Re: Supported platforms list

I wrote:
> This is exactly *not* what I wanted to do, as it removes all traces
> of knowledge about which platforms are likely to work (or not work)
> despite not being represented in the current buildfarm. It also
> seems a bit silly to copy-and-paste today's buildfarm roster into
> static documentation.

> I think citing the buildfarm as the latest authority, and encouraging
> people to join it, is a fine thing. But a mass delete of older info
> doesn't seem appropriate IMHO.

After studying the existing doc in more detail, I've come round to
agreeing with Peter and Chris' position that the existing table no
longer serves any useful purpose. The interesting part of it is an
indication of which OSes and CPUs we support in general, but that can
be summarized in a few lines, with a pointer to the buildfarm for
concrete details. Accordingly I've replaced the section with the
attached text.

regards, tom lane

<sect1 id="supported-platforms">
<title>Supported Platforms</title>

<para>
A platform (that is, a CPU architecture and operating system combination)
is considered supported by the <productname>PostgreSQL</> development
community if the code contains provisions to work on that platform and
it has recently been verified to build and pass its regression tests
on that platform. Currently, most testing of platform compatibility
is done automatically by test machines in the
<ulink url="http://buildfarm.postgresql.org/">PostgreSQL Build Farm</ulink>.
If you are interested in using <productname>PostgreSQL</> on a platform
that is not represented in the build farm, but on which the code works
or can be made to work, you are strongly encouraged to set up a build
farm member machine so that continued compatibility can be assured.
</para>

<para>
In general, <productname>PostgreSQL</> can be expected to work on
these CPU architectures: x86, x86_64, IA64, PowerPC,
PowerPC 64, S/390, S/390x, Sparc, Sparc 64, Alpha, ARM, MIPS, MIPSEL, M68K,
and PA-RISC. Code support exists for M32R, NS32K, and VAX, but these
architectures are not known to have been tested recently. It is often
possible to build on an unsupported CPU type by configuring with
<option>--disable-spinlocks</option>, but performance will be poor.
</para>

<para>
<productname>PostgreSQL</> can be expected to work on these operating
systems: Linux (all recent distributions), Windows (Win2000 SP4 and later),
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Mac OS X, AIX, HP/UX, IRIX, Solaris, Tru64 Unix,
and UnixWare. Other Unix-like systems may also work but are not currently
being tested. In most cases, all CPU architectures supported by
a given operating system will work. Look in the <filename>doc/</>
directory of the source distribution to see if there is a FAQ document
specific to your operating system, particularly if using an older system.
</para>

<para>
If you have installation problems on a platform that is known
to be supported according to recent build farm results, please report
it to <email>pgsql-bugs(at)postgresql(dot)org</email>. If you are interested
in porting <productname>PostgreSQL</> to a new platform,
<email>pgsql-ports(at)postgresql(dot)org</email> is the appropriate place
to discuss that.
</para>
</sect1>