PostgreSQL: Get values of a register as multiple rows - sql

Question

Using PostgreSQL 9.3, I'm creating a Jasper reports template to make a pdf report. I want to create reports of different tables, with multiple columns, all with the same template. A solution could be to get values of register as pairs of column name and value per id.
By example, if I had a table like:
id | Column1 | Column2 | Column3
-------------------------------------------------
1 | Register1C1 | Register1C2 | Register1C3
I would like to get the register as:
Id | ColumnName | Value
-----------------------------
1 | Column1 | Register1C1
1 | Column2 | Register1C2
1 | Column3 | Register1C3
The data type of value columns can vary!
Is it possible? How can I do this?

Answer 1

If all your columns share the same data type and order of rows does not have to be enforced:
SELECT t.id, v.*
FROM tbl t, LATERAL (
VALUES
('col1', col1)
, ('col2', col2)
, ('col3', col3)
-- etc.
) v(col, val);
About LATERAL (requires Postgres 9.3 or later):
What is the difference between LATERAL and a subquery in PostgreSQL?
Combining it with a VALUES expression:
Crosstab transpose query request
SELECT DISTINCT on multiple columns
For varying data types, the common denominator would be text, since every type can be cast to text. Plus, order enforced:
SELECT t.id, v.col, v.val
FROM tbl t, LATERAL (
VALUES
(1, 'col1', col1::text)
, (2, 'col2', col2::text)
, (3, 'col3', col3::text)
-- etc.
) v(rank, col, val)
ORDER BY t.id, v.rank;
In Postgres 9.4 or later use the new unnest() for multiple arrays:
SELECT t.id, v.*
FROM tbl t, unnest('{col1,col2,col3}'::text[]
, ARRAY[col1,col2,col3]) v(col, val);
-- , ARRAY[col1::text,col2::text,col3::text]) v(col, val);
The commented alternative for varying data types.
Full automation for Postgres 9.4:
The query above is convenient to automate for a dynamic set of columns:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION f_transpose (_tbl regclass, VARIADIC _cols text[])
RETURNS TABLE (id int, col text, val text) AS
$func$
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY EXECUTE format(
'SELECT t.id, v.* FROM %s t, unnest($1, ARRAY[%s]) v'
, _tbl, array_to_string(_cols, '::text,') || '::text'))
-- , _tbl, array_to_string(_cols, ','))) -- simple alternative for only text
USING _cols;
END
$func$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
Call - with table name and any number of column names, any data types:
SELECT * FROM f_transpose('table_name', 'column1', 'column2', 'column3');
Weakness: the list of column names is not safe against SQL injection. You could gather column names from pg_attribute instead. Example:
How to perform the same aggregation on every column, without listing the columns?

Answer 2

SELECT id
,unnest(string_to_array('col1,col2,col3', ',')) col_name
,unnest(string_to_array(col1 || ',' || col2 || ',' || col3, ',')) val
FROM t
Try following method:
My sample table name is t,to get the n columns name you can use this query
select string_agg(column_name,',') cols from information_schema.columns where
table_name='t' and column_name<>'id'
this query will selects all columns in your table except id column.If you want to specify schema name then use table_schema='your_schema_name' in where clause
To create select query dynamically
SELECT 'select id,unnest(string_to_array(''' || cols || ''','','')) col_name,unnest(string_to_array(' || cols1 || ','','')) val from t'
FROM (
SELECT string_agg(column_name, ',') cols -- here we'll get all the columns in table t
,string_agg(column_name, '||'',''||') cols1
FROM information_schema.columns
WHERE table_name = 't'
AND column_name <> 'id'
) tb;
And using following plpgsql function dynamically creates SELECT id,unnest(string_to_array('....')) col_name,unnest(string_to_array(.., ',')) val FROM t and execute.
CREATE OR replace FUNCTION fn ()
RETURNS TABLE (
id INT
,columname TEXT
,columnvalues TEXT
) AS $$
DECLARE qry TEXT;
BEGIN
SELECT 'select id,unnest(string_to_array(''' || cols || ''','','')) col_name,unnest(string_to_array(' || cols1 || ','','')) val from t'
INTO qry
FROM (
SELECT string_agg(column_name, ',') cols
,string_agg(column_name, '||'',''||') cols1
FROM information_schema.columns
WHERE table_name = 't'
AND column_name <> 'id'
) tb;
RETURN QUERY
EXECUTE format(qry);
END;$$
LANGUAGE plpgsql
Call this function like select * from fn()