PostgreSQL Reader Parameters

About Database Connections

Database formats include a Database Connection parameter that defines and stores authentication information. For general information about sharing database connections, please see Using Database Connections. Using Database Connections.

Note that Database Connection parameters differ slightly, depending on context and/or database format.

Connection

From the Connection parameter in a database format, you can do one of the following:

  • Select an existing, previously defined connection. See the section Reusing a Database Connection in Using Database Connections
  • Select Add Database Connection to define a new connection. See database-specific parameters below, as well as the section Adding a Database Connection in a Workspace in Using Database Connections. The new connection can be made visible only to the current user, or can be shared among multiple users.

Database Connection

Select an existing PostgreSQL database connection, or Add Database Connection...

Add PostgreSQL Database Connection

To define a new connection from the Connection parameter in a PostgreSQL format, see the topic PostgreSQL: Add Database Connection.

Schemas for Tables

Schemas are used to organize tables. This parameter provides the list of viewable schemas.

If this parameter is left blank, the Tables dialog will only show choices from the search path for the current user. Selecting specific schemas here will cause tables from those schemas to be shown instead.

This parameter also specifies the schemas to fetch candidate tables when merging feature types. If it is not set, candidate tables are fetched based on the search path for the current user.

Constraints

After you have specified the database connection, click the Browse button (...) to select tables for import. A connection window appears while the system retrieves the tables from the database.

Once the Select Tables dialog appears, you can select one or more tables. Click OK to dismiss the window and add the selected table name(s) to the Tables parameter.

Note   If the list in the PostgreSQL Reader Parameters box does not display your table, try typing the name with the schema prefix (for example, public.mytable). If this works, then your search path for schemas may not be set to the desired values.

This parameter is used to constrain the row selection in tables chosen in the Tables parameter.

The easiest method to construct a WHERE clause is by using the editor. Click the browse button (...) to open the editor, and use the SQL functions to construct the clause. You can also type a WHERE clause directly in the parameter field:

Examples

When querying integer and number data types:

NUMLANES = 2

LENGTH > 2000

When querying string/varchar data, add single quotes around the value:

STATE = 'OHIO'

If the WHERE clause SQL is invalid, the translation will fail.

Additional Attributes to Expose

Use this parameter to expose Format Attributes in FME Workbench when you create a workspace:

  • In a dynamic scenario, it means these attributes can be passed to the output dataset at runtime.
  • In a non-dynamic scenario, this parameter allows you to expose additional attributes on multiple feature types. Click the browse button to view the available format attributes (which are different for each format) for the reader.
 

Advanced

The number of rows that are retrieved at one time into local memory from the data source. For example, if the value is set to 10000, the reader reads 10,000 rows into local memory, and processes features from this memory buffer. After the reading the last row, the reader retrieves the next 10,000 rows from the data source.

Note  If this parameter is incorrectly set, it will cause significantly degraded performance. The optimum value depends primarily on the characteristics of individual records and the transport between the database and the client machine. It is less affected by the quantity of rows that are to be retrieved. The optimal value is the default value set for the format, and these values vary widely (for example, 1 for PostGIS Raster; 10 for Microsoft SQL Server; 10000 for PostGIS and Redshift).

This parameter allows for the execution of SQL statements before opening a table for reading. For example, it may be necessary to create a temporary view before attempting to read from it.

For detailed information about SQL functions, click the corresponding menu item in the SQL to Run editor helpClosed.

Available menu options depend on the format.

Multiple SQL commands can be delimited by a character specified using the FME_SQL_DELIMITER directive, embedded at the beginning of the SQL block. The single character following this directive will be used to split the SQL block into SQL statements, which will then be sent to the database for execution. Note: Include a space before the character.

For example:

FME_SQL_DELIMITER ;
DELETE FROM instructors ;
DELETE FROM people
WHERE LastName='Doe' AND FirstName='John'

Multiple delimiters are not allowed and the delimiter character will be stripped before being sent to the database.

Any errors occurring during the execution of these SQL statements will normally terminate the reader or writer (depending on where the SQL statement is executed) with an error. If the specified statement is preceded by a hyphen (“-”), such errors are ignored.

This parameter allows for the execution of SQL statements after a set of tables has been read. For example, it may be necessary to clean up a temporary view after creating it.

For detailed information about SQL functions, click the corresponding menu item in the SQL to Run editor helpClosed.

Available menu options depend on the format.

Multiple SQL commands can be delimited by a character specified using the FME_SQL_DELIMITER directive, embedded at the beginning of the SQL block. The single character following this directive will be used to split the SQL block into SQL statements, which will then be sent to the database for execution. Note: Include a space before the character.

For example:

FME_SQL_DELIMITER ;
DELETE FROM instructors ;
DELETE FROM people
WHERE LastName='Doe' AND FirstName='John'

Multiple delimiters are not allowed and the delimiter character will be stripped before being sent to the database.

Any errors occurring during the execution of these SQL statements will normally terminate the reader or writer (depending on where the SQL statement is executed) with an error. If the specified statement is preceded by a hyphen (“-”), such errors are ignored.