Bill Todd <pg@dbginc.com> writes:
> I am missing something basic. How can I use an input parameter as the
> destination path in a COPY statement in a function.
plpgsql can only substitute parameter values into places where a data
value is called for in a DML statement (ie, SELECT/INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE).
To use a parameter in other contexts, such as a utility statement like
COPY, you need to construct the command as a string and EXECUTE it.
Try something like
EXECUTE 'copy dvd.genre to ' || quote_literal(export_path) ||
$q$
with
delimiter as E'\t'
null as ''
$q$ ;
(There's any number of ways to do the quoting here, of course,
but I do strongly recommend using quote_literal() on the parameter.)
regards, tom lane
