Thread: Re: proposal - plpgsql - support standard syntax for named arguments for cursors

Pavel Stehule <pavel.stehule@gmail.com> writes:
> I propose to enhancing to ANSI/SQL standard syntax for named arguments
> `argname => value`

Is there any reason to think that that's actually in the standard?
I poked around in SQL:2021 a little and couldn't find anything about
cursors with arguments at all.

            regards, tom lane

Pavel Stehule <pavel.stehule@gmail.com> writes:
> so 8. 2. 2025 v 20:25 odesílatel Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> napsal:
>> Is there any reason to think that that's actually in the standard?

> I think the possibility to use named arguments in OPEN statements is a
> PostgreSQL proprietary feature.
> And usage of cursors in PL/pgSQL is based on PL/SQL (not on SQL/PSM from
> standard), but named
> arguments for cursor is PostgreSQL proprietary feature and the syntax based
> on usage `:=` is our
> proprietary too.

Hmm ... yeah, it's not in SQL/PSM, but looking at PL/SQL:

https://docs.oracle.com/en/database/oracle/oracle-database/19/lnpls/OPEN-statement.html

I see

    You can specify actual cursor parameters with either
    positional notation or named notation. For information about
    these notations, see "Positional, Named, and Mixed Notation
    for Actual Parameters".

and that link blesses the use of "name => value" (and not ":=").
So agreed, we should adjust this.

Is there a reason we need a whole new test case instead of
tweaking one of the existing ones?

            regards, tom lane