Re: [HACKERS] Win32 regression test status

"Andrew Dunstan" <andrew(at)dunslane(dot)net> writes:
> Claudio Natoli said:
>> a) Provide "post-1970-only" versions of the expected regression test
>> output, for use under win32
>> b) Remove pre-1970 dates from *all* regression test files
>> c) Code up "pg_localtime" for win32

> I don't think a) and b) are options at all - pre-1970 dates have to work
> as expected.

(b) is *not* an option. We are not dumbing down our standards to
accommodate Win32. It's bad enough that some of our platforms don't
support DST handling before 1970. I suppose (a) is an acceptable
option if we think that Windoze users are accustomed to the idea that
they can't store dates before 1970.

The long-term solution we have talked about before is to stop depending
on libc's time library entirely, and write our own date/timezone code,
thereby getting rid of all the woolly vagaries of time support on
different platforms, not to mention the fundamental design mistakes made
in the libc time API (like the fact that there's no defined way to test
whether a timezone name is valid). Perhaps it would be better to expend
effort on that, instead of doing the quick kluge that I think was meant
by (c).

regards, tom lane