PG_Sheet - A Postgres Foreign Data Wrapper for SheetReader

This Foreign Data Wrapper gives Postgresql access to SheetReader, which is a fast Excel sheet reader. It enables Postgresql to access local .xlsx files (Excel Sheets) as foreign tables. This code is tested with PostgreSQL Server 13, but probably works for newer versions too.

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Prerequisites

Submodules

This repository depends on submodules! To pull the submodules, either clone this repository with the extra flag for submodules:

git clone --recurse-submodules <repository_url>

OR initialize the submodules afterward:

git submodule update --init

Postgres Development Headers

This module needs access to Postgresql development code. A plain Postgresql installation is not sufficient! To install the needed dependency replace X with your version number and run:

sudo apt install postgresql-server-dev-X

Installing on local Postgresql Server

Now to compile and install locally on Ubuntu, run:

make
make USE_PGXS=1 install

You eventually need elevated privileges. These commands compile PG_Sheet and copie all relevant files into the respective folders of your local PostgreSQL Server installation.

Build Docker Image

To get a Docker Image with PG_Sheet, run the script "compile_In_Docker.sh". The script builds a Docker Image tagged "pg_sheet_fdw" with PostgreSQL Server 13 and PG_Sheet installed, starts a Container with tag "pg_sheet_fdw_test_environment" and runs test queries from the /test directory. Afterward, the Container stays running for further inspection and usage.

Test

In the /test directory are small Excel Sheets for testing. The script "/test/test_fdw_runall.sh" executes basic functioning tests on the local PostgreSQL Server. It calls psql --echo-errors -v ON_ERROR_STOP=on -f on all sql test files. The command can be modified if local user credentials are needed. Also keep in mind, that the postgres user needs reading permission on all sheets.

Usage

First, register the Foreign Data Wrapper as Extension and create a Server:

CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pg_sheet_fdw;
CREATE SERVER IF NOT EXISTS dummy FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER pg_sheet_fdw;

Second, create a Foreign Table on the registered Server. The table schema should match the datatypes in the Excel Sheet. In general, small deviations of datatypes are of no concern and are silently resolved. For example, using a smallint in the Foreign Table Schema but receiving a larger int from the Excel Sheet. In this case, the maximum smallint value is used. Here is the Foreign Table of the string query test. The corresponding Server has to match the Server of the PG_Sheet Extension. Under the OPTIONS field, the Filepath and Sheetname of the Excel Sheet have to be supplied:

CREATE FOREIGN TABLE IF NOT EXISTS randomTestTable(
    varchar1       varchar,
    varchar2       varchar,
    char       char
    ) SERVER dummy
    OPTIONS (filepath '/pg_sheet_fdw/test/string_test.xlsx', sheetname 'encoding');

The Extension can just be dropped if no longer needed:

DROP FOREIGN TABLE IF EXISTS randomTestTable;
DROP SERVER IF EXISTS dummy;
DROP EXTENSION IF EXISTS pg_sheet_fdw;

or

DROP EXTENSION IF EXISTS pg_sheet_fdw CASCADE;

Options