Goal This query identifies SQL routines that are functionally equivalent to a no-operation (no-op) instruction, meaning their sole operation is to return either a constant literal or an unmodified input parameter. Such routines provide no transformation or logic. They are typically superfluous and may represent placeholder code from early development, refactoring artifacts where original logic was deprecated, or simple logical oversights. Eliminating these functions reduces code clutter, simplifies application logic, and removes a marginal but unnecessary layer of computational overhead.
Type Problem detection Each row in the result could represent a flaw in the design
Reliability Medium Medium number of false-positive results
License MIT (opens in new tab)
Data Source INFORMATION_SCHEMA+system catalog
SQL Query 
SELECT 
  pg_namespace.nspname AS routine_schema, 
  pg_proc.proname AS routine_name, 
  pg_get_function_identity_arguments(pg_proc.oid) AS parameters,
CASE WHEN pg_proc.prokind='f' THEN 'FUNCTION'
  WHEN pg_proc.prokind='p' THEN 'PROCEDURE'
  WHEN pg_proc.prokind='w' THEN 'WINDOW FUNCTION' END AS routine_type,
  regexp_replace( regexp_replace(pg_get_functiondef(pg_proc.oid),'<','&lt','g'),'[\r\n]','<br>','g')  AS routine_src
FROM 
  pg_catalog.pg_proc, 
  pg_catalog.pg_namespace,
  pg_catalog.pg_language
WHERE 
  pg_proc.pronamespace = pg_namespace.oid
AND pg_proc.prolang = pg_language.oid
  AND pg_proc.prokind<>'a'
AND lanname='sql'
 AND pg_proc.proname NOT IN ('f_assume_you_must_use_files', 'f_check_format_comma_separated_list', 'f_check_password', 'f_default_value_with_no_match') 
 AND pg_namespace.nspname NOT IN (SELECT schema_name
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.schemata
WHERE schema_name<>'public' AND
schema_owner='postgres' AND schema_name IS NOT NULL) 
AND pg_get_functiondef(pg_proc.oid)~*'(?<!;[[:space:]]*)(RETURN|SELECT)[[:space:]]+[[:alnum:]_]+([[:space:]]+AS[[:space:]]+[[:alnum:]_]+){0,1}[[:space:]]*;'
ORDER BY routine_schema, routine_name, parameters;

Collections

This query belongs to the following collections:

Find problems automatically

Queries, that results point to problems in the database. Each query in the collection produces an initial assessment. However, a human reviewer has the final say as to whether there is a problem or not .

NameDescription
Find problems automaticallyQueries, that results point to problems in the database. Each query in the collection produces an initial assessment. However, a human reviewer has the final say as to whether there is a problem or not .

Categories

This query is classified under the following categories:

User-defined routines

Queries of this category provide information about the user-defined routines

NameDescription
User-defined routinesQueries of this category provide information about the user-defined routines