I'm facing a particular task for which I need any procedural language but PL/PgSQL. I can't use PL/PgSQL because it doesn't allow me to use local variables such as new and old from a dynamic command. However, I've been unable to find any useful information on the stability of each particular procedural language. I've seen suggestions for creating a PL comparison matrix, but, short of such a matrix, I couldn't even find essential information regarding the vitality and stability of the various PLs. I'm comfortable with both Ruby and Perl, but wouldn't mind brushing up a bit on my Python. I'm also comfortable with PHP but have to say that the idea of running it within Postgres doesn't appeal to me very much. So, how to the different procedural languages stack up against each other in terms of stability? After all, adding a language that could cause random segfaults or huge memory leaks is simply not an option for a production DB.
