sets the table title for any subsequently printed tables. This can be
	  used to give your output descriptive tags. If no argument is given,
	  the title is unset.
	  </para>

	  <note>
	  <para>
	  This formerly only affected <acronym>HTML</acronym> mode. You can now
	  set titles in any output format.
	  </para>
	  </note>
	  </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>

	  <varlistentry>
	  <term><literal>tableattr</literal> (or <literal>T</literal>) [ <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> ]</term>
	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  Allows you to specify any attributes to be places inside the <acronym>HTML</acronym>
	  <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag. This could for example be
	  <literal>cellpadding</literal> or <literal>bgcolor</literal>. Note that you
	  probably don't want to specify <literal>border</literal> here, as
	  that is already taken care of by <literal>\pset border</literal>.
	  </para>
	  </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>


	  <varlistentry>
	  <term><literal>pager</literal></term>
	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  Toggles the list of a pager to do table output. If the environment variable
	  <envar>PAGER</envar> is set, the output is piped to the specified program.
	  Otherwise <filename>/bin/more</filename> is assumed.
	  </para>

	  <para>
	  In any case, <application>psql</application> only uses the pager if it
	  seems appropriate. That means among other things that the output is to
	  a terminal and that the table would normally not fit on the screen.
	  Because of the modular nature of the printing routines it is not always
	  possible to predict the number of lines that will actually be printed.
	  For that reason <application>psql</application> might not appear very
	  discriminating about when to use the pager and when not to.
	  </para>
	  </listitem>
	  </varlistentry>
	</variablelist>
	Illustrations on how these different formats look can be seen in
	the <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-examples" endterm="APP-PSQL-examples-title"> section.
	</para>

	<tip>
	<para>
	There are various shortcut commands for <command>\pset</command>. See
	<command>\a</command>, <command>\C</command>, <command>\H</command>,
	<command>\t</command>, <command>\T</command>, and <command>\x</command>.
	</para>
	</tip>

	<note>
	<para>
	It is an error to call <command>\pset</command> without arguments. In the future
	this call might show the current status of all printing options.
	</para>
	</note>

	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\q</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Quit the <application>psql</application> program.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\qecho</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> [ ... ] </term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
	This command is identical to <command>\echo</command> except that
	all output will be written to the query output channel, as set by
	<command>\o</command>.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\r</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Resets (clears) the query buffer.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\s</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> ]</term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Print or save the command line history to 
        <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>.
        If <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> is omitted,
	the history is written to the standard output.
        This option is only available if <application>psql</application> is
        configured to use the <acronym>GNU</acronym> history library.
        </para>

	<note>
	<para>
	As of <application>psql</application> version 7.0 it is no longer
	necessary, in fact, to save the command history as that will be done
	automatically on program termination. The history is then
	also automatically loaded every time <application>psql</application>
	starts up.
	</para>
	</note>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\set</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> ]]</term>

	<listitem>
	<para>
	Sets the internal variable <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>
	to <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable>. If no second argument
	is given, the variable is unset (which is different from setting it to,
	for example, an empty string: <literal>\set foo ''</literal>). If no
	arguments are given, all currently defined variables are listed with their
	values.
	</para>

	<para>
	Valid variable names can contain characters, digits, and underscores.
        See the section about <application>psql</application> variables for details.
	</para>

	<para>
	Although you are welcome to set any variable to anything you want to,
	<application>psql</application> treats several variables special.
	They are documented in the section about variables.
	</para>

	<note>
	<para>
	This command is totally separate from the <acronym>SQL</acronym> command
	<xref linkend="SQL-SET" endterm="SQL-SET-title">.
	</para>
	</note>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\t</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Toggles the display of output column name headings and row count footer.
	This command is equivalent to <literal>\pset tuples_only</literal> and
	is provided for convenience.	
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\T</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Allows you to specify options to be placed within the <sgmltag>table</sgmltag>
	tag in <acronym>HTML</acronym> tabular output mode. This command is
	equivalent to <literal>\pset tableattr <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></literal>.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\w</literal> {<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> | <replaceable class="parameter">|command</replaceable>}</term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Outputs the current query buffer to the file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>
	or pipes it to the Unix command <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\x</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Toggles extended row format mode. As such it is equivalent to
	<literal>\pset expanded</literal>.
       </para>
       </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\z</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> ]</term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Produces a list of all tables in the database with their appropriate
	access permissions listed. If an argument is given it is taken as a regular
	expression which limits the listing to those tables which match it.
        </para>

