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<chapter id="protocol">
<title>Frontend/Backend Protocol</title>
<para>
<application>PostgreSQL</application> uses a message-based protocol
for communication between frontends and backends (clients and servers).
The protocol is supported over <acronym>TCP/IP</acronym> and also over
Unix-domain sockets. Port number 5432 has been registered with IANA as
the customary TCP port number for servers supporting this protocol, but
in practice any non-privileged port number may be used.
</para>
<para>
This document describes version 3.0 of the protocol, implemented in
<application>PostgreSQL</application> 7.4 and later. For descriptions
of the earlier protocol versions, see previous releases of the
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> documentation. A single server
can support multiple protocol versions. The initial
startup-request message tells the server which protocol version the
client is attempting to use, and then the server follows that protocol
if it is able.
</para>
<para>
Higher level features built on this protocol (for example, how
<application>libpq</application> passes certain environment
variables when the connection is established) are covered elsewhere.
</para>
<para>
In order to serve multiple clients efficiently, the server launches
a new <quote>backend</> process for each client.
In the current implementation, a new child
process is created immediately after an incoming connection is detected.
This is transparent to the protocol, however. For purposes of the
protocol, the terms <quote>backend</> and <quote>server</> are
interchangeable; likewise <quote>frontend</> and <quote>client</>
are interchangeable.
</para>
<sect1 id="protocol-overview">
<title>Overview</title>
<para>
The protocol has separate phases for startup and normal operation.
In the startup phase, the frontend opens a connection to the server
and authenticates itself to the satisfaction of the server. (This might
involve a single message, or multiple messages depending on the
authentication method being used.) If all goes well, the server then sends
status information to the frontend, and finally enters normal operation.
Except for the initial startup-request message, this part of the
protocol is driven by the server.
</para>
<para>
During normal operation, the frontend sends queries and
other commands to the backend, and the backend sends back query results
and other responses. There are a few cases (such as <command>NOTIFY</>)
wherein the
backend will send unsolicited messages, but for the most part this portion
of a session is driven by frontend requests.
</para>
<para>
Termination of the session is normally by frontend choice, but can be
forced by the backend in certain cases. In any case, when the backend
closes the connection, it will roll back any open (incomplete) transaction
before exiting.
</para>
<para>
Within normal operation, SQL commands can be executed through either of
two sub-protocols. In the <quote>simple query</> protocol, the frontend
just sends a textual query string, which is parsed and immediately
executed by the backend. In the <quote>extended query</> protocol,
processing of queries is separated into multiple steps: parsing,
binding of parameter values, and execution. This offers flexibility
and performance benefits, at the cost of extra complexity.
</para>
<para>
Normal operation has additional sub-protocols for special operations
such as <command>COPY</>.
</para>
<sect2 id="protocol-message-concepts">
<title>Messaging Overview</title>
<para>
All communication is through a stream of messages. The first byte of a
message identifies the message type, and the next four bytes specify the
length of the rest of the message (this length count includes itself, but
not the message-type byte). The remaining contents of the message are
determined by the message type. For historical reasons, the very first
message sent by the client (the startup message) has no initial
message-type byte.
</para>
<para>
To avoid losing synchronization with the message stream, both servers and
clients typically read an entire message into a buffer (using the byte
count) before attempting to process its contents. This allows easy
recovery if an error is detected while processing the contents. In
extreme situations (such as not having enough memory to buffer the
message), the receiver may use the byte count to determine how much
input to skip before it resumes reading messages.
</para>
<para>
Conversely, both servers and clients must take care never to send an
incomplete message. This is commonly done by marshaling the entire message
in a buffer before beginning to send it. If a communications failure
occurs partway through sending or receiving a message, the only sensible
response is to abandon the connection, since there is little hope of
recovering message-boundary synchronization.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="protocol-query-concepts">
<title>Extended Query Overview</title>
<para>
In the extended-query protocol, execution of SQL commands is divided
into multiple steps. The state retained between steps is represented
by two types of objects: <firstterm>prepared statements</> and
<firstterm>portals</>. A prepared statement represents the result of
parsing, semantic analysis, and planning of a textual query string. A
prepared statement is not necessarily ready to execute, because it may
lack specific values for <firstterm>parameters</>. A portal represents
a ready-to-execute or already-partially-executed statement, with any
missing parameter values filled in. (For <command>SELECT</> statements,
a portal is equivalent to an open cursor, but we choose to use a different
term since cursors don't handle non-<command>SELECT</> statements.)
</para>
<para>
The overall execution cycle consists of a <firstterm>parse</> step,
which creates a prepared statement from a textual query string; a
<firstterm>bind</> step, which creates a portal given a prepared
statement and values for any needed parameters; and an
<firstterm>execute</> step that runs a portal's query. In the case of
a query that returns rows (<command>SELECT</>, <command>SHOW</>, etc),
the execute step can be told to fetch only
a limited number of rows, so that multiple execute steps may be needed
to complete the operation.
</para>
<para>
The backend can keep track of multiple prepared statements and portals
(but note that these exist only within a session, and are never shared
across sessions). Existing prepared statements and portals are
referenced by names assigned when they were created. In addition,
an <quote>unnamed</> prepared statement and portal exist. Although these
behave largely the same as named objects, operations on them are optimized
for the case of executing a query only once and then discarding it,
whereas operations on named objects are optimized on the expectation
of multiple uses.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="protocol-format-codes">
<title>Formats and Format Codes</title>
<para>
Data of a particular datatype might be transmitted in any of several
different <firstterm>formats</>. As of <application>PostgreSQL</> 7.4
the only supported formats are <quote>text</> and <quote>binary</>,
but the protocol makes provision for future extensions. The desired
format for any value is specified by a <firstterm>format code</>.
Clients may specify a format code for each transmitted parameter value
and for each column of a query result. Text has format code zero,
binary has format code one, and all other format codes are reserved
for future definition.
</para>
<para>
The text representation of values is whatever strings are produced
and accepted by the input/output conversion functions for the
particular datatype. In the transmitted representation, there is
no trailing null character; the frontend must add one to received
values if it wants to process them as C strings.
(The text format does not allow embedded nulls, by the way.)
</para>
<para>
Binary representations for integers use network byte order (most
significant byte first). For other datatypes consult the documentation
or source code to learn about the binary representation. Keep in mind
that binary representations for complex datatypes may change across
server versions; the text format is usually the more portable choice.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="protocol-flow">
<title>Message Flow</title>
<para>
This section describes the message flow and the semantics of each
message type. (Details of the exact representation of each message
appear in <xref linkend="protocol-message-formats">.)
