From: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
To: "Ray O'Donnell" <ray@rodonnell.ie>
cc: "'PostgreSQL'" <pgsql-general@postgresql.org>
Subject: Re: Combining scalar and row types in RETURNING
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References: <01020197369aac89-01a7b7b4-b775-471e-ac8e-de8b28d87008-000000@eu-west-1.amazonses.com>
Comments: In-reply-to "Ray O'Donnell" <ray@rodonnell.ie>
	message dated "Tue, 03 Jun 2025 16:23:15 -0000"
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Date: Tue, 03 Jun 2025 12:53:58 -0400
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"Ray O'Donnell" <ray@rodonnell.ie> writes:
> Can you combine scalar and row types in a RETURNING clause?

I think so.

> declare
>      m_action text;
>      m_new_data record;
> begin
>      merge into my_table t
>      using (
>          ....
>      ) s
>      on (t.id = s.id)
>      when matched then
>          update .....
>      when not matched then
>          insert .....
>      returning
>          merge_action(), t.*
>      into
>         m_action, m_new_data;

I think the problem here is that "t.*" gets expanded into a list of
all of t's columns, just as would happen in a SELECT's output list.
Try

	returning merge_action(), t

It might also be necessary to declare the target variable
"m_new_data" as being of type my_table rather than generic
"record"; not sure about that.

			regards, tom lane