	<para>
<programlisting>
test=> <userinput>\z</userinput>
Access permissions for database "test"
 Relation |           Access permissions
----------+-------------------------------------
 my_table | {"=r","joe=arwR", "group staff=ar"}
(1 row )
</programlisting>
        Read this as follows:

	<itemizedlist>
          <listitem>
          <para>
          <literal>"=r"</literal>: <literal>PUBLIC</literal> has read
	  (<command>SELECT</command>) permission on the table.
	  </para>
	  </listitem>

	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  <literal>"joe=arwR"</literal>: User <literal>joe</literal> has read,
	  write (<command>UPDATE</command>, <command>DELETE</command>),
	  <quote>append</quote> (<command>INSERT</command>) permissions,
	  and permission to create rules on the table.
	  </para>
	  </listitem>

	  <listitem>
	  <para>
	  <literal>"group staff=ar"</literal>: Group <literal>staff</literal>
	  has <command>SELECT</command> and <command>INSERT</command> permission.
	  </para>
	  </listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
	</para>

	<para>
	The commands <xref linkend="SQL-GRANT" endterm="SQL-GRANT-title"> and
	<xref linkend="SQL-REVOKE" endterm="SQL-REVOKE-title">
	are used to set access permissions.
	</para>

        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\!</literal> [ <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> ]</term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Escapes to a separate Unix shell or executes the Unix command
        <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>. The arguments
        are not further interpreted, the shell will see them as is. If you wish
        to capture the output of a shell command and/or use <application>psql</application>'s
        variable substitution features, use the backticks (<literal>`</literal>).
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>\?</literal></term>
        <listitem>
        <para>
        Get help information about the slash (<quote>\</quote>) commands.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>
  </para>
</refsect1>



<refsect1 id="R1-APP-PSQL-3">
  <refsect1info>
    <date>1998-09-26</date>
  </refsect1info>

  <title>Command-line Options</title>

  <para>
  If so configured, <application>psql</application> understands both standard
  Unix short options, and <acronym>GNU</acronym>-style long options. The latter
  are not available on all systems, so you are advised to consider carefully
  whether to use them.
  </para>

  <para>
  Many command line options are equivalent to an internal slash command or to
  setting some variable. Those will not be explained in detail here. Instead,
  you are asked to look them up in the respective section.
  </para>

  <para>
  <variablelist>
    <varlistentry>
      <term>-A, --no-align</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Switches to unaligned output mode. (The default output mode is otherwise
      aligned.)
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

	
    <varlistentry>
      <term>-c, --command <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Specifies that <application>psql</application>
      is to execute one query string, <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable>,
      and then exit.  This is useful for shell scripts, typically in
      conjunction with the <option>-q</option> option.
      </para>
      <para>
      <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable> must be either a query string
      that is completely parseable by the backend (i.e., it contains no <application>psql</application>
      specific features), or it is a single backslash command. Thus
      you cannot mix <acronym>SQL</acronym> and <application>psql</application>
      meta-commands. To achieve this you could pipe the string into
      <application>psql</application> and finish it with a a <literal>\q</literal>,
      like so: <literal>echo "select * from foo; \q" | psql</literal>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-d, --dbname <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Specifies the name of the database to connect to. This is equivalent to specifying
      <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> as the first non-option
      argument on the command line.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-e, --echo</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      In non-interactive mode, all lines are printed to the screen as they are read.
      This is equivalent to setting the variable <envar>echo</envar>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-E, --echo-all</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Echos the actual queries generated by \d and other backslash commands.
      You can use this if you wish to include similar functionality into
      your own programs. This is equivalent to setting the variable
      <envar>echo_secret</envar> from within <application>psql</application>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-f, --file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Use the file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>
      as the source of queries instead of reading queries interactively.
      After the file is processed, <application>psql</application> terminates.
      This in many ways equivalent to the internal command <command>\i</command>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-F, --field-separator <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Use <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable> as the field separator.
      This is equivalent to <command>\pset fieldsep</command> or <command>\f</command>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-h, --host <replaceable class="parameter">hostname</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Specifies the host name of the machine on which the
      <application>postmaster</application> is running.
      Without this option, communication is performed using
      local Unix domain sockets.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-H, --html</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Turns on <acronym>HTML</acronym> tabular output. This is equivalent
      to <literal>\pset format html</literal> or the <command>\H</command>
      command.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