There are several different sub-protocols
depending on the state of the connection: start-up,
query, function call, COPY, and termination. There are also special
provisions for asynchronous operations (including
notification responses and command cancellation),
which can occur at any time after the start-up phase.
</para>
<sect2>
<title>Start-Up</Title>
<para>
To begin a session, a frontend opens a connection to the server and sends
a startup message. This message includes the names of the user and of the
database the user wants to connect to; it also identifies the particular
protocol version to be used. (Optionally, the startup message can include
additional settings for run-time parameters.)
The server then uses this information and
the contents of its configuration files (such as
<filename>pg_hba.conf</filename>) to determine
whether the connection is provisionally acceptable, and what additional
authentication is required (if any).
</para>
<para>
The server then sends an appropriate authentication request message,
to which the frontend must reply with an appropriate authentication
response message (such as a password).
In principle the authentication request/response cycle could require
multiple iterations, but none of the present authentication methods
use more than one request and response. In some methods, no response
at all is needed from the frontend, and so no authentication request
occurs.
</para>
<para>
The authentication cycle ends with the server either rejecting the
connection attempt (ErrorResponse), or sending AuthenticationOK.
</para>
<para>
The possible messages from the server in this phase are:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>ErrorResponse</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The connection attempt has been rejected.
The server then immediately closes the connection.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>AuthenticationOk</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The authentication exchange is successfully completed.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>AuthenticationKerberosV4</Term>
<listitem>
<para>
The frontend must now take part in a Kerberos V4
authentication dialog (not described here, part of the
Kerberos specification) with the server. If this is
successful, the server responds with an AuthenticationOk,
otherwise it responds with an ErrorResponse.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<Term>AuthenticationKerberosV5</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The frontend must now take part in a Kerberos V5
authentication dialog (not described here, part of the
Kerberos specification) with the server. If this is
successful, the server responds with an AuthenticationOk,
otherwise it responds with an ErrorResponse.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>AuthenticationCleartextPassword</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The frontend must now send a PasswordMessage containing the
password in clear-text form. If
this is the correct password, the server responds with an
AuthenticationOk, otherwise it responds with an ErrorResponse.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>AuthenticationCryptPassword</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The frontend must now send a PasswordMessage containing the
password encrypted via crypt(3), using the 2-character salt
specified in the AuthenticationCryptPassword message. If
this is the correct password, the server responds with an
AuthenticationOk, otherwise it responds with an ErrorResponse.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>AuthenticationMD5Password</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The frontend must now send a PasswordMessage containing the
password encrypted via MD5, using the 4-character salt
specified in the AuthenticationMD5Password message. If
this is the correct password, the server responds with an
AuthenticationOk, otherwise it responds with an ErrorResponse.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>AuthenticationSCMCredential</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
This response is only possible for local Unix-domain connections
on platforms that support SCM credential messages. The frontend
must issue an SCM credential message and then send a single data
byte. (The contents of the data byte are uninteresting; it's
only used to ensure that the server waits long enough to receive
the credential message.) If the credential is acceptable,
the server responds with an
AuthenticationOk, otherwise it responds with an ErrorResponse.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
<para>
If the frontend does not support the authentication method
requested by the server, then it should immediately close the
connection.
</para>
<para>
After having received AuthenticationOk, the frontend must wait
for further messages from the server. In this phase a backend process
is being started, and the frontend is just an interested bystander.
It is still possible for the startup attempt
to fail (ErrorResponse), but in the normal case the backend will send
some ParameterStatus messages, BackendKeyData, and finally ReadyForQuery.
</para>
<para>
During this phase the backend will attempt to apply any additional
run-time parameter settings that were given in the startup message.
If successful, these values become session defaults. An error causes
ErrorResponse and exit.
</para>
<para>
The possible messages from the backend in this phase are:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>BackendKeyData</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
This message provides secret-key data that the frontend must
save if it wants to be able to issue cancel requests later.
The frontend should not respond to this message, but should
continue listening for a ReadyForQuery message.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>ParameterStatus</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
This message informs the frontend about the current (initial)
setting of backend parameters, such as <varname>client_encoding</>
or <varname>DateStyle</>. The frontend may ignore this message,
or record the settings for its future use; see
<xref linkend="protocol-async"> for more detail.
The frontend should not respond to this message, but should
continue listening for a ReadyForQuery message.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>ReadyForQuery</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Start-up is completed. The frontend may now issue commands.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>ErrorResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Start-up failed. The connection is closed after sending this
message.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>NoticeResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
A warning message has been issued. The frontend should
display the message but continue listening for ReadyForQuery
or ErrorResponse.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
<para>
The ReadyForQuery message is the same one that the backend will
issue after each command cycle. Depending on the coding needs of
the frontend, it is reasonable to consider ReadyForQuery as
starting a command cycle, or to consider ReadyForQuery as ending the
start-up phase and each subsequent command cycle.
</para>
</sect2>
<Sect2>
<Title>Simple Query</Title>
<Para>
A simple query cycle is initiated by the frontend sending a Query message
to the backend. The message includes an SQL command (or commands)
expressed as a text string.
The backend then sends one or more response
messages depending on the contents of the query command string,
and finally a ReadyForQuery response message. ReadyForQuery
informs the frontend that it may safely send a new command.
(It is not actually necessary for the frontend to wait for
ReadyForQuery before issuing another command, but the frontend must
then take responsibility for figuring out what happens if the earlier
command fails and already-issued later commands succeed.)
</para>
<Para>
The possible response messages from the backend are:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>CommandComplete</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
An SQL command completed normally.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>CopyInResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The backend is ready to copy data from the frontend to a
table; see <xref linkend="protocol-copy">.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>CopyOutResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The backend is ready to copy data from a table to the
frontend; see <xref linkend="protocol-copy">.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>RowDescription</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Indicates that rows are about to be returned in response to
a <command>SELECT</command>, <command>FETCH</command>, etc query.
The contents of this message describe the column layout of the rows.
This will be followed by a DataRow message for each row being returned
to the frontend.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>DataRow</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
One of the set of rows returned by
a <command>SELECT</command>, <command>FETCH</command>, etc query.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>EmptyQueryResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
An empty query string was recognized.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>ErrorResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
An error has occurred.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>ReadyForQuery</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Processing of the query string is complete. A separate
message is sent to indicate this because the query string may
contain multiple SQL commands. (CommandComplete marks the
end of processing one SQL command, not the whole string.)
ReadyForQuery will always be sent, whether processing
terminates successfully or with an error.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>NoticeResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
A warning message has been issued in relation to the query.
Notices are in addition to other responses, i.e., the backend
will continue processing the command.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
<Para>
The response to a <command>SELECT</> query (or other queries that
return rowsets, such as <command>EXPLAIN</> or <command>SHOW</>)
normally consists of RowDescription, zero or more
DataRow messages, and then CommandComplete.
