From: Alvaro Herrera <alvherre@dcc.uchile.cl>
To: Alan Chandler <alan@chandlerfamily.org.uk>
Cc: pgsql-sql@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: Matching the MYSQL "Describe <table-name>" command
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:31:23 -0400
Message-ID: <20050424183123.GD8757@dcc.uchile.cl> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <200504241902.16770.alan@chandlerfamily.org.uk>
References: <200504241902.16770.alan@chandlerfamily.org.uk>
On Sun, Apr 24, 2005 at 07:02:16PM +0100, Alan Chandler wrote:
> I am rather new to Postgres (running 7.4) but I am trying to port some PHP
> code that has been built to run with mysql.
>
> I have got stuck trying to find the equivalent of the Mysql "DESCRIBE
> <tablename>;" SQL statement that lists the columns and type identifiers of a
> table.
>
> I think I am going to do a SELECT on the "pg_attribute" table, but I don't
> understand what the "attrelid" column of that table refers to. I need to get
> the table name of the column so that I can restrict the select with a WHERE
> clause so I assumed it was a key into the pg_class table, but I can't see a
> column in this table that could potentially correspond and therefore I could
> join to it.
select attrelid::regclass, format_type(atttypid, atttypmod) from
pg_attribute
I think it does more or less what you want.
The easiest way to know this sort of info is start psql with -E, and
then describe a table using \d. It will show you what queries it
issued.
attrelid is a FK to pg_class.oid, which is a system (therefore hidden)
column.
--
Alvaro Herrera (<alvherre[@]dcc.uchile.cl>)
"Lo esencial es invisible para los ojos" (A. de Saint Exúpery)
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To: pgsql-sql@postgresql.org
Cc: alvherre@dcc.uchile.cl, alan@chandlerfamily.org.uk
Subject: Re: Matching the MYSQL "Describe <table-name>" command
In-Reply-To: <20050424183123.GD8757@dcc.uchile.cl>
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