postgresqlplpgsqlset-returning-functions

PL/pgSQL functions: How to return a normal table with multiple columns using an execute statement


I've got this PL/pgSQL function which must return some users information.

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION my_function(
        user_id integer
    ) RETURNS TABLE(
            id integer, 
            firstname character varying,
            lastname  character varying
        ) AS $$
    DECLARE
        ids character varying;
    BEGIN
        ids := '';
        --Some code which build the ids string, not interesting for this issue
        RETURN QUERY 
            EXECUTE 'SELECT 
                        users.id, 
                        users.firstname, 
                        users.lastname
                    FROM public.users 
                    WHERE ids IN (' || ids || ')';
    END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

The problem I'm facing is that the result of the function is a single columns table like this:

╔═══╦═════════════════════╗
║   ║my_function          ║
╠═══╬═════════════════════╣
║ 1 ║ (106,Ned,STARK)     ║
║ 2 ║ (130,Rob,STARK)     ║
╚═══╩═════════════════════╝

While I expected:

╔═══╦════════════╦════════════╦═════════════╗
║   ║ id         ║ firstname  ║ lastname    ║
╠═══╬════════════╬════════════╬═════════════╣
║ 1 ║ 106        ║ Ned        ║ STARK       ║
║ 2 ║ 103        ║ Rob        ║ STARK       ║
╚═══╩════════════╩════════════╩═════════════╝

I think (but not sure) the problem comes from the EXECUTE statement, but I can't see how to do otherwise.

Any ideas?


Solution

  • How are you executing that function? It works as a select statement.

    Create a table: public.users

    create table public.users (id int, firstname varchar, lastname varchar);
    

    Insert some records:

    insert into public.users values (1, 'aaa','bbb'),(2,'ccc','ddd');
    

    function: my_function

    CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION my_function(user_id integer) RETURNS TABLE(id integer, firstname character varying, lastname character varying) AS $$
        DECLARE
            ids INTEGER[];
        BEGIN
             ids := ARRAY[1,2];
             RETURN QUERY
                 SELECT users.id, users.firstname, users.lastname
                 FROM public.users
                 WHERE users.id = ANY(ids);
        END;
    $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
    

    Now you can use with *

    select * from my_function(1);
    

    Result of query

     id | firstname | lastname 
    ----+-----------+----------
      1 | aaa       | bbb
      2 | ccc       | ddd
    

    Or with column names as well

    select id,firstname,lastname from my_function(1);
    

    Result

     id | firstname | lastname 
    ----+-----------+----------
      1 | aaa       | bbb
      2 | ccc       | ddd