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doc/src/sgml/ref/create_language.sgml
PostgreSQL documentation
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<refentry id="SQL-CREATELANGUAGE">
 <indexterm zone="sql-createlanguage">
  <primary>CREATE LANGUAGE</primary>
 </indexterm>

 <refmeta>
  <refentrytitle>CREATE LANGUAGE</refentrytitle>
  <manvolnum>7</manvolnum>
  <refmiscinfo>SQL - Language Statements</refmiscinfo>
 </refmeta>

 <refnamediv>
  <refname>CREATE LANGUAGE</refname>
  <refpurpose>define a new procedural language</refpurpose>
 </refnamediv>

 <refsynopsisdiv>
<synopsis>
CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] [ PROCEDURAL ] LANGUAGE <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>
CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] [ TRUSTED ] [ PROCEDURAL ] LANGUAGE <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>
    HANDLER <replaceable class="parameter">call_handler</replaceable> [ INLINE <replaceable class="parameter">inline_handler</replaceable> ] [ VALIDATOR <replaceable>valfunction</replaceable> ]
</synopsis>
 </refsynopsisdiv>

 <refsect1 id="sql-createlanguage-description">
  <title>Description</title>

  <para>
   <command>CREATE LANGUAGE</command> registers a new
   procedural language with a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
   database.  Subsequently, functions and trigger procedures can be
   defined in this new language.
  </para>

  <note>
   <para>
    As of <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> 9.1, most procedural
    languages have been made into <quote>extensions</>, and should
    therefore be installed with <xref linkend="sql-createextension">
    not <command>CREATE LANGUAGE</command>.  Direct use of
    <command>CREATE LANGUAGE</command> should now be confined to
    extension installation scripts.  If you have a <quote>bare</>
    language in your database, perhaps as a result of an upgrade,
    you can convert it to an extension using
    <literal>CREATE EXTENSION <replaceable>langname</> FROM
    unpackaged</literal>.
   </para>
  </note>

  <para>
   <command>CREATE LANGUAGE</command> effectively associates the
   language name with handler function(s) that are responsible for executing
   functions written in the language.  Refer to <xref linkend="plhandler">
   for more information about language handlers.
  </para>

  <para>
   There are two forms of the <command>CREATE LANGUAGE</command> command.
   In the first form, the user supplies just the name of the desired
   language, and the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server consults
   the <link linkend="catalog-pg-pltemplate"><structname>pg_pltemplate</structname></link>
   system catalog to determine the correct parameters.  In the second form,
   the user supplies the language parameters along with the language name.
   The second form can be used to create a language that is not defined in
   <structname>pg_pltemplate</>, but this approach is considered obsolescent.
  </para>

  <para>
   When the server finds an entry in the <structname>pg_pltemplate</> catalog
   for the given language name, it will use the catalog data even if the
   command includes language parameters.  This behavior simplifies loading of
   old dump files, which are likely to contain out-of-date information
   about language support functions.
  </para>

  <para>
   Ordinarily, the user must have the
   <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> superuser privilege to
   register a new language.  However, the owner of a database can register
   a new language within that database if the language is listed in
   the <structname>pg_pltemplate</structname> catalog and is marked
   as allowed to be created by database owners (<structfield>tmpldbacreate</>
   is true).  The default is that trusted languages can be created
   by database owners, but this can be adjusted by superusers by modifying
   the contents of <structname>pg_pltemplate</structname>.
   The creator of a language becomes its owner and can later
   drop it, rename it, or assign it to a new owner.
  </para>

  <para>
   <command>CREATE OR REPLACE LANGUAGE</command> will either create a
   new language, or replace an existing definition.  If the language
   already exists, its parameters are updated according to the values
   specified or taken from <structname>pg_pltemplate</structname>,
   but the language's ownership and permissions settings do not change,
   and any existing functions written in the language are assumed to still
   be valid.  In addition to the normal privilege requirements for creating
   a language, the user must be superuser or owner of the existing language.
   The <literal>REPLACE</> case is mainly meant to be used to
   ensure that the language exists.  If the language has a
   <structname>pg_pltemplate</structname> entry then <literal>REPLACE</>
   will not actually change anything about an existing definition, except in
   the unusual case where the <structname>pg_pltemplate</structname> entry
   has been modified since the language was created.
  </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1 id="sql-createlanguage-parameters">
  <title>Parameters</title>

   <variablelist>
    <varlistentry>
     <term><literal>TRUSTED</literal></term>

     <listitem>
      <para><literal>TRUSTED</literal> specifies that the language does
       not grant access to data that the user would not otherwise
       have.  If this key word is omitted
       when registering the language, only users with the
       <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> superuser privilege can
       use this language to create new functions.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term><literal>PROCEDURAL</literal></term>

     <listitem>
      <para>
       This is a noise word.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term><replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable></term>

