PostgreSQL 7.2 Documentation
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# ecpg

## Name

ecpg -- embedded SQL C preprocessor

## Synopsis

ecpg [-v] [-t] [-I `include-path`] [-o `outfile`] `file`...

### Inputs

ecpg accepts the following command line arguments:

-v

  Print version information.

-t

  Turn on auto-commit of transactions. In this mode, each query is automatically committed unless it is inside an explicit transaction block. In the default mode, queries are committed only when exec sql commit is issued.

-I `include-path`

  Specify an additional include path. Defaults are `.` (current directory), `/usr/local/include`, the PostgreSQL include path which is defined at compile time (default: `/usr/local/pgsql/include`), and `/usr/include`.

-o `outfile`

  Specifies that ecpg should write all its output to `outfile`. If no such option is given the output is written to ``name`.c`, assuming the input file was named ``name`.pgc`. If the input file does have the expected `.pgc` suffix, then the output file will have `.pgc` appended to the input file name.

`file`

  The files to be processed.

### Outputs

ecpg will create a file or write to `stdout`.

Return value

  ecpg returns 0 to the shell on successful completion, non-zero for errors.

## Description

ecpg is an embedded SQL preprocessor for the C language and the PostgreSQL. It enables development of C programs with embedded SQL code.

Linus Tolke (`<linus@epact.se>`) was the original author of ecpg (up to version 0.2). Michael Meskes (`<meskes@debian.org>`) is the current author and maintainer of ecpg. Thomas Good (`<tomg@q8.nrnet.org>`) is the author of the last revision of the ecpg man page, on which this document is based.

## Usage

### Preprocessing for Compilation

An embedded SQL source file must be preprocessed before compilation:

    ecpg [ -d ] [ -o file ] file.pgc

where the optional `-d` flag turns on debugging. The `.pgc` extension is an arbitrary means of denoting ecpg source.

You may want to redirect the preprocessor output to a log file.

### Compiling and Linking

Assuming the PostgreSQL binaries are in `/usr/local/pgsql`, you will need to compile and link your preprocessed source file:

    gcc -g -I /usr/local/pgsql/include [ -o file ] file.c -L /usr/local/pgsql/lib -lecpg -lpq

## Grammar

### Libraries

The preprocessor will prepend two directives to the source:

    #include <ecpgtype.h>
    #include <ecpglib.h>

### Variable Declaration

Variables declared within ecpg source code must be prepended with:

    EXEC SQL BEGIN DECLARE SECTION;

Similarly, variable declaration sections must terminate with:

    EXEC SQL END DECLARE SECTION;

> Note: Prior to version 2.1.0, each variable had to be declared on a separate line. As of version 2.1.0 multiple variables may be declared on a single line:

>     char  foo[16], bar[16];

### Error Handling

The SQL communication area is defined with:

    EXEC SQL INCLUDE sqlca;

> Note: The `sqlca` is in lowercase. While SQL convention may be followed, i.e., using uppercase to separate embedded SQL from C statements, `sqlca` (which includes the `sqlca.h` header file) must be lowercase. This is because the EXEC SQL prefix indicates that this inclusion will be parsed by ecpg. ecpg observes case sensitivity (`SQLCA.h` will not be found). EXEC SQL INCLUDE can be used to include other header files as long as case sensitivity is observed.

The `sqlprint` command is used with the `EXEC SQL WHENEVER` statement to turn on error handling throughout the program:

    EXEC SQL WHENEVER sqlerror sqlprint;

and

    EXEC SQL WHENEVER not found sqlprint;

> Note: This is not an exhaustive example of usage for the EXEC SQL WHENEVER statement. Further examples of usage may be found in SQL manuals (e.g., The LAN TIMES Guide to SQL by Groff and Weinberg).

### Connecting to the Database Server

One connects to a database using the following:

    EXEC SQL CONNECT TO dbname;

where the database name is not quoted. Prior to version 2.1.0, the database name was required to be inside single quotes.

Specifying a server and port name in the connect statement is also possible. The syntax is:

    dbname[@server][:port]

or

    <tcp|unix>:postgresql://server[:port][/dbname][?options]

### Queries

In general, SQL queries acceptable to other applications such as psql can be embedded into your C code. Here are some examples of how to do that.

Create Table:

    EXEC SQL CREATE TABLE foo (number int4, ascii char(16));
    EXEC SQL CREATE UNIQUE index num1 on foo(number);
    EXEC SQL COMMIT;

Insert:

    EXEC SQL INSERT INTO foo (number, ascii) VALUES (9999, 'doodad');
    EXEC SQL COMMIT;

Delete:

    EXEC SQL DELETE FROM foo WHERE number = 9999;
    EXEC SQL COMMIT;

Singleton Select:

    EXEC SQL SELECT foo INTO :FooBar FROM table1 WHERE ascii = 'doodad';

Select using Cursors:

    EXEC SQL DECLARE foo_bar CURSOR FOR
        SELECT number, ascii FROM foo
        ORDER BY ascii;
    EXEC SQL FETCH foo_bar INTO :FooBar, DooDad;
    ...
    EXEC SQL CLOSE foo_bar;
    EXEC SQL COMMIT;

Updates:

    EXEC SQL UPDATE foo
        SET ascii = 'foobar'
        WHERE number = 9999;
    EXEC SQL COMMIT;

## Notes

The complete structure definition MUST be listed inside the declare section.

See the `TODO` file in the source for some more missing features.

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