Re: Issues tangential to win32 support

Scott Marlowe wrote:
>
> There are some issues that the whole idea of a win32 port should bring up.
> One of them is whether or not postgresql should be rewritten as a
> multi-threaded app.

Perhaps.

>
> If postgresql will never be rewritten as a multi-threaded app, then
> performance under Windows is likely to ALWAYS be slow, since that
> multi-thread is the preferred model for good performance on W32.

There are methods for reducing process creation load on Windows. One way is to
make PostgreSQL one big .DLL and just spin off a small program. A windows .DLL
is different than a UNIX shared library, in some ways better, in other ways
worse, either way, it is a usefull tool.

> note
> that many Unixes prefer multi-threaded models as well (Solaris comes to
> mind) so there's the possibility that a multi-threaded postgresql could
> enjoy better performance on more than just windows.

The isolation of a process is very important to reliable operation. Going
threaded usually means allowing a single connection to bring down the whole
server.