 
    <varlistentry>
      <term>-l, --list</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Lists all available databases, then exits. Other non-connection options
      are ignored. This is similar to the internal command <command>\list</command>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-n, --no-readline</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Do not use the readline library for input line editing and command history.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-o, --output <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Put all query output into file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>.
      This is equivalent to the command <command>\o</command>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-p, --port <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Specifies the TCP/IP port or, by omission, the local Unix domain socket file
      extension on which the <application>postmaster</application>
      is listening for connections.  Defaults to the value of the
      <envar>PGPORT</envar> environment variable or, if not set, to the port
      specified at compile time, usually 5432.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-P, --pset <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Allows you to specify printing options in the style of <command>\pset</command>
      on the command line. Note that here you have to separate name and value with
      an equal sign instead of a space. Thus to set the output format to LaTeX, you
      could write <literal>-P format=latex</literal>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-q</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Specifies that <application>psql</application> should do its work quietly.
      By default, it prints welcome messages and various informational output.
      If this option is used, none of this happens. This is useful with the
      <option>-c</option> option. Within <application>psql</application> you can
      also set the <envar>quiet</envar> variable to achieve the same effect.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

 
    <varlistentry>
      <term>-s, --single-step</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Run in single-step mode. That means the user is prompted before each query
      is sent to the backend, with the option to cancel execution as well.
      Use this to debug scripts.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-S, --single-line</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Runs in single-line mode where a newline sends a query, in addition to a semicolon.
      </para>

      <note>
      <para>
      This mode is provided for those who insist on it, but you are not necessarily
      encouraged to use it. In particular, if you mix <acronym>SQL</acronym> and
      meta-commands on a line the order of execution might not always be clear to
      the unexperienced user. Moral: Unless you exclusively type short queries,
      avoid using this mode.
      </para>
      </note>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-t, --tuples-only</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Turn off printing of column names and result row count footers, etc.
      It is completely equivalent to the <command>\t</command>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-T, --table-attr <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Allows you to specify options to be placed within the <acronym>HTML</acronym>
      <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag. See <command>\pset</command> for details.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

 
    <varlistentry>
      <term>-u</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Makes <application>psql</application> prompt for the user name and password
      before connecting to the database.
      </para>

      <para>
      This option is deprecated, as it is conceptually flawed. (Prompting for
      a non-default user name and prompting for a password because the
      backend requires it are really two different things.) You are encouraged
      to look at the <option>-U</option> and <option>-W</option> options instead.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-U, --username <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Connects to the database as the user <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable>
      instead of the default. (You must have permission to do so, of course.) If
      <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> is <quote>?</quote>, <application>psql</application>
      issues an interactive prompt for the user name.
      </para> 
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-v, --variable, --set <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Performs a variable assignment, like the <command>\set</command> internal command.
      Note that you must separate name and value, if any, by an equal sign on the command
      line.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-V, --version</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Shows the <application>psql</application> version.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-W</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Requests that <application>psql</application> should prompt for a password
      before connecting to a database. This will remain set for the entire
      session, even if you change the database connection with the meta-command
      <command>\connect</command>.
      </para>

      <para>
      As of version 7.0, <application>psql</application> automatically issues a
      password prompt whenever the backend requests password authentication.
      Because this is currently based on a <quote>hack</quote> the automatic
      recognition might mysteriously fail, hence this option to force a prompt.
      If no password prompt is issued and the backend requires password authentication
      the content of the environment variable <envar>PGPASSWORD</envar> is
      taken. If this is not set, the connection attempt will fail.
      </para>

      <caution>
      <para>
      If you are considering setting the variable <envar>PGPASSWORD</envar> to do
      authentication, you have a problem.
      </para>
      </caution>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>


    <varlistentry>
      <term>-x</term>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      Turns on extended row format mode. This is equivalent to the command
      <command>\x</command>.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

  </variablelist>
  </para>

  <para>
  You may set environment variables to avoid typing some of the above
  options.  See the section <quote>Connection To A Database</quote> above
  and in particular the documentation of the <application>libpq</application>
  client library.
  </para>
</refsect1>


<refsect1 id="R1-APP-PSQL-4">
    <refsect1info>
      <date>1998-09-27</date>
    </refsect1info>

    <title>Advanced features</title>

  <refsect2 id="APP-PSQL-variables">
    <title id="APP-PSQL-variables-title">Variables</title>

