Structural error in my PL/pgSQL function?

Question

This is my code:

create function dept_count (dept_name varchar(20))
returns integer as $$
begin
declare d_count integer;
select count(*) into d_count
from instructor;
return d_count; end; 
$$ language plpgsql;

It gives an error:

ERROR: syntax error at or near "*"
LINE 5: select count(*) into d_count
 ^
CONTEXT: invalid type name "count(*) into d_count from instructor"

What is the reason for this?

Answer 1

DECLARE must come before BEGIN.

Apart from that, your function would work - except that it doesn't make much sense to declare a parameter that is not referenced, but that's probably just a simplification for the purpose of this question.

• Musilix: you're epic for this, Erwin. Postgres freaks me out, though.