PostgreSQL: a valid variable assignation sample?

Question

After reading this question, I'm trying to convert some SQL from MySQL to PostgreSQL. Thus I need variable assignation:

INSERT INTO main_categorie (description) VALUES ('Verbe normal');
SET @PRONOMINAL := SELECT LAST_INSERT_ID();

INSERT INTO main_mot (txt,im,date_c,date_v_d,date_l)
VALUES ('je m''abaisse',1,NOW(),NOW(),NOW());
SET @verbe_149 = SELECT LAST_INSERT_ID();

INSERT INTO main_motcategorie (mot_id,categorie_id) VALUES (@verbe_149,@PRONOMINAL);

How would you do this with PostgreSQL? No useful sample in the documentation of v9 and v8 (almost the same). NB: I dont want to use a stored procedure like here, I just want "raw sql" so I can inject it through CLI interface.

Answer 1

There are no variables in Postgres SQL (you can use variables only in procedural languages).

Use RETURNING in WITH query:

WITH insert_cat AS (
    INSERT INTO main_categorie (description)
    VALUES ('Verbe normal')
    RETURNING id
),
insert_mot AS (
    INSERT INTO main_mot (txt,im,date_c,date_v_d,date_l)
    VALUES ('je m''abaisse',1,NOW(),NOW(),NOW())
    RETURNING id
)
INSERT INTO main_motcategorie (mot_id,categorie_id) 
SELECT m.id, c.id
FROM insert_mot m, insert_cat c;

---

As an alternative, you can use custom configuration parameters in the way described in this post.

Create two functions:

create or replace function set_var (name text, value text)
returns void language plpgsql as $$
begin
    execute format('set mysql.%s to %s', name, value);
end $$;

create or replace function get_var (name text)
returns text language plpgsql as $$
declare
    rslt text;
begin
    execute format('select current_setting(''mysql.%s'')', name) into rslt;
    return rslt;
end $$;

With the functions you can simulate variables, like in the example:

INSERT INTO main_categorie (description)
VALUES ('Verbe normal');

SELECT set_var('PRONOMINAL', (SELECT currval('main_categorie_id_seq')::text));

INSERT INTO main_mot (txt,im,date_c,date_v_d,date_l)
VALUES ('je m''abaisse',1,NOW(),NOW(),NOW());

SELECT set_var('verbe_149', (SELECT currval('main_mot_id_seq')::text));

INSERT INTO main_motcategorie (mot_id,categorie_id) 
SELECT get_var('verbe_149')::int, get_var('PRONOMINAL')::int;

This is certainly not an example of good code. Particularly the necessity of casting is troublesome. However, the conversion can be done semi-automatically.