<term><varname>ON_ERROR_STOP</varname></term>

<listitem>

<para>

By default, if non-interactive scripts encounter an error, such

as a malformed <acronym>SQL</acronym> command or internal

meta-command, processing continues. This has been the

traditional behavior of <application>psql</application> but it

is sometimes not desirable. If this variable is set, script

processing will immediately terminate. If the script was called

from another script it will terminate in the same fashion. If

the outermost script was not called from an interactive

<application>psql</application> session but rather using the

<option>-f</option> option, <application>psql</application> will

return error code 3, to distinguish this case from fatal error

conditions (error code 1).

By default, command processing continues after an error. When this

variale is set, it will instead stop immediately. In interactive mode,

<application>psql</application> will return to the command prompt;

otherwise, <application>psql</application> will exit, returning

error code 3 to distinguish this case from fatal error

conditions, which are reported using error code 1. In either case,

any currently running scripts (the toplevel script, if any, and any

other scripts which it may have in invoked) will be terminated

immediately. If the toplevel command string contained multiple SQL

commands, processing will stop with the current command.

</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>