CALL(7)

💅 CALL(7) — like, the manual page for CALL, bestie

okay so this is PostgreSQL 13.23 documentation, section 7, and today's main character is CALL. she's the one who actually runs your procedures, and honestly? iconic.

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✨ NAME ✨

CALL — invoke a procedure 🎀

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

CALL name ( [ argument ] [, ...] )

that's it. that's the whole vibe. periodt. 💅

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so CALL executes a procedure. that's literally her job, no cap.

and here's the cute part: if the procedure has any output parameters, then a result row will be returned, containing the values of those parameters. so you don't just get the side effects, you get the receipts too 🧾✨

✨ PARAMETERS ✨

• name — the name of the procedure, and yes she can be optionally schema-qualified 🦋
• argument — an input argument for the procedure call. See Section 4.3 for the full details on function and procedure call syntax, including use of named parameters. iykyk — go read that one, it's giving essential lore 🌸

✨ NOTES ✨

okay, listen up, because there are rules 👑

• the user must have EXECUTE privilege on the procedure in order to be allowed to invoke it. no privilege, no entry. it's giving velvet rope 🚫💅
• to call a function (not a procedure), use SELECT instead. different girl, different door. don't mix them up bestie 🙈
• if CALL is executed in a transaction block, then the called procedure cannot execute transaction control statements. transaction control statements are only allowed if CALL is executed in its own transaction. that's a real constraint, fr fr — plan around it 😭
• PL/pgSQL handles output parameters in CALL commands differently; see Section 42.6.3. so like, don't assume the generic behaviour carries over, check that section 🫶

✨ EXAMPLES ✨

CALL do_db_maintenance();

clean. simple. she ate and left no crumbs 🔥

✨ COMPATIBILITY ✨

CALL conforms to the SQL standard. genuine queen behaviour, standard-approved 💜⭐

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

• CREATE PROCEDURE (CREATE_PROCEDURE(7)) — you gotta make her before you can call her, obviously 🌈

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and that's the whole page, bestie! shoutout to PostgreSQL 13.23, dated 2025 — this manual page said see you next time, mwah 💋🎀🦋