<command>COPY</> to or from the frontend invokes special protocol
as described in <xref linkend="protocol-copy">.
All other query types normally produce only
a CommandComplete message.
</Para>
<Para>
Since a query string could contain several queries (separated by
semicolons), there might be several such response sequences before the
backend finishes processing the query string. ReadyForQuery is issued
when the entire string has been processed and the backend is ready to
accept a new query string.
</Para>
<Para>
If a completely empty (no contents other than whitespace) query string
is received, the response is EmptyQueryResponse followed by ReadyForQuery.
</Para>
<Para>
In the event of an error, ErrorResponse is issued followed by
ReadyForQuery. All further processing of the query string is aborted by
ErrorResponse (even if more queries remained in it). Note that this
may occur partway through the sequence of messages generated by an
individual query.
</Para>
<para>
In simple Query mode, the format of retrieved values is always text,
except when the given command is a <command>FETCH</> from a cursor
declared with the <literal>BINARY</> option. In that case, the
retrieved values are in binary format. The format codes given in
the RowDescription message tell which format is being used.
</para>
<para>
A frontend must be prepared to accept ErrorResponse and
NoticeResponse messages whenever it is expecting any other type of
message. See also <xref linkend="protocol-async"> concerning messages
that the backend may generate due to outside events.
</para>
<para>
Recommended practice is to code frontends in a state-machine style
that will accept any message type at any time that it could make sense,
rather than wiring in assumptions about the exact sequence of messages.
</para>
</sect2>
<Sect2>
<Title>Extended Query</Title>
<para>
The extended query protocol breaks down the above-described simple
query protocol into multiple steps. The results of preparatory
steps can be re-used multiple times for improved efficiency.
Furthermore, additional features are available, such as the possibility
of supplying data values as separate parameters instead of having to
insert them directly into a query string.
</para>
<para>
In the extended protocol, the frontend first sends a Parse message,
which contains a textual query string, optionally some information
about datatypes of parameter placeholders, and the
name of a destination prepared-statement object (an empty string
selects the unnamed prepared statement). The response is
either ParseComplete or ErrorResponse. Parameter datatypes may be
specified by OID; if not given, the parser attempts to infer the
datatypes in the same way as it would do for untyped literal string
constants.
</para>
<note>
<para>
The query string contained in a Parse message cannot include more
than one SQL statement; else a syntax error is reported. This
restriction does not exist in the simple-query protocol, but it
does exist in the extended protocol, because allowing prepared
statements or portals to contain multiple commands would complicate
the protocol unduly.
</para>
</note>
<para>
If successfully created, a named prepared-statement object lasts till
the end of the current session, unless explicitly destroyed. An unnamed
prepared statement lasts only until the next Parse statement specifying
the unnamed statement as destination is issued. (Note that a simple
Query message also destroys the unnamed statement.) Named prepared
statements must be explicitly closed before they can be redefined by
a Parse message, but this is not required for the unnamed statement.
Named prepared statements can also be created and accessed at the SQL
command level, using <command>PREPARE</> and <command>EXECUTE</>.
</para>
<para>
Once a prepared statement exists, it can be readied for execution using a
Bind message. The Bind message gives the name of the source prepared
statement (empty string denotes the unnamed prepared statement), the name
of the destination portal (empty string denotes the unnamed portal), and
the values to use for any parameter placeholders present in the prepared
statement. The
supplied parameter set must match those needed by the prepared statement.
Bind also specifies the format to use for any data returned
by the query; the format can be specified overall, or per-column.
The response is either BindComplete or ErrorResponse.
</para>
<note>
<para>
The choice between text and binary output is determined by the format
codes given in Bind, regardless of the SQL command involved. The
<literal>BINARY</> attribute in cursor declarations is irrelevant when
using extended query protocol.
</para>
</note>
<para>
If successfully created, a named portal object lasts till the end of the
current transaction, unless explicitly destroyed. An unnamed portal is
destroyed at the end of the transaction, or as soon as the next Bind
statement specifying the unnamed portal as destination is issued. (Note
that a simple Query message also destroys the unnamed portal.) Named
portals must be explicitly closed before they can be redefined by a Bind
message, but this is not required for the unnamed portal.
Named portals can also be created and accessed at the SQL
command level, using <command>DECLARE CURSOR</> and <command>FETCH</>.
</para>
<para>
Once a portal exists, it can be executed using an Execute message.
The Execute message specifies the portal name (empty string denotes the
unnamed portal) and
a maximum result-row count (zero meaning <quote>fetch all rows</>).
The result-row count is only meaningful for portals
containing commands that return rowsets; in other cases the command is
always executed to completion, and the row count is ignored.
The possible
responses to Execute are the same as those described above for queries
issued via simple query protocol, except that Execute doesn't cause
ReadyForQuery to be issued.
</para>
<para>
If Execute terminates before completing the execution of a portal
(due to reaching a nonzero result-row count), it will send a
PortalSuspended message; the appearance of this message tells the frontend
that another Execute should be issued against the same portal to
complete the operation. The CommandComplete message indicating
completion of the source SQL command is not sent until
the portal's execution is completed. Therefore, an Execute phase is
always terminated by the appearance of exactly one of these messages:
CommandComplete, EmptyQueryResponse (if the portal was created from
an empty query string), ErrorResponse, or PortalSuspended.
</para>
<para>
At completion of each series of extended-query messages, the frontend
should issue a Sync message. This parameterless message causes the
backend to close the current transaction if it's not inside a
<command>BEGIN</>/<command>COMMIT</> transaction block (<quote>close</>
meaning to commit if no error, or roll back if error). Then a
ReadyForQuery response is issued. The purpose of Sync is to provide
a resychronization point for error recovery. When an error is detected
while processing any extended-query message, the backend issues
ErrorResponse, then reads and discards messages until a Sync is reached,
then issues ReadyForQuery and returns to normal message processing.
(But note that no skipping occurs if an error is detected
<emphasis>while</> processing Sync --- this ensures that there is one
and only one ReadyForQuery sent for each Sync.)
</para>
<note>
<para>
Sync does not cause a transaction block opened with <command>BEGIN</>
to be closed. It is possible to detect this situation since the
ReadyForQuery message includes transaction status information.
</para>
</note>
<para>
In addition to these fundamental, required operations, there are several
optional operations that can be used with extended-query protocol.
</para>
<para>
The Describe message (portal variant) specifies the name of an existing
portal (or an empty string for the unnamed portal). The response is a
RowDescription message describing the rows that will be returned by
executing the portal; or a NoData message if the portal does not contain a
query that will return rows; or ErrorResponse if there is no such portal.
