PGCon2009 - Final Release

PGCon 2009
The PostgreSQL Conference

Speakers
Joshua Tolley
Schedule
Day Tutorials - second day - 2009-05-20
Room DMS 1110
Start time 13:00
Duration 03:00
Info
ID 159
Event type Other
Track Tutorial
Language used for presentation English

Writing a Procedural Language

I CAN HAZ P.L.Z PLZ?

PostgreSQL allows development in many different programming languages, to suit the tastes of each aspiring hacker. Learn how to write a PostgreSQL procedural language, using one of the latest, and certainly the least, of these languages, PL/LOLCODE.

This talk covers how to write a procedural language for PostgreSQL, using PL/LOLCODE to provide examples. Not only will attendees be exposed to the workings of the procedural language system, they will also see how to make C code work within the PostgreSQL backend, how to access system catalogs and use the SPI interface, how Bison and Flex combine to create parser, and how to work with PostgreSQL's internal data types -- all topics of interest to those hacking within PostgreSQL, whether writing a new procedural language or not.

Although PL/LOLCODE's value as a programming language for production use is questionable at best, its simplicity makes it an excellent didactic tool. Attendees can see how to function in the PostgreSQL backend without being bogged down in syntactic difficulty or strange special cases.