In libpq.sgml following is stated:
Before <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> protocol 3.0, it was necessary
for the application to explicitly send the two characters
<literal>\.</literal> as a final line to indicate to the server that it had
finished sending <command>COPY</command> data. While this still works, it is deprecated and the
special meaning of <literal>\.</literal> can be expected to be removed in a
future release. It is sufficient to call <function>PQendcopy</function> after
having sent the actual data.
I think this should be mentioned in protocol.sgml as well. Developers
who wish to develop programs that understand frontend/backend protocol
should be able to focus on protocol.sgml. Attached is a patch for
this.
Best regards,
--
Tatsuo Ishii
SRA OSS, Inc. Japan
English: http://www.sraoss.co.jp/index_en.php
Japanese:http://www.sraoss.co.jpdiff --git a/doc/src/sgml/protocol.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/protocol.sgml
index 46d7e19..a98e4af 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/protocol.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/protocol.sgml
@@ -1154,6 +1154,20 @@ SELCT 1/0;
(if successful) or ErrorResponse (if not).
</para>
+ <note>
+ <para>
+ Before <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> protocol 3.0, it was necessary
+ for the application to explicitly send the two characters
+ <literal>\.</literal> as a final line to indicate to the server that it
+ had finished sending <command>COPY</command> data. Programs
+ implementing <command>COPY</command> in protocol 3.0
+ including <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> need to check and
+ ignore
+ <literal>\.</literal> just before COPYDone message for backward
+ compatibility sake. This requirement may be removed in the future.
+ </para>
+ </note>
+
<para>
In the event of a backend-detected error during copy-in mode (including
receipt of a CopyFail message), the backend will issue an ErrorResponse