</para>
<para>
The Describe message (statement variant) specifies the name of an existing
prepared statement (or an empty string for the unnamed prepared
statement). The response is a ParameterDescription message describing the
parameters needed by the statement, followed by a RowDescription message
describing the rows that will be returned when the statement is eventually
executed (or a NoData message if the statement will not return rows).
ErrorResponse is issued if there is no such prepared statement. Note that
since Bind has not yet been issued, the formats to be used for returned
columns are not yet known to the backend; the format code fields in the
RowDescription message will be zeroes in this case.
</para>
<tip>
<para>
In most scenarios the frontend should issue one or the other variant
of Describe before issuing Execute, to ensure that it knows how to
interpret the results it will get back.
</para>
</tip>
<para>
The Close message closes an existing prepared statement or portal
and releases resources. It is not an error to issue Close against
a nonexistent statement or portal name. The response is normally
CloseComplete, but could be ErrorResponse if some difficulty is
encountered while releasing resources. Note that closing a prepared
statement implicitly closes any open portals that were constructed
from that statement.
</para>
<para>
The Flush message does not cause any specific output to be generated,
but forces the backend to deliver any data pending in its output
buffers. A Flush must be sent after any extended-query command except
Sync, if the frontend wishes to examine the results of that command before
issuing more commands. Without Flush, messages returned by the backend
will be combined into the minimum possible number of packets to minimize
network overhead.
</para>
<note>
<para>
The simple Query message is approximately equivalent to the series Parse,
Bind, portal Describe, Execute, Close, Sync, using the unnamed prepared
statement and portal objects and no parameters. One difference is that
it will accept multiple SQL statements in the query string, automatically
performing the bind/describe/execute sequence for each one in succession.
Another difference is that it will not return ParseComplete, BindComplete,
CloseComplete, or NoData messages.
</para>
</note>
</sect2>
<Sect2>
<Title>Function Call</Title>
<para>
The Function Call sub-protocol allows the client to request a direct
call of any function that exists in the database's
<structname>pg_proc</structname> system catalog. The client must have
execute permission for the function.
</para>
<note>
<para>
The Function Call sub-protocol is a legacy feature that is probably best
avoided in new code. Similar results can be accomplished by setting up
a prepared statement that does <literal>SELECT function($1, ...)</>.
The Function Call cycle can then be replaced with Bind/Execute.
</para>
</note>
<para>
A Function Call cycle is initiated by the frontend sending a
FunctionCall message to the backend. The backend then sends one
or more response messages depending on the results of the function
call, and finally a ReadyForQuery response message. ReadyForQuery
informs the frontend that it may safely send a new query or
function call.
</para>
<para>
The possible response messages from the backend are:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>ErrorResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
An error has occurred.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>FunctionCallResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The function call was completed and returned the result given
in the message.
(Note that the Function Call protocol can only handle a single
scalar result, not a rowtype or set of results.)
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>ReadyForQuery</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Processing of the function call is complete. ReadyForQuery
will always be sent, whether processing terminates
successfully or with an error.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>NoticeResponse</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
A warning message has been issued in relation to the function
call. Notices are in addition to other responses, i.e., the
backend will continue processing the command.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="protocol-copy">
<title>COPY Operations</title>
<para>
The <command>COPY</> command allows high-speed bulk data transfer
to or from the server. Copy-in and copy-out operations each switch
the connection into a distinct sub-protocol, which lasts until the
operation is completed.
</para>
<para>
Copy-in mode (data transfer to the server) is initiated when the
backend executes a <command>COPY FROM STDIN</> SQL statement. The backend
sends a CopyInResponse message to the frontend. The frontend should
then send zero or more CopyData messages, forming a stream of input
data. (The message boundaries are not required to have anything to do
with row boundaries, although that is often a reasonable choice.)
The frontend can terminate the copy-in mode by sending either a CopyDone
message (allowing successful termination) or a CopyFail message (which
will cause the <command>COPY</> SQL statement to fail with an
error). The backend then reverts to the command-processing mode it was
in before the <command>COPY</> started, which will be either simple or
extended query protocol. It will next send either CommandComplete
(if successful) or ErrorResponse (if not).
</para>
<para>
In the event of a backend-detected error during copy-in mode (including
receipt of a CopyFail message, or indeed any frontend message other than
CopyData or CopyDone), the backend will issue an ErrorResponse
message. If the <command>COPY</> command was issued via an extended-query
message, the backend will now discard frontend messages until a Sync
message is received, then it will issue ReadyForQuery and return to normal
processing. If the <command>COPY</> command was issued in a simple
Query message, the rest of that message is discarded and ReadyForQuery
is issued. In either case, any subsequent CopyData, CopyDone, or CopyFail
messages issued by the frontend will simply be dropped.
</para>
<para>
Copy-out mode (data transfer from the server) is initiated when the
backend executes a <command>COPY TO STDOUT</> SQL statement. The backend
sends a CopyOutResponse message to the frontend, followed by
zero or more CopyData messages (always one per row), followed by CopyDone.
The backend then reverts to the command-processing mode it was
in before the <command>COPY</> started, and sends CommandComplete.
The frontend cannot abort the transfer (except by closing the connection
or issuing a Cancel request),
but it can discard unwanted CopyData and CopyDone messages.
</para>
<para>
In the event of a backend-detected error during copy-out mode,
the backend will issue an ErrorResponse message and revert to normal
processing. The frontend should treat receipt of ErrorResponse (or
indeed any message type other than CopyData or CopyDone) as terminating
the copy-out mode.
</para>
<para>
The CopyInResponse and CopyOutResponse messages include fields that
inform the frontend of the number of columns per row and the format
codes being used for each column. (As of the present implementation,
all columns in a given <command>COPY</> operation will use the same
format, but the message design does not assume this.)
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="protocol-async">
<title>Asynchronous Operations</title>
<para>
There are several cases in which the backend will send messages that
are not specifically prompted by the frontend's command stream.
Frontends must be prepared to deal with these messages at any time,
even when not engaged in a query.
At minimum, one should check for these cases before beginning to
read a query response.
</para>
<para>
It is possible for NoticeResponse messages to be generated due to
outside activity; for example, if the database administrator commands
a <quote>fast</> database shutdown, the backend will send a NoticeResponse
indicating this fact before closing the connection. Accordingly,
frontends should always be prepared to accept and display NoticeResponse
messages, even when the connection is nominally idle.
