From: "Michael Beckstette" <mbeckste@TechFak.Uni-Bielefeld.DE>
Message-Id: <1020527180743.ZM18265@teak.TechFak.Uni-Bielefeld.DE>
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 18:07:43 +0200
To: pgsql-sql@postgresql.org
Subject: dynamic table names, determined by calling parameter
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi,

sorry, when this is a silly question, but i wonder why the following pl/pgsql
functions works:

CREATE FUNCTION test (text) RETURNS TEXT AS '
DECLARE
	table_name ALIAS FOR $1;

BEGIN
	--   test_table is an existing table
CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE temp1 AS SELECT * FROM test_table WHERE (hsp_rank=1 AND
hsp_evalue<=evalue_cutoff);
RETURN table_name;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';


and this one with the table name specified by the calling parameter not:

CREATE FUNCTION test (text) RETURNS TEXT AS '
DECLARE
	table_name ALIAS FOR $1;

BEGIN

CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE temp1 AS SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE (hsp_rank=1 AND
hsp_evalue<=evalue_cutoff);
RETURN table_name;
END;
' LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';


Result:
prod2_db=#SELECT test('test_table');
ERROR:  parser: parse error at or near "$1"

Any idea ?

Regards
Michael Beckstette