SPI_GETBINVAL(3)

✨ NAME ✨

okay so this is the SPI_GETBINVAL(3) manual page, bestie, and the function is SPI_getbinval — it returns the binary value of the specified column. iconic behavior, honestly 💅

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

Datum SPI_getbinval(HeapTuple row, TupleDesc rowdesc, int colnumber,
                    bool * isnull)

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

SPI_getbinval returns the value of the specified column in the internal form (as type Datum). yes queen, internal form 💖

This function does not allocate new space for the datum. In the case of a pass-by-reference data type, the return value will be a pointer into the passed row. no cap, that detail matters 🫶

🌸 important vibe check: no new space gets allocated for the datum, and for pass-by-reference data types you're getting a pointer into the row you passed in.

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💜 ARGUMENTS 💜

• HeapTuple row — the input row to be examined, aka the row we're looking at 👀
• TupleDesc rowdesc — the input row description, the little map of what's in the row 🗺️
• int colnumber — the column number, and bestie the count starts at 1, not 0 🚨
• bool * isnull — flag for a null value in the column, so we know if it's giving null energy 💀

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🌈 RETURN VALUE 🌈

The binary value of the column is returned. the variable pointed to by isnull is set to true if the column is null, else to false. periodt ✨

SPI_result is set to SPI_ERROR_NOATTRIBUTE on error. so if it errors, that's the flag you'll see 👑

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made with 💖 from the PostgreSQL 16.15 docs, dated 2026 — byeee bestie, slay your C code 🎀🦋