Chapter 7. PLpgSQL

Chapter 7. PL/pgSQL

PL/pgSQL (Procedural Language/PostgreSQL) is a language that combines the expressive power of SQL with the more typical features of a programming language. PL/pgSQL adds control structures such as conditionals, loops , and exception handling to the SQL language. When you write a PL/pgSQL function, you can include any and all SQL commands, as well as the procedural statements added by PL/pgSQL.

Functions written in PL/pgSQL can be called from other functions. You can also define a PL/pgSQL function as a trigger . A trigger is a procedure that executes when some event occurs. For example, you might want to execute a PL/pgSQL function that fires when a new row is added to a table ”that's what a trigger is for. You can define triggers for the INSERT , UPDATE , and DELETE commands.