    <para>
    <application>psql</application> provides variable substitution features
    similar to common Unix command shells. Variables are simply name/value
    pairs, where the value can be any string of any length. To set variables,
    use the <application>psql</application> meta-command <command>\set</command>:
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\set foo bar</userinput>
</programlisting>
    sets the variable <quote>foo</quote> to the value <quote>bar</quote>. To retrieve
    the content of the variable, precede the name with a dollar-sign and use it
    as the argument of any slash command:
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\echo $foo</userinput>
bar
</programlisting>
    Alternatively, the value can also be interpolated into a double-quoted (or backtick-quoted)
    string, like so:
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\echo "foo is now ${foo}."</userinput>
foo is now bar.
</programlisting>
    (The curly braces are required. This is not <productname>Perl</productname>.) No variable substitution
    will be performed in single-quoted strings or in any of the backslash commands
    that have special parsing rules (e.g., <command>\copy</command>).
    </para>

    <note>
    <para>
    The arguments of <command>\set</command> are subject to the same substitution
    rules as with other commands. Thus you can construct interesting references
    such as <literal>\set "${foo}bar" 'something'</literal> and get <quote>soft
    links</quote> or <quote>variable variables</quote> of <productname>Perl</productname>
    or <productname><acronym>PHP</acronym></productname> fame, respectively.
    Unfortunately (or fortunately?), there is not way to do anything useful
    with these constructs. (<literal>\echo ${${foo}}</literal> doesn't work.) On the
    other hand, <literal>\set bar $foo</literal> is a perfectly valid way to copy
    a variable.
    </para>
    </note>

    <para>
    <application>psql</application>'s internal variable names can consist of
    letters, numbers, and underscores in any order and any number of them.
    It is recommended, however, that you stick to lower-case letters and do not
    begin with a digit. The partial rationale for this follows.
    </para>

    <para>
    If you attempt to refer to a variable that is not set,
    <application>psql</application> first checks if it is the name of one of
    several defined <quote>magic</quote> variables. Those variables are
    maintained internally and always have a value (at least when their semantics
    permit it). By convention they all start with an upper-case letter. You can
    set those variables manually, but that will <quote>shadow</quote> their
    special meaning, until you unset your personal copy. Finally, if no match is
    found that way, the value of the respective environment variable is
    substituted.
    </para>

    <para>
    Currently, the following <quote>magic</quote> variables are defined:
    <envar>Version</envar> which contains a string with the version of
    <application>psql</application>; <envar>Database</envar>, <envar>Host</envar>,
    <envar>Port</envar>, <envar>User</envar> are the currently active
    connection options. <envar>LastOid</envar> contains the oid that was the
    result of the last <command>INSERT</command> or <command>\lo_import</command>
    command. If the last command was not one of those two, the value
    is undefined.
    </para>

    <para>
    A number of regular variables are treated specially by <application>psql</application>.
    They indicate certain option settings that can be changed at runtime
    by altering the value of the variable. Although you can use these
    variables for any other purpose, this is not recommended, as the
    program behavior might grow really strange really quickly. Note that the
    majority variables are <quote>boolean</quote> variables, that is, they
    only care whether or not are they set, not what to. A list of all specially
    treated variables follows.
    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><envar>die_on_error</envar></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	By default, if non-interactive scripts encounter an error, such as a
	malformed <acronym>SQL</acronym> query or internal meta-command,
	processing continues. This is often less than desirable. If this variable
	is set, script processing will immediately terminate. If the script was
	called from another script it will terminate in the same fashion.
	If the outermost script was not called from an interactive <application>psql</application>
	session but rather using the <option>-f</option> option, <application>psql</application>
	will return error code 3, to distinguish this case from fatal
	error conditions (error code 1).
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><envar>echo</envar></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	If set, all lines from a script are written to the standard output before they
	are executed. To specify this on program startup, in conjunction with the
	<option>-f</option> option perhaps, use the switch <option>-e</option>.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><envar>echo_secret</envar></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	When this variable is set and a backslash command queries the database, the query
	is first shown. This way you can study the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
	internals and provide similar functionality in your own programs. If you set the
	variable to the value <quote>noexec</quote>, the queries are just shown but are
	not actually sent to the backend and executed.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><envar>lo_transaction</envar></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	If you use the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> large object
        interface to specially store data that does not fit into one tuple,
        all the operations must be contained in a transaction block. (See the
        documentation of the large object interface for more information.) Since
        <application>psql</application> has no way to keep track if you already
        have a transaction in progress when you call one of its internal
        commands <command>\lo_export</command>, <command>\lo_import</command>,
        <command>\lo_unlink</command> it must take some arbitrary action. This
        action could either be to roll back any transaction that might already
        be in progress, or to commit any such transaction, or to do nothing at
        all. In the latter case you must provide you own
        <command>BEGIN TRANSACTION</command>/<command>COMMIT</command> block or
        the results will be unpredictable (usually resulting in the desired
        action not being performed anyway).
	</para>