</para>
<para>
ParameterStatus messages will be generated whenever the active value
changes for any of the parameters the backend believes the frontend
should know about. Most commonly this occurs in response to a
<command>SET</> SQL command executed by the frontend, and this case
is effectively synchronous --- but it is also possible for parameter
status changes to occur because the administrator changed a configuration
file and then SIGHUP'd the postmaster. Also, if a SET command is
rolled back, an appropriate ParameterStatus message will be generated
to report the current effective value.
</para>
<para>
At present there is a hard-wired set of parameters for which
ParameterStatus will be generated: they are
<literal>server_version</> (a pseudo-parameter that cannot change after
startup);
<literal>server_encoding</> (also not presently changeable after start);
<literal>client_encoding</>, and
<literal>DateStyle</>.
This set might change in the future, or even become configurable.
Accordingly, a frontend should simply ignore ParameterStatus for
parameters that it does not understand or care about.
</para>
<para>
If a frontend issues a <command>LISTEN</command> command, then the
backend will send a NotificationResponse message (not to be
confused with NoticeResponse!) whenever a
<command>NOTIFY</command> command is executed for the same
notification name.
</para>
<note>
<para>
At present, NotificationResponse can only be sent outside a
transaction, and thus it will not occur in the middle of a
command-response series, though it may occur just before ReadyForQuery.
It is unwise to design frontend logic that assumes that, however.
Good practice is to be able to accept NotificationResponse at any
point in the protocol.
</para>
</note>
</sect2>
<Sect2>
<Title>Cancelling Requests in Progress</Title>
<Para>
During the processing of a query, the frontend may request
cancellation of the query. The cancel request is not sent
directly on the open connection to the backend for reasons of
implementation efficiency: we don't want to have the backend
constantly checking for new input from the frontend during query
processing. Cancel requests should be relatively infrequent, so
we make them slightly cumbersome in order to avoid a penalty in
the normal case.
</para>
<Para>
To issue a cancel request, the frontend opens a new connection to
the server and sends a CancelRequest message, rather than the
StartupMessage message that would ordinarily be sent across a new
connection. The server will process this request and then close
the connection. For security reasons, no direct reply is made to
the cancel request message.
</para>
<Para>
A CancelRequest message will be ignored unless it contains the
same key data (PID and secret key) passed to the frontend during
connection start-up. If the request matches the PID and secret
key for a currently executing backend, the processing of the
current query is aborted. (In the existing implementation, this is
done by sending a special signal to the backend process that is
processing the query.)
</para>
<Para>
The cancellation signal may or may not have any effect --- for
example, if it arrives after the backend has finished processing
the query, then it will have no effect. If the cancellation is
effective, it results in the current command being terminated
early with an error message.
</para>
<Para>
The upshot of all this is that for reasons of both security and
efficiency, the frontend has no direct way to tell whether a
cancel request has succeeded. It must continue to wait for the
backend to respond to the query. Issuing a cancel simply improves
the odds that the current query will finish soon, and improves the
odds that it will fail with an error message instead of
succeeding.
</para>
<Para>
Since the cancel request is sent across a new connection to the
server and not across the regular frontend/backend communication
link, it is possible for the cancel request to be issued by any
process, not just the frontend whose query is to be canceled.
This may have some benefits of flexibility in building
multiple-process applications. It also introduces a security
risk, in that unauthorized persons might try to cancel queries.
The security risk is addressed by requiring a dynamically
generated secret key to be supplied in cancel requests.
</para>
</sect2>
<Sect2>
<Title>Termination</Title>
<para>
The normal, graceful termination procedure is that the frontend
sends a Terminate message and immediately closes the connection.
On receipt of this message, the backend closes the connection and
terminates.
</para>
<para>
In rare cases (such as an administrator-commanded database shutdown)
the backend may disconnect without any frontend request to do so.
In such cases the backend will attempt to send an error or notice message
giving the reason for the disconnection before it closes the connection.
</para>
<para>
Other termination scenarios arise from various failure cases, such as core
dump at one end or the other, loss of the communications link, loss of
message-boundary synchronization, etc. If either frontend or backend sees
an unexpected closure of the connection, it should clean
up and terminate. The frontend has the option of launching a new backend
by recontacting the server if it doesn't want to terminate itself.
Closing the connection is also advisable if an unrecognizable message type
is received, since this probably indicates loss of message-boundary sync.
</para>
<para>
For either normal or abnormal termination, any open transaction is
rolled back, not committed. One should note however that if a
frontend disconnects while a non-SELECT query is being processed,
the backend will probably finish the query before noticing the
disconnection.
If the query is outside any transaction block (<command>BEGIN</>
... <command>COMMIT</> sequence) then its results may be committed
before the disconnection is recognized.
</para>
</sect2>
<Sect2>
<Title>SSL Session Encryption</Title>
<Para>
If <productname>PostgreSQL</> was built with SSL support, frontend/backend
communications can be encrypted using SSL. This provides communication
security in environments where attackers might be able to capture the
session traffic.
</para>
<para>
To initiate an SSL-encrypted connection, the frontend initially sends
an SSLRequest message rather than a StartupMessage. The server then
responds with a single byte containing <literal>Y</> or <literal>N</>,
indicating that it is willing or unwilling to perform SSL, respectively.
The frontend may close the connection at this point if it is dissatisfied
with the response. To continue after <literal>Y</>, perform an SSL
startup handshake (not described here, part of the SSL specification)
with the server. If this is successful, continue with
sending the usual StartupMessage. In this case the StartupMessage and
all subsequent data will be SSL-encrypted. To continue after
<literal>N</>, send the usual StartupMessage and proceed without
encryption.
</para>
<para>
The frontend should also be prepared to handle an ErrorMessage response
to SSLRequest from the server. This would only occur if the server
predates the addition of SSL support to <productname>PostgreSQL</>.
In this case the connection must be closed, but the frontend may choose
to open a fresh connection and proceed without requesting SSL.
</para>
<para>
An initial SSLRequest may also be used in a connection that is being
opened to send a CancelRequest message.
</para>
<para>
While the protocol itself does not provide a way for the server to
force SSL encryption, the administrator may configure the server to
reject unencrypted sessions as a byproduct of authentication checking.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<Sect1 id="protocol-message-types">
<Title>Message Data Types</Title>
<Para>
This section describes the base data types used in messages.
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int<Replaceable>n</Replaceable>(<Replaceable>i</Replaceable>)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
An <Replaceable>n</Replaceable>-bit integer in network byte
order (most significant byte first).
If <Replaceable>i</Replaceable> is specified it
is the exact value that will appear, otherwise the value
is variable. Eg. Int16, Int32(42).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int<Replaceable>n</Replaceable>[<Replaceable>k</Replaceable>]
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
An array of <Replaceable>k</Replaceable>
<Replaceable>n</Replaceable>-bit integers, each in network
byte order. The array length <Replaceable>k</Replaceable>
is always determined by an earlier field in the message.
