Writing

C Functions and
C User Defined Types
on Windows
Using Visual Studio (C++)
By Tim Child
November 2010
 Biography

• Tim Child
• 35 years experience in software development
• Formerly
– VP Oracle Corporation
– VP BEA Systems Inc.
– VP Informix
• 30 + years experience in 3D, CAD, GIS and
DBMS
Learn Teach Learn
Lecture 5%

Read 10%

Audio Visual 20%

Demonstration 30%

Discuss in Groups 50%

Practice By Doing 75%

Teach Others – Use of Learning 90%

Source: National Training Institute

 Outline
• Outline
• Course Topics
• UDF’s, UDT’s & UDA
• Programming Environment
• Worked Examples
• Artifacts
• Creating VS2010 Projects
• Setting Include Files & Directories
• Exporting C Functions
• Specifying Pre-Processor Macros
• Setting Compiler Command Lines
• Setting Linker Command Lines and Libraries
• Creating and Loading Functions
• Testing C Functions
• Debugging C Functions
• Building C Functions on the Windows x64 Platform
• Useful Resources and Other Tools
• Wish list
• Q&A
 Course Topics
• Topics
– C Programming
– SQL
– PostgreSQL Functions
– Visual Studio
– Windows
– Windows Debugging
 PostgreSQL
UDF’s, UDT’s & UDA’s
• User Defined Functions
– C Functions executing in server
• User Defined Types
– SQL Base types implemented in C
• User Defined Aggregates
– SQL Aggregate implemented in C
 PostgreSQL
UDT’s & UDA’s Components
UDT UDA
Comprises Comprises
• Input Function • Accumulation Function
– Convert Text to Binary – Processes each tuple
• Output Function • Output Function
– Convert Binary to Text – Delivers result
• Optional Functions
 PostgreSQL Server
Coding Paradigms
#include “postgres.h” Header Files
PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1 ( Myfunc );
Function Declaration
DLLEXPORT Datum Myfunc (PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
{
PG_GETARG_xxx( N ); Parameter Passing
…

mytype = (struct mytype*) palloc(sizeof(struct mytype));

Storage Allocation
…
if ( …)
elog(ERROR, “ Message “);
Error Handling
…
Returning Results
PG_RETURN_xxx( … )
}
 Programming Environment
• Windows 7 Laptop
• VS 2010 Ultimate
– VS2010 Express will work
• PostgreSQL 9.0 RC1 (x32)
• PostgreSQL 9.0 RC1 (x64)
• Windows 7 Platform SDK
 Worked Examples
• Basic C Function
• C User Defined Type
• User Defined Aggregate
• Array returning functions
 Artifacts
• .h file
structs, constants, prototypes, …
• .c file
C function code
• SQL file to “install” the functions & types
Tip: use extension pgsql not sql
• SQL file to “uninstall” the functions & types

• SQL file to test the function

 Creating
Visual Studio Projects
• Choice of 2 types of Project
• Makefile
or
• Win32 DLL
– No precompiled headers
– Empty project
 VS2010
Project Settings
Setting Include Files
and Directories
 Exporting C Functions
Entry Points
3 Ways to Export a DLL Entry Point

• declspec(dllexport)
• .def file
• Linker Command

#if defined( _WIN32)

#define DLLEXPORT __declspec(dllexport)
#else
#define DLLEXPORT
#endif
 Specifying
Pre-Processor Macros
• Useful #defines that will help speed the compiler

#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
#define NOCOMM

#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
#define NOCOMM

API header files.

NOapi
 Setting Compiler
Command Line Options

cl.exe /TC /LD /showIncludes file.c

/TC Specifies that the source files are to be compiled a C files

/LD Create a DLL.
/showIncludes Lists the include files. Very useful for debugging include directories issues.
Setting Linker
Libraries
 Additional
Dependencies
 Compiling
Messages
• Safe to Ignore these messages
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(86): warning C4005: 'EIDRM' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(103) : see previous definition of 'EIDRM'
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(247): warning C4005: 'EMSGSIZE' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(107) : see previous definition of 'EMSGSIZE'
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(248): warning C4005: 'EAFNOSUPPORT' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(94) : see previous definition of 'EAFNOSUPPORT'
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(249): warning C4005: 'EWOULDBLOCK' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(132) : see previous definition of 'EWOULDBLOCK'
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(250): warning C4005: 'ECONNRESET' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(100) : see previous definition of 'ECONNRESET'
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(251): warning C4005: 'EINPROGRESS' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(104) : see previous definition of 'EINPROGRESS'
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(252): warning C4005: 'ENOBUFS' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(111) : see previous definition of 'ENOBUFS'
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(253): warning C4005: 'EPROTONOSUPPORT' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(127) : see previous definition of 'EPROTONOSUPPORT'
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(254): warning C4005: 'ECONNREFUSED' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(99) : see previous definition of 'ECONNREFUSED'
1>c:\program files (x86)\postgresql\9.0\include\server\pg_config_os.h(256): warning C4005: 'EOPNOTSUPP' : macro redefinition
1> c:\program files (x86)\microsoft visual studio 10.0\vc\include\errno.h(122) : see previous definition of 'EOPNOTSUPP'
1> Generating Code...
 Creating and
Loading Functions
• Windows uses back slashes \ for the delimiter in paths between folders.
• To use Windows style paths
• Single backslash (\) replaced with a double (\\)

E’ C:\\Program Files (x86)\\PostgreSQL\\8.4\\lib\testfunc.dll’

• Setting up the $libdir variable, allows PostgreSQL to find the DLL's to load

libdir=C:\Program Files (x86)\PostgreSQL\8.4\lib

CREATE or replace FUNCTION add_one(integer) RETURNS integer

AS '$libdir/testfunc1.dll', 'add_one'
LANGUAGE C STRICT;
 Testing C Functions
• Use pgAdmin III to Load and Execute the Function

• Testing frameworks like pgunit or pgtap

 Debugging C Functions
• Copy DLL & PDB file to Lib Directory
• Define the function to PostgreSQL
– Using Create Function
• Find the backend Process Id
– Select pg_backend_pid();
• Set Breakpoint in VC++
– Check All Processes and All Users
– Check Allow source code to be different
• Attach the debugger to the Process
– Need to restart VS as admin
• Execute the function from pgAdmin III
 Building C Functions
on the
Windows x64 Platform
• Set VS Configuration Manager Platform

• Build, Copy Debug, Test as before

• Harder to find x64 third party Libraries
 Useful Resources
and Other Tools
• Use Anywhere PE to display DLL Contents

http://www.ucware.com/apev/index.htm
 Information Resources
• Contrib Directories
– Many examples of C Functions
• pGFoundry
– More examples of C Functions
• PostgreSQL Doxygen
– Very useful for reverse engineering
 VS Tool Box
Drag and Drop Code Snippets
 Wish List
Here is a list of things in no particular priority that would help the development of
PostgreSQL C Functions on Windows.

• A quicker way to unload DLL’s so they can be copied without re-starting the server.

• Visual Studio Template Project for building C Function DLL’s

• A Visual Studio PostgreSQL syntax checker. Intelli-sense provides great value but
wants to syntax check SQL files against SQL Server syntax.

• A Visual Studio Add-in to execute SQL queries directly from the VS Tool.

• Most radically, implement functions in the CLR language.

???
….

Q&A