I'm finishing up work on a version of the psql command line client that
can can shrink columns until they fit in your terminal window. For
example on 67 column ssh session...
# \pset format aligned-wrapped
# \pset border 2
# select * from distributors order by did;
+------+--------------------+---------------------+---------------+
| did | name | descr | long_col_name |
+------+--------------------+---------------------+---------------+
| 1 | Food fish and wine | default | |
| 2 | Cat Food Heaven 2 | abcdefghijklmnopqrs ! |
| | | tuvwxyz | |
| 3 | Cat Food Heaven 3 | default | |
| 4 | Cat Food Heaven 4 | default | |
| 5 | Food Heaven | default | |
| 10 | Lah | default | |
| 12 | name | line one | |
| 2892 ! short name | short | |
| 8732 | | | |
+------+--------------------+---------------------+---------------+
(8 rows)
...where columns 'descr' and 'did' each have a wrapped row. I'll send a
postgres 8.4devel linux intel binary to anyone willing to try it out.
I've got one painful edge case left to handle, but if it works well on
various platforms, and others find it useful, I'd like to learn how and
where to introduce it as a patch. Any tips are appreciated.
This is intended to solve that annoying case where a few rows in a
column are too long, blowing past the widest window you can fit onscreen.
-Bryce Nesbitt
