SPI_CURSOR_PARSE_OPEN(3pg16)

💅 SPI_CURSOR_PARSE_OPEN(3pg16) — PostgreSQL 16.15 docs, bestie 💅

Okay so welcome to the SPI_CURSOR_PARSE_OPEN(3pg16) page from the PostgreSQL 16.15 documentation. It’s giving “set up a cursor with a query string and params,” and honestly? Iconic. 💖

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🌸 NAME 🌸

SPI_cursor_parse_open — set up a cursor using a query string and parameters. That’s the whole vibe. ✨

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

Portal SPI_cursor_parse_open(const char *name,
                             const char *command,
                             const SPIParseOpenOptions * options)

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

So SPI_cursor_parse_open sets up a cursor (internally, a portal, iykyk) that will execute the specified query string. 🌀

It’s comparable to SPI_prepare_cursor followed by SPI_cursor_open_with_paramlist, except that parameter references within the query string are handled entirely by supplying a ParamListInfo object. No cap. 💅

For one-time query execution, this function should be preferred over SPI_prepare_cursor followed by SPI_cursor_open_with_paramlist. But if the same command is to be executed with many different parameters, either method might be faster, depending on the cost of re-planning versus the benefit of custom plans. It’s giving “it depends,” fr fr. 🦋

The options->params object should normally mark each parameter with the PARAM_FLAG_CONST flag, since a one-shot plan is always used for the query. ⭐

The passed-in parameter data will be copied into the cursor’s portal, so it can be freed while the cursor still exists. That part is lowkey reassuring. 🫶

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• const char * name — name for portal, or NULL to let the system select a name. Let the system pick? Main character energy, honestly. 👑
• const char * command — command string. The actual query vibe. ✨
• const SPIParseOpenOptions * options — struct containing optional arguments. Cute little options bag. 🎀

Callers should always zero out the entire options struct, then fill whichever fields they want to set. This ensures forward compatibility of code, since any fields that are added to the struct in future will be defined to behave backwards-compatibly if they are zero. 🫡

Bestie, zero out the whole struct first. Future fields are literally relying on that zeroed-out energy. 💀

🌈 currently available options fields 🌈

• ParamListInfo params — data structure containing query parameter types and values; NULL if none. 💜
• int cursorOptions — integer bit mask of cursor options; zero produces default behavior. Slay, defaults. ✨
• bool read_only — true for read-only execution. 🔥

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🦋 RETURN VALUE 🦋

Pointer to portal containing the cursor. 💫

Note there is no error return convention; any error will be reported via elog. So yeah, it’s not doing a cute little error-code return — it’s going straight to elog. Periodt. 😭

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Signing off with PostgreSQL 16.15, dated 2026, and the page tag SPI_CURSOR_PARSE_OPEN(3) — mwah! 💋🎀