CREATE FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER

PostgreSQL 9.3.15 Documentation
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Name

CREATE FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER -- define a new foreign-data wrapper

Synopsis

CREATE FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER name
    [ HANDLER handler_function | NO HANDLER ]
    [ VALIDATOR validator_function | NO VALIDATOR ]
    [ OPTIONS ( option 'value' [, ... ] ) ]

Description

CREATE FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER creates a new foreign-data wrapper. The user who defines a foreign-data wrapper becomes its owner.

The foreign-data wrapper name must be unique within the database.

Only superusers can create foreign-data wrappers.

Parameters

name

The name of the foreign-data wrapper to be created.

HANDLER handler_function

handler_function is the name of a previously registered function that will be called to retrieve the execution functions for foreign tables. The handler function must take no arguments, and its return type must be fdw_handler .

It is possible to create a foreign-data wrapper with no handler function, but foreign tables using such a wrapper can only be declared, not accessed.

VALIDATOR validator_function

validator_function is the name of a previously registered function that will be called to check the generic options given to the foreign-data wrapper, as well as options for foreign servers, user mappings and foreign tables using the foreign-data wrapper. If no validator function or NO VALIDATOR is specified, then options will not be checked at creation time. (Foreign-data wrappers will possibly ignore or reject invalid option specifications at run time, depending on the implementation.) The validator function must take two arguments: one of type text[] , which will contain the array of options as stored in the system catalogs, and one of type oid , which will be the OID of the system catalog containing the options. The return type is ignored; the function should report invalid options using the ereport(ERROR) function.

OPTIONS ( option ' value ' [, ... ] )

This clause specifies options for the new foreign-data wrapper. The allowed option names and values are specific to each foreign data wrapper and are validated using the foreign-data wrapper's validator function. Option names must be unique.

Notes

PostgreSQL 's foreign-data functionality is still under active development. Optimization of queries is primitive (and mostly left to the wrapper, too). Thus, there is considerable room for future performance improvements.

Examples

Create a useless foreign-data wrapper dummy :

CREATE FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER dummy;

Create a foreign-data wrapper file with handler function file_fdw_handler :

CREATE FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER file HANDLER file_fdw_handler;

Create a foreign-data wrapper mywrapper with some options:

CREATE FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER mywrapper
    OPTIONS (debug 'true');

Compatibility

CREATE FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER conforms to ISO/IEC 9075-9 (SQL/MED), with the exception that the HANDLER and VALIDATOR clauses are extensions and the standard clauses LIBRARY and LANGUAGE are not implemented in PostgreSQL .

Note, however, that the SQL/MED functionality as a whole is not yet conforming.