What I want is something similar to this:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION f( /* "some args..." */)
RETURNS SETOF RECORD AS
$BODY$
DECLARE
...
BEGIN
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS tbl_temp;
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE tbl_temp(
-- "based on args..."
);
WHILE
INSERT INTO tbl_temp VALUES (/*"some values"*/);
END LOOP;
/*create indexes on it, manipulate, whatever...*/
RETURN QUERY SELECT * FROM tbl_temp;
END;
$BODY$
LANGUAGE 'plpgsql'
The point is: only the function knows the structure (i.e. rowtype) of the
created table, not the initializer. The initializer is only supposed to
supply the arguments, run"SELECT * FROM f(some args);" and fetch the
results. Is this possible in Postgres??
(And for those who insist: no, the intializer can not run SELECT * FROM
f(some args) AS table("table structure...");" This would imply the
initializer already knows what the function will do. It goes beyond the
point of modularity: why not just skip the function then and let the
initializer write the whole query itself?)
Original post:
http://forums.devshed.com/postgresql-help-21/function-that-creates-a-custom-table-and-returns-it-impossible-675540.html
Kind regards,
Davor