User Functions

Several of the included functions in PostgreSQL deal with user and session issues. The following sections discuss user-related functions.

CURRENT_USER

Description

The CURRENT_USER function returns the user ID being used for permission checking.

Inputs

None.

Example

SELECT CURRENT_USER; 
--------------
webuser 

Notes

Currently, CURRENT_USER and SESSION_USER are the same, but in the future, there might be a distinction as needed for programs running in a setuid mode.

Notice that the preceding function is not called with the trailing parentheses "()". This is to maintain SQL compatibility.

SESSION_USER

Description

The SESSION_USER function returns the user ID that is currently logged into PostgreSQL.

Inputs

None.

Example

SELECT SESSION_USER; 
--------------
webuser 

Notes

Currently, CURRENT_USER and SESSION_USER are the same, but in the future, there might be a distinction as needed for programs running in a setuid mode.

Notice that the preceding function is not called with the trailing parenthesis "()". This is to maintain SQL compatibility.

USER

Notes

See CURRENT_USER.