	<para>
	To choose what you want to do you set this variable to one of
	<quote>rollback</quote>, <quote>commit</quote>, or <quote>nothing</quote>.
        The default is to roll back the transaction. If you just want to load one
        or a few objects this is fine. However, if you intend to transfer many
        large objects, it might be advisable to provide one explicit transaction
        block around all commands.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><envar>prompt1</envar>, <envar>prompt2</envar>, <envar>prompt3</envar></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	These specify what the prompt <application>psql</application> issues is
	supposed to look like. See
	<quote><xref linkend="APP-PSQL-prompting" endterm="APP-PSQL-prompting-title"></quote>
	below.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><envar>quiet</envar></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	This variable is equivalent to the command line option <option>-q</option>.
	It is probably not too useful in interactive mode.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><envar>singleline</envar></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	This variable is set be the command line options <option>-S</option>. You
	can unset or reset it at run time.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><envar>singlestep</envar></term>
	<listitem>
	<para>
	This variable is equivalent to the command line option <option>-s</option>.
	</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>

    </para>

  </refsect2>


  <refsect2 id="APP-PSQL-sql-interpol">
    <title id="APP-PSQL-sql-interpol-title"><acronym>SQL</acronym> Interpolation</title>

    <para>
    An additional useful feature of <application>psql</application> variables
    is that you can substitute (<quote>interpolate</quote>) them into
    regular <acronym>SQL</acronym> statements. The syntax for this is to prepend
    the variable name with a colon (<literal>:</literal>).
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\set foo 'my_table'</userinput>
testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM :foo;</userinput>
</programlisting>
    would then query the table <literal>my_table</literal>. The value of the
    variable is copied literally, so it can even contain unbalanced quotes or
    backslash commands. You must make sure that it makes sense where you put it.
    Variable interpolation will not be performed into quoted <acronym>SQL</acronym>
    entities.
    </para>

    <para>
    A popular application of this facility is to refer to the last inserted
    <acronym>OID</acronym> in subsequent statement to build a foreign key
    scenario.
    Another possible use of this mechanism is to copy the contents of a file
    into a field. First load the file into a variable and then proceed as above.
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\set content `cat my_file.txt`</userinput>
testdb=> <userinput>\set content "'${content}'"</userinput>
testdb=> <userinput>INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (:content);</userinput>
</programlisting>
    One possible problem with this approach is that <filename>my_file.txt</filename>
    might contain single quotes. These need to be escaped so that
    they don't cause a syntax error when the third line is processed. This
    could be done with the program <application>sed</application>:
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\set content `sed -e "s/'/\\\\\\'/g" < my_file.txt`</userinput>
</programlisting>
    Observe the correct number of backslashes (6)! You can resolve it this way: After
    <application>psql</application> has parsed this line, it passes
    <literal>sed -e "s/'/\\\'/g" < my_file.txt</literal> to the shell. The shell
    will do it's own thing inside the double quotes and execute <filename>sed</filename>
    with the arguments <literal>-e</literal> and <literal>s/'/\\'/g</literal>.
    When <application>sed</application> parses this it will replace the two
    backslashes with a single one and then do the substitution. Perhaps at
    one point you thought it was great that all Unix commands use the same
    escape character. And this is ignoring the fact that you might have to
    escape all backslashes as well because <acronym>SQL</acronym> text constants
    are also subject to certain interpretations. In that case you might
    be better off preparing the file externally.
    </para>

  </refsect2>


  <refsect2 id="APP-PSQL-prompting">
    <title id="APP-PSQL-prompting-title">Prompting</title>

