Thread: Real newbie question.
Just started fiddling with PostgreSQL, and know nothing of databases. I have the documentation that came with the Mandrake-8.0 installation written by Thomas Lockhard, and I've perused Bruce Momjian's book online, and I cannot find the answer to this problem: When I am entering values into a table, and make a mistake, sometimes there is an error message, and sometimes the equal sign in the prompt becomes a single quote. Error messages I can puzzle out, but I have not discovered how to recover from the single quote in the prompt. I wind up having to kill the terminal and start all over Can someone point me to the explanation of this? Thanks, and I hope this question isn't too rudimentary for this NG. Bill Tallman
On Thu, 16 Aug 2001, William D. Tallman wrote: > Just started fiddling with PostgreSQL, and know nothing of databases. > > I have the documentation that came with the Mandrake-8.0 installation > written by Thomas Lockhard, and I've perused Bruce Momjian's book online, > and I cannot find the answer to this problem: > > When I am entering values into a table, and make a mistake, sometimes > there is an error message, and sometimes the equal sign in the prompt > becomes a single quote. Error messages I can puzzle out, but I have not > discovered how to recover from the single quote in the prompt. I wind up > having to kill the terminal and start all over > > Can someone point me to the explanation of this? > It probably means you have mismatched single quotes which means it thinks you're in a string constant. '; should generally get you an error and back to a normal prompt I think (close the constant and statement)
When the prompt changes from an equals sign to a single dash, it means you have not finished an SQL statement, pgsql is waiting for a semicolon. A single quote can mean that you didn't close your single quotation, for example: UPDATE foo SET column = 'Thursday If you press return here, psql will be waiting for you to close the quotation. Hope this helps. On Thu, 16 Aug 2001, William D. Tallman wrote: > Just started fiddling with PostgreSQL, and know nothing of databases. > > I have the documentation that came with the Mandrake-8.0 installation > written by Thomas Lockhard, and I've perused Bruce Momjian's book online, > and I cannot find the answer to this problem: > > When I am entering values into a table, and make a mistake, sometimes > there is an error message, and sometimes the equal sign in the prompt > becomes a single quote. Error messages I can puzzle out, but I have not > discovered how to recover from the single quote in the prompt. I wind up > having to kill the terminal and start all over > > Can someone point me to the explanation of this? > > Thanks, and I hope this question isn't too rudimentary for this NG. > > Bill Tallman > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 4: Don't 'kill -9' the postmaster >
"William D. Tallman" <wtallman@olypen.com> writes: > When I am entering values into a table, and make a mistake, sometimes > there is an error message, and sometimes the equal sign in the prompt > becomes a single quote. Error messages I can puzzle out, but I have not > discovered how to recover from the single quote in the prompt. I wind up > having to kill the terminal and start all over > > Can someone point me to the explanation of this? The single quote in the prompt means that you've type an unclosed single quote. -Doug -- Free Dmitry Sklyarov! http://www.freesklyarov.org/ We will return to our regularly scheduled signature shortly.
"William D. Tallman" wrote: >When I am entering values into a table, and make a mistake, sometimes >there is an error message, and sometimes the equal sign in the prompt >becomes a single quote. Error messages I can puzzle out, but I have not >discovered how to recover from the single quote in the prompt. I wind up >having to kill the terminal and start all over > >Can someone point me to the explanation of this? It simply means that you have typed a starting single quote but have not yet typed the closing quote. You can get a similar effect with parentheses. Close the quote, then use \r to clear the buffer. Example: junk=# select 'x junk'# ',* junk-# from ( junk(# select * from a junk(# ) as ss junk-# ; ERROR: Relation 'a' does not exist junk=# select ' junk'# aga junk'# dsfhsh junk'# \r junk'# ' junk-# \r Query buffer reset (cleared). junk=# -- Oliver Elphick Oliver.Elphick@lfix.co.uk Isle of Wight http://www.lfix.co.uk/oliver PGP: 1024R/32B8FAA1: 97 EA 1D 47 72 3F 28 47 6B 7E 39 CC 56 E4 C1 47 GPG: 1024D/3E1D0C1C: CA12 09E0 E8D5 8870 5839 932A 614D 4C34 3E1D 0C1C ======================================== "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." I Thessalonians 4:13,14
Hi Bill,
Have you solved this yet?
When the psql prompt becomes a ' it means you've started a text string
and not ended it. i.e. :
psql# INSERT INTO foo (stringfield) VALUES ('blah blah blah);
psql'#
You need to type another ' then press enter to finish the string. Once
on a new line, type \r to clear the buffer of the command you stuffed,
or \e to open up a window which edits it. i.e. :
psql# INSERT INTO foo (stringfield) VALUES ('blah blah blah);
psql'# safdsadfa
psql'# <Uh oh.. something wrong>
psql'# Aha...
psql'# '
psql# \r
Query buffer reset.
psql# INSERT INTO foo (stringfield) VALUES ('blah blah blah');
:-)
Hope that's helpful, did it from memory, so the exact output may look
slightly different.
Regards and best wishes,
Justin Clift
"William D. Tallman" wrote:
>
> Just started fiddling with PostgreSQL, and know nothing of databases.
>
> I have the documentation that came with the Mandrake-8.0 installation
> written by Thomas Lockhard, and I've perused Bruce Momjian's book online,
> and I cannot find the answer to this problem:
>
> When I am entering values into a table, and make a mistake, sometimes
> there is an error message, and sometimes the equal sign in the prompt
> becomes a single quote. Error messages I can puzzle out, but I have not
> discovered how to recover from the single quote in the prompt. I wind up
> having to kill the terminal and start all over
>
> Can someone point me to the explanation of this?
>
> Thanks, and I hope this question isn't too rudimentary for this NG.
>
> Bill Tallman
>
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 4: Don't 'kill -9' the postmaster
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