C-API是访问PostgreSQL的最强大的方法，令人惊讶的舒适。
在编译期间，您必须将PostgreSQL包含目录（可以通过找到）添加pg_config --includedir到包含路径。
您必须与PostgreSQL客户端共享库链接（libpq.so在UNIX上，libpq.dll在Windows上）。该库位于PostgreSQL库目录中，可通过找到pg_config --libdir。
注意：由于历史原因，该库被称为libpq.so而不是 libpg.so，这对于初学者来说是一个流行的陷阱。
鉴于以下代码示例位于file中coltype.c，将使用以下命令完成编译和链接
gcc -Wall -I "$(pg_config --includedir)" -L "$(pg_config --libdir)" -o coltypecoltype.c-lpq
使用GNU C编译器（考虑添加-Wl,-rpath,"$(pg_config --libdir)"以添加库搜索路径）或
cl /MT /W4 /I <include directory>coltype.c<path to libpq.lib>
在Windows上使用Microsoft VisualC。
/* necessary for all PostgreSQL client programs, should be first */
#include <libpq-fe.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#ifdef TRACE
#define TRACEFILE "trace.out"
#endif
int main(int argc, char **argv) {
#ifdef TRACE
FILE *trc;
#endif
PGconn *conn;
PGresult *res;
int rowcount, colcount, i, j, firstcol;
/* parameter type should be guessed by PostgreSQL */
const Oid paramTypes[1] = { 0 };
/* parameter value */
const char * const paramValues[1] = { "pg_database" };
/*
* Using an empty connectstring will use default values for everything.
* If set, the environment variables PGHOST, PGDATABASE, PGPORT and
* PGUSER will be used.
*/
conn = PQconnectdb("");
/*
* This can only happen if there is not enough memory
* to allocate the PGconn structure.
*/
if (conn == NULL)
{
fprintf(stderr, "Out of memory connecting to PostgreSQL.\n");
return 1;
}
/* check if the connection attempt worked */
if (PQstatus(conn) != CONNECTION_OK)
{
fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", PQerrorMessage(conn));
/*
* Even if the connection failed, the PGconn structure has been
* allocated and must be freed.
*/
PQfinish(conn);
return 1;
}
#ifdef TRACE
if (NULL == (trc = fopen(TRACEFILE, "w")))
{
fprintf(stderr, "Error opening trace file \"%s\"!\n", TRACEFILE);
PQfinish(conn);
return 1;
}
/* tracing for client-server communication */
PQtrace(conn, trc);
#endif
/* this program expects the database to return data in UTF-8 */
PQsetClientEncoding(conn, "UTF8");
/* perform a query with parameters */
res = PQexecParams(
conn,
"SELECT column_name, data_type "
"FROM information_schema.columns "
"WHERE table_name = $1",
1, /* one parameter */
paramTypes,
paramValues,
NULL, /* parameter lengths are not required for strings */
NULL, /* all parameters are in text format */
0 /* result shall be in text format */
);
/* out of memory or sever communication broken */
if (NULL == res)
{
fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", PQerrorMessage(conn));
PQfinish(conn);
#ifdef TRACE
fclose(trc);
#endif
return 1;
}
/* SQL statement should return results */
if (PGRES_TUPLES_OK != PQresultStatus(res))
{
fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", PQerrorMessage(conn));
PQfinish(conn);
#ifdef TRACE
fclose(trc);
#endif
return 1;
}
/* get count of result rows and columns */
rowcount = PQntuples(res);
colcount = PQnfields(res);
/* print column headings */
firstcol = 1;
printf("Description of the table \"pg_database\"\n");
for (j=0; j<colcount; ++j)
{
if (firstcol)
firstcol = 0;
else
printf(": ");
printf(PQfname(res, j));
}
printf("\n\n");
/* loop through rosult rows */
for (i=0; i<rowcount; ++i)
{
/* print all column data */
firstcol = 1;
for (j=0; j<colcount; ++j)
{
if (firstcol)
firstcol = 0;
else
printf(": ");
printf(PQgetvalue(res, i, j));
}
printf("\n");
}
/* this must be done after every statement to avoid memory leaks */
PQclear(res);
/* close the database connection and release memory */
PQfinish(conn);
#ifdef TRACE
fclose(trc);
#endif
return 0;
}