Re: COPY as a set returning function

Corey Huinker <corey.huinker@gmail.com> writes:
> Attached is a _very_ rough patch implementing a proof-of-concept function
> copy_srf();
> ...
> As for that future direction, we could either have:
> - a robust function named something like copy_srf(), with parameters for
> all of the relevant options found in the COPY command
> - a function that accepts an options string and parse that
> - we could alter the grammar to make COPY RETURNING col1, col3, col5 FROM
> 'filename' a legit CTE.

I think the last of those suggestions has come up before.  It has the
large advantage that you don't have to remember a different syntax for
copy-as-a-function.  Once you had the framework for that, other
rows-returning utility commands such as EXPLAIN might plug in as well,
whenever somebody got enough of an itch for it.
        regards, tom lane