Eg. Int16[M].
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String(<Replaceable>s</Replaceable>)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
A null-terminated string (C-style string). There is no
specific length limitation on strings.
If <Replaceable>s</Replaceable> is specified it is the exact
value that will appear, otherwise the value is variable.
Eg. String, String("user").
</Para>
<Note>
<Para>
<Emphasis>There is no predefined limit</Emphasis> on the length of a string
that can be returned by the backend. Good coding strategy for a frontend
is to use an expandable buffer so that anything that fits in memory can be
accepted. If that's not feasible, read the full string and discard trailing
characters that don't fit into your fixed-size buffer.
</Para>
</Note>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte<Replaceable>n</Replaceable>(<Replaceable>c</Replaceable>)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Exactly <Replaceable>n</Replaceable> bytes. If the field
width <Replaceable>n</Replaceable> is not a constant, it is
always determinable from an earlier field in the message.
If <Replaceable>c</Replaceable> is specified it is the exact
value. Eg. Byte2, Byte1('\n').
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</sect1>
<Sect1 id="protocol-message-formats">
<Title>Message Formats</Title>
<Para>
This section describes the detailed format of each message. Each is marked to
indicate that it may be sent by a frontend (F), a backend (B), or both
(F & B).
Notice that although each message includes a byte count at the beginning,
the message format is defined so that the message end can be found without
reference to the byte count. This aids validity checking. (The CopyData
message is an exception, because it forms part of a data stream; the contents
of any individual CopyData message may not be interpretable on their own.)
</para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
AuthenticationOk (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('R')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as an authentication request.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(8)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(0)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies that the authentication was successful.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
AuthenticationKerberosV4 (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('R')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as an authentication request.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(8)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(1)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies that Kerberos V4 authentication is required.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
AuthenticationKerberosV5 (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('R')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as an authentication request.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(8)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(2)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies that Kerberos V5 authentication is required.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
AuthenticationCleartextPassword (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('R')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as an authentication request.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(8)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(3)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies that a cleartext password is required.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
AuthenticationCryptPassword (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('R')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as an authentication request.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(10)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies that a crypt()-encrypted password is required.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte2
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The salt to use when encrypting the password.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
AuthenticationMD5Password (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('R')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as an authentication request.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(12)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(5)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies that an MD5-encrypted password is required.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte4
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The salt to use when encrypting the password.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
AuthenticationSCMCredential (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('R')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as an authentication request.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(8)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(6)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies that an SCM credentials message is required.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
BackendKeyData (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('K')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as cancellation key data.
The frontend must save these values if it wishes to be
able to issue CancelRequest messages later.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(12)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The process ID of this backend.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The secret key of this backend.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Bind (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('B')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Bind command.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The name of the destination portal
(an empty string selects the unnamed portal).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The name of the source prepared statement
(an empty string selects the unnamed prepared statement).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The number of parameter format codes that follow
(denoted <replaceable>C</> below).
This can be zero to indicate that there are no parameters
or that the parameters all use the default format (text);
or one, in which case the specified format code is applied
to all parameters; or it can equal the actual number of
parameters.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16[<replaceable>C</>]
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The parameter format codes. Each must presently be
zero (text) or one (binary).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The number of parameter values that follow (possibly zero).
This must match the number of parameters needed by the query.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
Next, the following pair of fields appear for each parameter:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The length of the parameter value, in bytes (this count
does not include itself). Can be zero.
As a special case, -1 indicates a NULL parameter value.
No value bytes follow in the NULL case.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte<Replaceable>n</Replaceable>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The value of the parameter, in the format indicated by the
associated format code.
<Replaceable>n</Replaceable> is the above length.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
After the last parameter, the following fields appear:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The number of result-column format codes that follow
(denoted <replaceable>R</> below).
This can be zero to indicate that there are no result columns
or that the result columns should all use the default format
(text);
or one, in which case the specified format code is applied
to all result columns (if any); or it can equal the actual
number of result columns of the query.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16[<replaceable>R</>]
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The result-column format codes. Each must presently be
zero (text) or one (binary).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
BindComplete (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('2')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Bind-complete indicator.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
CancelRequest (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(16)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(80877102)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The cancel request code. The value is chosen to contain
<literal>1234</> in the most significant 16 bits, and <literal>5678</> in the
least 16 significant bits. (To avoid confusion, this code
must not be the same as any protocol version number.)
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The process ID of the target backend.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The secret key for the target backend.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Close (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('C')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Close command.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
'<literal>S</>' to close a prepared statement; or
'<literal>P</>' to close a portal.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The name of the prepared statement or portal to close
(an empty string selects the unnamed prepared statement
or portal).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
CloseComplete (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('3')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Close-complete indicator.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
CommandComplete (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('C')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a command-completed response.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The command tag. This is usually a single
word that identifies which SQL command was completed.
</Para>
<Para>
For an <command>INSERT</command> command, the tag is
<literal>INSERT <replaceable>oid</replaceable>
<replaceable>rows</replaceable></literal>, where
<replaceable>rows</replaceable> is the number of rows
inserted. <replaceable>oid</replaceable> is the object ID
of the inserted row if <Replaceable>rows</Replaceable> is 1
and the target table has OIDs;
otherwise <Replaceable>oid</Replaceable> is 0.
</Para>
<Para>
For a <command>DELETE</command> command, the tag is
<literal>DELETE <Replaceable>rows</Replaceable></literal> where
<Replaceable>rows</Replaceable> is the number of rows deleted.
</Para>
<Para>
For an <command>UPDATE</command> command, the tag is
<literal>UPDATE <Replaceable>rows</Replaceable></literal> where
<Replaceable>rows</Replaceable> is the number of rows updated.
</Para>
<para>
For a <command>MOVE</command> command, the tag is
<literal>MOVE <replaceable>rows</replaceable></literal> where
<replaceable>rows</replaceable> is the number of rows the
cursor's position has been changed by.
</para>
<para>
For a <command>FETCH</command> command, the tag is
<literal>FETCH <replaceable>rows</replaceable></literal> where
<replaceable>rows</replaceable> is the number of rows that
have been retrieved from the cursor.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
CopyData (F & B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('d')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as COPY data.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte<Replaceable>n</Replaceable>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Data that forms part of a COPY datastream. Messages sent
from the backend will always correspond to single data rows,
but messages sent by frontends may divide the datastream
arbitrarily.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
CopyDone (F & B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('c')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a COPY-complete indicator.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
CopyFail (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('f')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a COPY-failure indicator.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
An error message to report as the cause of failure.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
CopyInResponse (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('G')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Start Copy In response.
