Return multiple fields as a record in PostgreSQL with PL/pgSQL

Question

I am writing a SP, using PL/pgSQL.
I want to return a record, comprised of fields from several different tables. Could look something like this:

CREATE O         


        

Answer 1

You need to define a new type and define your function to return that type.

CREATE TYPE my_type AS (f1 varchar(10), f2 varchar(10) /* , ... */ );

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION get_object_fields(name text) 
RETURNS my_type 
AS 
$$

DECLARE
  result_record my_type;

BEGIN
  SELECT f1, f2, f3
  INTO result_record.f1, result_record.f2, result_record.f3
  FROM table1
  WHERE pk_col = 42;

  SELECT f3 
  INTO result_record.f3
  FROM table2
  WHERE pk_col = 24;

  RETURN result_record;

END
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql; 

If you want to return more than one record you need to define the function as returns setof my_type

---

Update

Another option is to use RETURNS TABLE() instead of creating a TYPE which was introduced in Postgres 8.4

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION get_object_fields(name text) 
  RETURNS TABLE (f1 varchar(10), f2 varchar(10) /* , ... */ )
...