    <para>
    The prompts <application>psql</application> issues can be customized to
    your preference. The three variables <envar>prompt1</envar>, <envar>prompt2</envar>,
    and <envar>prompt3</envar> contain strings and special escape sequences
    that describe the appearance of the prompt. Prompt 1 is the normal prompt
    that is issued when <application>psql</application> requests a new query.
    Prompt 2 is issued when more input is expected during query input because
    the query was not terminated with a semicolon or a quote was not closed.
    Prompt 3 is issued when you run an <acronym>SQL</acronym> <command>COPY</command>
    command and you are expected to type in the tuples on the terminal.
    </para>

    <para>
    The value of the respective prompt variable is printed literally, except where
    a percent sign (<quote>%</quote>) is encountered. Depending on the next
    character, certain other text is substituted instead. Defined substitutions are:

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%M</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>The hostname of the database server (or <quote>.</quote> if Unix domain socket).</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%m</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>The hostname of the database server truncated after the first dot.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%&gt;</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>The port number at which the database server is listening.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%n</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>The username you are connected as (not your local system user name).</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%/</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>The name of the current database.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%~</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>Like <literal>%/</literal>, but the output is <quote>~</quote> (tilde) if the database
	is your default database.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%#</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>If the username is <literal>postgres</literal>, a <quote>#</quote>, otherwise a <quote>&gt;</quote>.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%R</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>
	In prompt 1 normally <quote>=</quote>, but <quote>^</quote> if in single-line mode, and
	<quote>!</quote> if the session is disconnected from the database (which can only
	happen if <command>\connect</command> fails).
	In prompt 2 the sequence is replaced by <quote>-</quote>, <quote>*</quote>, a single quote,
	or a double quote, depending on whether <application>psql</application> expects more input
	because the query wasn't terminated yet, because you are inside a <literal>/* ... */</literal>
	comment, or because you are inside a quote.
	In prompt 3 the sequence doesn't resolve to anything.</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%</literal><replaceable class="parameter">digits</replaceable></term>
	<listitem><para>
	If <replaceable class="parameter">digits</replaceable> starts with <literal>0x</literal>
	the rest of the characters are interpreted at a hexadecimal digit and the
	character with the corresponding code is subsituted. If the first digit is <literal>0</literal>
	the characters are interpreted as on octal number and the corresponding character
	is substituted. Otherwise a decimal number is assumed.</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%$</literal><replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable><literal>$</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>
	The value of the <application>psql</application>, <quote>magic</quote>, or environment
	variable <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>. See the section
	<quote><xref linkend="APP-PSQL-variables" endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title"></quote>
	for details.</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><literal>%`</literal><replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable><literal>`</literal></term>
	<listitem><para>
	The output of <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>, similar to
	ordinary <quote>back-tick</quote> substitution.</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    To insert a percent sign into your prompt, write <literal>%%</literal>. The
    default prompts are equivalent to <literal>'%/%R%# '</literal> for prompts 1
    and 2, and <literal>'&gt;&gt; '</literal> for prompt 3.
    </para>

   </refsect2>

</refsect1>


<refsect1 id="APP-PSQL-examples">
  <title id="APP-PSQL-examples-title">Examples</title>

  <note>
  <para>
  This section only shows a few examples specific to <application>psql</application>.
  If you want to learn <acronym>SQL</acronym> or get familiar with
  <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, you might wish to read the Tutorial that
  is included in the distribution.
  </para>
  </note>

  <para>
  The first example shows how to spread a query over several lines of input.
  Notice the changing prompt.
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>CREATE TABLE my_table (</userinput>
testdb-> <userinput> first int4 not null default 0,</userinput>
testdb-> <userinput> second text</userinput>
testdb-> <userinput>);</userinput>
CREATE
</programlisting>
  Now look at the table definition again:
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\d my_table</userinput>
           Table "my_table"
 Attribute | Type |        Info
-----------+------+--------------------
 first     | int4 | not null default 0
 second    | text |

</programlisting>
  At this point you decide to change the prompt to something more
  interesting:
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\set prompt1 '%n@%m %~%R%# '</userinput>
peter@localhost testdb=>
</programlisting>
  Let's assume you have filled the table with data and want to take a look at it:
<programlisting>
peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT * FROM my_table;
 first | second
-------+--------
     1 | one
     2 | two
     3 | three
     4 | four
(4 rows)