     <listitem>
      <para>
       The name of the new procedural language.
       The name must be unique among the languages in the database.
      </para>

      <para>
       For backward compatibility, the name can be enclosed by single
       quotes.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term><literal>HANDLER</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">call_handler</replaceable></term>

     <listitem>
      <para><replaceable class="parameter">call_handler</replaceable> is
       the name of a previously registered function that will be
       called to execute the procedural language's functions.  The call
       handler for a procedural language must be written in a compiled
       language such as C with version 1 call convention and
       registered with <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> as a
       function taking no arguments and returning the
       <type>language_handler</type> type, a placeholder type that is
       simply used to identify the function as a call handler.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term><literal>INLINE</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">inline_handler</replaceable></term>

     <listitem>
      <para><replaceable class="parameter">inline_handler</replaceable> is the
       name of a previously registered function that will be called
       to execute an anonymous code block
       (<xref linkend="sql-do"> command)
       in this language.
       If no <replaceable class="parameter">inline_handler</replaceable>
       function is specified, the language does not support anonymous code
       blocks.
       The handler function must take one argument of
       type <type>internal</type>, which will be the <command>DO</> command's
       internal representation, and it will typically return
       <type>void</>.  The return value of the handler is ignored.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term><literal>VALIDATOR</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">valfunction</replaceable></term>

     <listitem>
      <para><replaceable class="parameter">valfunction</replaceable> is the
       name of a previously registered function that will be called
       when a new function in the language is created, to validate the
       new function.
       If no
       validator function is specified, then a new function will not
       be checked when it is created.
       The validator function must take one argument of
       type <type>oid</type>, which will be the OID of the
       to-be-created function, and will typically return <type>void</>.
      </para>

      <para>
       A validator function would typically inspect the function body
       for syntactical correctness, but it can also look at other
       properties of the function, for example if the language cannot
       handle certain argument types.  To signal an error, the
       validator function should use the <function>ereport()</function>
       function.  The return value of the function is ignored.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>
   </variablelist>

  <para>
   The <literal>TRUSTED</> option and the support function name(s) are
   ignored if the server has an entry for the specified language
   name in <structname>pg_pltemplate</>.
  </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1 id="sql-createlanguage-notes">
  <title>Notes</title>

  <para>
   Use <xref linkend="sql-droplanguage"> to drop procedural languages.
  </para>

  <para>
   The system catalog <classname>pg_language</classname> (see <xref
   linkend="catalog-pg-language">) records information about the
   currently installed languages.  Also, the <application>psql</application>
   command <command>\dL</command> lists the installed languages.
  </para>

  <para>
   To create functions in a procedural language, a user must have the
   <literal>USAGE</literal> privilege for the language.  By default,
   <literal>USAGE</> is granted to <literal>PUBLIC</> (i.e., everyone)
   for trusted languages.  This can be revoked if desired.
  </para>

  <para>
   Procedural languages are local to individual databases.
   However, a language can be installed into the <literal>template1</literal>
   database, which will cause it to be available automatically in
   all subsequently-created databases.
  </para>

  <para>
   The call handler function, the inline handler function (if any),
   and the validator function (if any)
   must already exist if the server does not have an entry for the language
   in <structname>pg_pltemplate</>.  But when there is an entry,
   the functions need not already exist;
   they will be automatically defined if not present in the database.
   (This might result in <command>CREATE LANGUAGE</> failing, if the
   shared library that implements the language is not available in
   the installation.)
  </para>

  <para>
   In <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> versions before 7.3, it was
   necessary to declare handler functions as returning the placeholder
   type <type>opaque</>, rather than <type>language_handler</>.
   To support loading
   of old dump files, <command>CREATE LANGUAGE</> will accept a function
   declared as returning <type>opaque</>, but it will issue a notice and
   change the function's declared return type to <type>language_handler</>.
  </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1 id="sql-createlanguage-examples">
  <title>Examples</title>

  <para>
   The preferred way of creating any of the standard procedural languages
   is just:
<programlisting>
CREATE LANGUAGE plperl;
</programlisting>
  </para>

  <para>
   For a language not known in the <structname>pg_pltemplate</> catalog, a
   sequence such as this is needed:
<programlisting>
CREATE FUNCTION plsample_call_handler() RETURNS language_handler
    AS '$libdir/plsample'
    LANGUAGE C;
CREATE LANGUAGE plsample
    HANDLER plsample_call_handler;
</programlisting></para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1 id="sql-createlanguage-compat">
  <title>Compatibility</title>

  <para>
   <command>CREATE LANGUAGE</command> is a
   <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> extension.
  </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>See Also</title>

  <simplelist type="inline">
   <member><xref linkend="sql-alterlanguage"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="sql-createfunction"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="sql-droplanguage"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="sql-grant"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="sql-revoke"></member>
  </simplelist>
 </refsect1>
</refentry>
