pl/pgSQL is very good (and ergonomic) for a logical extension to SQL, aka set theory programming with intermediate state. It isn't and was never targeted toward

pl/pgSQL is very good (and ergonomic) for a logical extension to SQL, aka set theory programming with intermediate state. It isn't and was never targeted toward general purpose programming like Python. That said, 100% agree that unit tests should live outside the DB. Querying for sets inside or outside makes no functional difference, and your DB doesn't need all that extra cruft.