</programlisting>
  Notice how the int4 colums in right aligned while the text column in left aligned.
  You can make this table look differently by using the <command>\pset</command>
  command.
<programlisting>
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 2</userinput>
Border style is 2.
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM my_table;</userinput>
+-------+--------+
| first | second |
+-------+--------+
|     1 | one    |
|     2 | two    |
|     3 | three  |
|     4 | four   |
+-------+--------+
(4 rows)

peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 0</userinput>
Border style is 0.
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM my_table;</userinput>
first second
----- ------
    1 one
    2 two
    3 three
    4 four
(4 rows)

peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 1</userinput>
Border style is 1.
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset format unaligned</userinput>
Output format is unaligned.
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset fieldsep ","</userinput>
Field separator is ",".
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset tuples_only</userinput>
Showing only tuples.
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT second, first FROM my_table;</userinput>
one,1
two,2
three,3
four,4
</programlisting>
  Alternatively, use the short commands:
<programlisting>
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\a \t \x</userinput>
Output format is aligned.
Tuples only is off.
Expanded display is on.
peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM my_table;</userinput>
-[ RECORD 1 ]-
first  | 1
second | one
-[ RECORD 2 ]-
first  | 2
second | two
-[ RECORD 3 ]-
first  | 3
second | three
-[ RECORD 4 ]-
first  | 4
second | four
</programlisting>
  </para>

</refsect1>


<refsect1>
  <refsect1info>
    <date>1999-10-27</date>
  </refsect1info>

  <title>Appendix</title>

  <refsect2>
    <title>Bugs and Issues</title>

    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
      <para>
      In some earlier life <application>psql</application> allowed the first
      argument to start directly after the (single-letter) command. For
      compatibility this is still supported to some extent but I am not
      going to explain the details here as this use is discouraged. But
      if you get strange messages, keep this in mind. For example
<programlisting>
testdb=> <userinput>\foo</userinput>
Field separator is "oo".
</programlisting>
      is perhaps not what one would expect.
      </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
      <para>
      There are about three different parsers in <application>psql</application>,
      in addition to the backend <acronym>SQL</acronym> parser, all doing their own thing
      and attempting to get along with each other. Sometimes they do, sometimes
      they don't. An excellent example of this can be seen in section
      <quote><xref linkend="APP-PSQL-sql-interpol" endterm="APP-PSQL-sql-interpol-title"></quote>.
      There are vague dreams of using <application>flex</application> in the future,
      but it won't happen soon.
      </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
      <para>
      Several string buffers are assigned fixed sizes at compile time. These
      are usually based on certain settings about what the backend can accept
      for a particular quantity. If you use <application>psql</application> with
      a different backend than the one it was configured for, you might encounter
      these limits sooner rather than later.
      </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
      <para>
      The number of options for a backslash command is limited, probably to 16.
      You can easily change this in the source code, and perhaps I will get around
      to fixing this one day (see previous item). Not that there is any command
      that actually uses that many options though.
      </para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>

  </refsect2>

  <refsect2>
    <title><acronym>GNU</acronym> readline</title>

    <para>
    A great deal of <application>psql</application>'s convenience is owed to it
    using the <acronym>GNU</acronym> readline and history library for accepting
    and storing user input. To verify whether your copy of <application>psql</application>
    was compiled with readline support, execute <literal>psql -V</literal> and check the
    output for the words <quote>readline</quote> and <quote>history</quote>.
    </para>

    <para>
    If you have the readline library installed but <application>psql</application>
    does not seem to use it, you must make sure that <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>'s
    top-level <filename>configure</filename> script finds it. <filename>configure</filename>
    needs to find both the library <filename>libreadline.a</filename>
    (or <filename>libreadline.so</filename> on systems with shared libraries)
    <emphasis>and</emphasis> the header files <filename>readline.h</filename> and
    <filename>history.h</filename> (or <filename>readline/readline.h</filename> and
    <filename>readline/history.h</filename>) in appropriate directories. If
    you have the library and header files installed in an obscure place you
    must tell <filename>configure</filename> about them, for example:
<programlisting>
$ ./configure --with-includes=/opt/gnu/include --with-libraries=/opt/gnu/lib  ...
</programlisting>
    Then you have to recompile <application>psql</application> (not necessarily
    the entire code tree).
    </para>

    <para>
    The <acronym>GNU</acronym> readline library can be obtained from the <acronym>GNU</acronym>
    project's <acronym>FTP</acronym> server at <ulink URL="ftp://ftp.gnu.org">ftp://ftp.gnu.org</ulink>.
    </para>
  </refsect2>

</refsect1>

</refentry>

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