The frontend must now send copy-in data (if not
prepared to do so, send a CopyFail message).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int8
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
0 indicates the overall copy format is textual (rows
separated by newlines, columns separated by separator
characters, etc).
1 indicates the overall copy format is binary (similar
to DataRow format).
See <xref linkend="sql-copy" endterm="sql-copy-title">
for more information.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The number of columns in the data to be copied
(denoted <replaceable>N</> below).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16[<replaceable>N</>]
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The format codes to be used for each column.
Each must presently be zero (text) or one (binary).
All must be zero if the overall copy format is textual.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
CopyOutResponse (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('H')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Start Copy Out response.
This message will be followed by copy-out data.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int8
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
0 indicates the overall copy format is textual (rows
separated by newlines, columns separated by separator
characters, etc).
1 indicates the overall copy format is binary (similar
to DataRow format).
See <xref linkend="sql-copy" endterm="sql-copy-title">
for more information.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The number of columns in the data to be copied
(denoted <replaceable>N</> below).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16[<replaceable>N</>]
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The format codes to be used for each column.
Each must presently be zero (text) or one (binary).
All must be zero if the overall copy format is textual.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
DataRow (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('D')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a data row.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The number of column values that follow (possibly zero).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
Next, the following pair of fields appear for each column:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The length of the column value, in bytes (this count
does not include itself). Can be zero.
As a special case, -1 indicates a NULL column value.
No value bytes follow in the NULL case.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte<Replaceable>n</Replaceable>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The value of the column, in the format indicated by the
associated format code.
<Replaceable>n</Replaceable> is the above length.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Describe (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('D')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Describe command.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
'<literal>S</>' to describe a prepared statement; or
'<literal>P</>' to describe a portal.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The name of the prepared statement or portal to describe
(an empty string selects the unnamed prepared statement
or portal).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
EmptyQueryResponse (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('I')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a response to an empty query string.
(This substitutes for CommandComplete.)
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
ErrorResponse (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('E')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as an error.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
The message body consists of one or more identified fields,
followed by a zero byte as a terminator. Fields may appear in
any order. For each field there is the following:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
A code identifying the field type; if zero, this is
the message terminator and no string follows.
The presently defined field types are listed in
<xref linkend="protocol-error-fields">.
Since more field types may be added in future,
frontends should silently ignore fields of unrecognized
type.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The field value.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Execute (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('E')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as an Execute command.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The name of the portal to execute
(an empty string selects the unnamed portal).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Maximum number of rows to return, if portal contains
a query that returns rows (ignored otherwise). Zero
denotes <quote>no limit</>.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Flush (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('H')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Flush command.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
FunctionCall (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('F')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a function call.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies the object ID of the function to call.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The number of argument format codes that follow
(denoted <replaceable>C</> below).
This can be zero to indicate that there are no arguments
or that the arguments all use the default format (text);
or one, in which case the specified format code is applied
to all arguments; or it can equal the actual number of
arguments.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16[<replaceable>C</>]
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The argument format codes. Each must presently be
zero (text) or one (binary).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies the number of arguments being supplied to the
function.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
Next, the following pair of fields appear for each argument:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The length of the argument value, in bytes (this count
does not include itself). Can be zero.
As a special case, -1 indicates a NULL argument value.
No value bytes follow in the NULL case.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte<Replaceable>n</Replaceable>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The value of the argument, in the format indicated by the
associated format code.
<Replaceable>n</Replaceable> is the above length.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
After the last argument, the following field appears:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The format code for the function result. Must presently be
zero (text) or one (binary).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
FunctionCallResponse (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('V')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a function call result.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The length of the function result value, in bytes (this count
does not include itself). Can be zero.
As a special case, -1 indicates a NULL function result.
No value bytes follow in the NULL case.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte<Replaceable>n</Replaceable>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The value of the function result, in the format indicated by
the associated format code.
<Replaceable>n</Replaceable> is the above length.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
NoData (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('n')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a no-data indicator.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
NoticeResponse (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('N')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a notice.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
The message body consists of one or more identified fields,
followed by a zero byte as a terminator. Fields may appear in
any order. For each field there is the following:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
A code identifying the field type; if zero, this is
the message terminator and no string follows.
The presently defined field types are listed in
<xref linkend="protocol-error-fields">.
Since more field types may be added in future,
frontends should silently ignore fields of unrecognized
type.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The field value.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
NotificationResponse (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('A')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a notification response.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The process ID of the notifying backend process.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The name of the condition that the notify has been raised on.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Additional information passed from the notifying process.
(Currently, this feature is unimplemented so the field
is always an empty string.)
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
ParameterDescription (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('t')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a parameter description.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The number of parameters used by the statement
(may be zero).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
Then, for each parameter, there is the following:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies the object ID of the parameter datatype.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
ParameterStatus (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('S')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a run-time parameter status report.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The name of the run-time parameter being reported.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The current value of the parameter.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Parse (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('P')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Parse command.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The name of the destination prepared statement
(an empty string selects the unnamed prepared statement).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The query string to be parsed.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The number of parameter datatypes specified
(may be zero). Note that this is not an indication of
the number of parameters that might appear in the
query string, only the number that the frontend wants to
prespecify types for.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
Then, for each parameter, there is the following:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies the object ID of the parameter datatype.
Placing a zero here is equivalent to leaving the type
unspecified.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
ParseComplete (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('1')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Parse-complete indicator.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
PasswordMessage (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('p')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a password response.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The password (encrypted, if requested).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
PortalSuspended (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('s')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a portal-suspended indicator.
Note this only appears if an Execute message's row-count limit
was reached.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Query (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('Q')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a simple query.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The query string itself.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
ReadyForQuery (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('Z')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message type. ReadyForQuery is sent
whenever the backend is ready for a new query cycle.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(5)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Current backend transaction status indicator.
Possible values are '<literal>I</>' if idle (not in
a transaction block); '<literal>T</>' if in a transaction
block; or '<literal>E</>' if in a failed transaction
block (queries will be rejected until block is ended).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
RowDescription (B)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('T')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a row description.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Specifies the number of fields in a row (may be zero).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
Then, for each field, there is the following:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The field name.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
If the field can be identified as a column of a specific
table, the object ID of the table; otherwise zero.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
If the field can be identified as a column of a specific
table, the attribute number of the column; otherwise zero.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The object ID of the field's datatype.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The datatype size (see <varname>pg_type.typlen</>).
Note that negative values denote variable-width types.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The type modifier (see <varname>pg_attribute.atttypmod</>).
