Describe SELECT v.s. describe table in PostgreSQL

Question

\d does not seem to work except for a table in PostgreSQL.

I want to be able to retrieve the equivalent of \d <table>, but for a SELECT query.

For example, I would like to say:

\d (SELECT statement) AS table2

where the SELECT statement might contain JOINs and so on

just like in TimesTen:

desc  (SELECT .. FROM ... WHERE ...)

gives column info like name, type, and length

I can use \pset footer on or --expanded but it doesn't give data type and length.

This is not possible in psql. Some GUI clients offer this though — user330315
– user330315, Commented Nov 10, 2014 at 15:22

Clodoaldo Neto · Accepted Answer · 2014-11-10 23:00:16Z

2

Do you mind doing it inside a transaction?

begin;
create table x as select * from t with no data;
\d x
                 Table "public.x"
 Column |            Type             | Modifiers 
--------+-----------------------------+-----------
 t      | timestamp without time zone | 

rollback;

edited Nov 10, 2014 at 23:00

answered Nov 10, 2014 at 20:16

Clodoaldo Neto

127k30 gold badges250 silver badges274 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Describe SELECT v.s. describe table in PostgreSQL

1 Answer 1

Comments

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

Comments

Related