Re: psql -c does not honor ON_ERROR_STOP

Joe Conway <joe(dot)conway(at)credativ(dot)com> writes:
> This seems like either a psql bug or maybe just a documentation bug. I
> know the psql docs say that -c behavior can be surprising, but I find
> the below surprising even after reading the docs a couple of times.
> Given that ON_ERROR_STOP defaults to off, it seems like these two
> cases should both result in two rows inserted.

-c submits the entire string to the backend in one PQexec(); therefore
ON_ERROR_STOP cannot have any impact on its behavior. The backend will
abandon processing the whole string upon first error, embedded begin/
commit commands notwithstanding.

There's been repeated discussion of changing -c so that the string is
split apart and processed more like it would be if it'd been read from
stdin. However, given the number of ways you can already submit a
string via stdin, this wouldn't be buying any new functionality. Even
discounting backwards-compatibility considerations, such a change would
make it completely impossible to test multiple-commands-per-PQexec
scenarios using psql. So I'm inclined to leave it alone.

Possibly the point is worth documenting explicitly, though.

regards, tom lane