> Is there a way of detecting the existance of a table via a function call?
Not through the client library, as far as I can tell. Why would you
need a function call? Send a query, like this one:
http://wit.mcs.anl.gov/EMP/list-classes.cgi?database=emp
> Actually, can an exception be caught somehow? I'm
> mainly doing this with PHP3, but I also need to do it via the Perl Pg.pm
That's easy in perl:
eval {local $SIG{__DIE__}; do soemthing wrong here }
This piece of code will catch an exception caused by eval() and do
nothing. Refer to the following document for an extensive discussion
of signal handling (__DIE__ is just a signal):
http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/CPAN/data/pod2texi/perlipc.html
However, I don't see how anything you do in Pg might lead to an
exception (other than FPE). Queries against non-existent objects will
generate errors in the backend, of which your code will be notified
via Pg. But that will not cause any exceptions. You will just get
a different result code.
But I agree that filling your server log with harmless error messages
is not good. Query pg_class first.
--Gene
