Identify PostgreSQL semantic issues with the plpgsql_check extension

This article explains how to use the plpgsql_check extension in PostgreSQL to identify semantic issues in PL/pgSQL code that may cause potential bugs or performance problems. The extension can detect various issues like undefined variables, unused variables, type mismatches, control flow problems, incorrect function calls, trigger-related issues, and more.

Specifically, the article covers:

• Overview of the plpgsql_check extension and its benefits
• Challenges with semantic checks in PostgreSQL compared to Oracle
• Common semantic issues that plpgsql_check can identify
• Important semantic check functions: plpgsql_check_function and plpgsql_check_function_tb
• Semantic checks for triggers in PostgreSQL
• Using optional arguments like fatal_errors and performance_warnings to find all errors and performance improvement recommendations
• Additional utility queries for comprehensive semantic checks on all code objects
• Limitations of the plpgsql_check extension
• Conclusion on the benefits of using plpgsql_check for improving code quality and catching errors early