## Name

TYPE — define a new data type

## Synopsis

    TYPE type_name IS ctype

## Description

The `TYPE` command defines a new C type. It is equivalent to putting a `typedef` into a declare section.

This command is only recognized when `ecpg` is run with the `-c` option.

## Parameters

`type_name`

  The name for the new type. It must be a valid C type name.

`ctype`

  A C type specification.

## Examples

    EXEC SQL TYPE customer IS
        struct
        {
            varchar name[50];
            int     phone;
        };

    EXEC SQL TYPE cust_ind IS
        struct ind
        {
            short   name_ind;
            short   phone_ind;
        };

    EXEC SQL TYPE c IS char reference;
    EXEC SQL TYPE ind IS union { int integer; short smallint; };
    EXEC SQL TYPE intarray IS int[AMOUNT];
    EXEC SQL TYPE str IS varchar[BUFFERSIZ];
    EXEC SQL TYPE string IS char[11];

Here is an example program that uses `EXEC SQL TYPE`:

    EXEC SQL WHENEVER SQLERROR SQLPRINT;

    EXEC SQL TYPE tt IS
        struct
        {
            varchar v[256];
            int     i;
        };

    EXEC SQL TYPE tt_ind IS
        struct ind {
            short   v_ind;
            short   i_ind;
        };

    int
    main(void)
    {
    EXEC SQL BEGIN DECLARE SECTION;
        tt t;
        tt_ind t_ind;
    EXEC SQL END DECLARE SECTION;

        EXEC SQL CONNECT TO testdb AS con1;

        EXEC SQL SELECT current_database(), 256 INTO :t:t_ind LIMIT 1;

        printf("t.v = %s\n", t.v.arr);
        printf("t.i = %d\n", t.i);

        printf("t_ind.v_ind = %d\n", t_ind.v_ind);
        printf("t_ind.i_ind = %d\n", t_ind.i_ind);

        EXEC SQL DISCONNECT con1;

        return 0;
    }

The output from this program looks like this:

    t.v = testdb
    t.i = 256
    t_ind.v_ind = 0
    t_ind.i_ind = 0

## Compatibility

The `TYPE` command is a Postgres Pro extension.