The meaning of the modifier is type-specific.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int16
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The format code being used for the field. Currently will
be zero (text) or one (binary). In a RowDescription
returned from the statement variant of Describe, the
format code is not yet known and will always be zero.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
SSLRequest (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(8)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(80877103)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The SSL request code. The value is chosen to contain
<literal>1234</> in the most significant 16 bits, and <literal>5679</> in the
least 16 significant bits. (To avoid confusion, this code
must not be the same as any protocol version number.)
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
StartupMessage (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(196608)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The protocol version number. The most significant 16 bits are
the major version number (3 for the protocol described here).
The least significant 16 bits are the minor version number
(0 for the protocol described here).
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
The protocol version number is followed by one or more pairs of
parameter name and value strings. A zero byte is required as a
terminator after the last name/value pair.
Parameters can appear in any
order. <literal>user</> is required, others are optional.
Each parameter is specified as:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The parameter name. Currently recognized names are:
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>user</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The database user name to connect as. Required;
there is no default.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>database</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The database to connect to. Defaults to the user name.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>options</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Command-line arguments for the backend. (This is
deprecated in favor of setting individual run-time
parameters.)
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
In addition to the above, any run-time parameter that can be
set at backend start time may be listed. Such settings
will be applied during backend start (after parsing the
command-line options if any). The values will act as
session defaults.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
String
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
The parameter value.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Sync (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('S')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a Sync command.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Terminate (F)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Byte1('X')
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Identifies the message as a termination.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
Int32(4)
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Length of message contents in bytes, including self.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
</sect1>
<Sect1 id="protocol-error-fields">
<Title>Error and Notice Message Fields</Title>
<para>
This section describes the fields that may appear in ErrorResponse and
NoticeResponse messages. Each field type has a single-byte identification
token. Note that any given field type should appear at most once per
message.
</para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>S</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Severity: the field contents are
<literal>ERROR</>, <literal>FATAL</>, or
<literal>PANIC</> (in an error message), or
<literal>WARNING</>, <literal>NOTICE</>, <literal>DEBUG</>,
<literal>INFO</>, or <literal>LOG</> (in a notice message),
or a localized translation of one of these. Always present.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>C</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Code: the SQLSTATE code for the error (a 5-character
string following SQL spec conventions). Not localizable.
Always present.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>M</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Message: the primary human-readable error message.
This should be accurate but terse (typically one line).
Always present.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>D</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Detail: an optional secondary error message carrying more
detail about the problem. May run to multiple lines.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>H</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Hint: an optional suggestion what to do about the problem.
This is intended to differ from Detail in that it offers advice
(potentially inappropriate) rather than hard facts.
May run to multiple lines.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>P</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Position: the field value is a decimal ASCII integer, indicating
an error cursor position as an index into the original query string.
The first character has index 1, and positions are measured in
characters not bytes.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>W</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Where: an indication of the context in which the error occurred.
Presently this includes a call stack traceback of active PL functions.
The trace is one entry per line, most recent first.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>F</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
File: the file name of the source-code location where the error
was reported.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>L</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Line: the line number of the source-code location where the error
was reported.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>
<literal>R</>
</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>
Routine: the name of the source-code routine reporting the error.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
<para>
The client is responsible for formatting displayed information to meet its
needs; in particular it should break long lines as needed. Newline characters
appearing in the error message fields should be treated as paragraph breaks,
not line breaks.
</para>
</sect1>
<Sect1 id="protocol-changes">
<Title>Summary of Changes since Protocol 2.0</Title>
<para>
This section provides a quick checklist of changes, for the benefit of
developers trying to update existing client libraries to protocol 3.0.
</para>
<para>
The initial startup packet uses a flexible list-of-strings format
instead of a fixed format. Notice that session default values for run-time
parameters can now be specified directly in the startup packet. (Actually,
you could do that before using the <literal>options</> field, but given the
limited width of <literal>options</> and the lack of any way to quote
whitespace in the values, it wasn't a very safe technique.)
</para>
<para>
All messages now have a length count immediately following the message type
byte (except for startup packets, which have no type byte). Also note that
PasswordMessage now has a type byte.
</para>
<para>
ErrorResponse and NoticeResponse ('<literal>E</>' and '<literal>N</>')
messages now contain multiple fields, from which the client code may
assemble an error message of the desired level of verbosity. Note that
individual fields will typically not end with a newline, whereas the single
string sent in the older protocol always did.
</para>
<para>
The ReadyForQuery ('<literal>Z</>') message includes a transaction status
indicator.
</para>
<para>
The distinction between BinaryRow and DataRow message types is gone; the
single DataRow message type serves for returning data in all formats.
Note that the layout of DataRow has changed to make it easier to parse.
Also, the representation of binary values has changed: it is no longer
directly tied to the server's internal representation.
</para>
<para>
There is a new <quote>extended query</> sub-protocol, which adds the frontend
message types Parse, Bind, Execute, Describe, Close, Flush, and Sync, and the
backend message types ParseComplete, BindComplete, PortalSuspended,
ParameterDescription, NoData, and CloseComplete. Existing clients do not
have to concern themselves with this sub-protocol, but making use of it
may allow improvements in performance or functionality.
</para>
<para>
COPY data is now encapsulated into CopyData and CopyDone messages. There
is a well-defined way to recover from errors during COPY. The special
<quote><literal>\.</></quote> last line is not needed anymore, and is not sent
during COPY OUT.
(It is still recognized as a terminator during COPY IN, but its use is
deprecated and will eventually be removed.) Binary COPY is supported.
The CopyInResponse and CopyOutResponse messages include fields indicating
the number of columns and the format of each column.
</para>
<para>
The layout of FunctionCall and FunctionCallResponse messages has changed.
FunctionCall can now support passing NULL arguments to functions. It also
can handle passing parameters and retrieving results in either text or
binary format. There is no longer any reason to consider FunctionCall a
potential security hole, since it does not offer direct access to internal
server data representations.
</para>
<para>
The backend sends ParameterStatus ('<literal>S</>') messages during connection
startup for all parameters it considers interesting to the client library.
Subsequently, a ParameterStatus message is sent whenever the active value
changes for any of these parameters.
</para>
<para>
The RowDescription ('<literal>T</>') message carries new table OID and column
number fields for each column of the described row. It also shows the format
code for each column.
</para>
<para>
The CursorResponse ('<literal>P</>') message is no longer generated by
the backend.
</para>
<para>
The NotificationResponse ('<literal>A</>') message has an additional string
field, which is presently empty but may someday carry additional data passed
from the NOTIFY event sender.
</para>
<para>
The EmptyQueryResponse ('<literal>I</>') message used to include an empty
string parameter; this has been removed.
</para>
</sect1>
</Chapter>