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SQLSTATE / CLASS 20 · CASE NOT FOUND

20000

Read PG 18 manual ↗

case_not_found

SQLSTATE
20000
Condition name
case_not_found
Class
Case Not Found
Source macro
ERRCODE_CASE_NOT_FOUND
Evidence
Source path confirmed
Analysis & operational context

English SQLSTATE atlas: authored explanations and source/runtime evidence are separate from the manual definitions. View source ↗

<h1>20000</h1>

At a glance

SQLSTATE 20000 is raised by PL/pgSQL for a CASE statement that reaches no matching WHEN and has no ELSE. PostgreSQL 18.6 reports case not found with hint CASE statement is missing ELSE part. The condition is about the procedural CASE statement path; it is not the result of an ordinary query returning zero rows.

Meaning

The executor path is exec_stmt_case in src/pl/plpgsql/src/pl_exec.c. It evaluates the searched or simple procedural CASE statement and reports 20000 when control reaches the missing-ELSE branch. A SQL CASE expression has different semantics, so diagnose the statement form and routine source before changing a query.

Messages

The fixed message is case not found; the hint is CASE statement is missing ELSE part..

Diagnosis

Find the PL/pgSQL routine and the CASE statement named by the routine context. List the possible selector values or predicates and verify that every intended path has a WHEN; then check whether an ELSE was omitted. Do not use row-count checks or SELECT INTO STRICT diagnostics as a substitute for this condition.

Response

Add an ELSE branch that implements the intended fallback, or make the WHEN predicates exhaustive and verify the routine with representative selector values. If the missing case represents invalid business input, have the branch report the application-specific condition deliberately. After changing the routine, rerun the surrounding transaction only when its side effects were rolled back or the business operation is idempotent.

Versions

The locked catalogue places this condition at least by PostgreSQL 8.4.0. The release definitions cover the published snapshots listed in the facts block; source-path status is limited to the fixed PostgreSQL 18.6 context cited below.

Sources

The fixed PL/pgSQL executor contains the message and hint. The PL/pgSQL CASE statement documentation describes the missing-ELSE behavior. See the structured evidence record for fixed source paths, scan scope, and unresolved runtime boundaries.

Source evidence

Evidence belongs to the frozen source and runtime versions listed here. It is not a runtime verification of the selected manual version.

20000 is case_not_found in SQLSTATE Class 20.

Method: Read the fixed errcodes definition row, severity, and macro.

src.errcodes.18.6

The fixed PostgreSQL 18.6 source contains the report path and message context described on the page.

Method: Read the complete source context around the resolved report group.

Limits: This is source confirmation, not a runtime observation in this batch.

src.pl_exec.case.18.6

The locked release definitions establish catalogue presence from the known 8.4.0 boundary; they do not establish a precise introducing release or runtime use.

Method: Compare canonical release-definition facts with the available history boundary.

Limits: Definition presence is not an emitting-path observation.

src.errcodes.18.6

Message templates

ERROR · message.case-not-found

Primary

case not found

Hint

CASE statement is missing ELSE part.

Reproduction & repair cases

No reproduction case is attached to this condition.

Recorded runtime evidence

No runtime observation is attached to this entry.

Definition snapshot: english-manuals:112cc5b4067e643ee73864a70c0… · English manual source