Re: [HACKERS] A small problem with the new inet and cidr types

On Mon, 2 Nov 1998, Tom Lane wrote:

> The Hermit Hacker <scrappy(at)hub(dot)org> writes:
> >> Huh. You have a backend crash fix, and we can't apply it until after
> >> 6.4 is out the door?
>
> > D'Arcy is going to release a patch for the fix on the same day as
> > the release, as it is something that only affects a very small aspect of
> > the server, and will affect very few ppl...
>
> Of course, the other side of that argument is that D'Arcy's fix is a
> very low-risk affair for the people who won't be using the inet types.
> For the people who will be using them, it seems rather critical.

right, which is why we will be releasing a patch at the same time
as we release v6.4 ...

> I think shipping the release without this fix is a mistake.

and I think incorporating it at this late a date in the release
cycle would also be a mistake. I'd rather a known bug with a patch then
an unknown bug created by fixing the known bug...

...for 99% of the users, they won't be using the INET/CIDR
stuff...for the 1% that will, they can easily download and install that
one patch to fix the problem...

> It sounds like D'Arcy could use a little advice/help from someone who
> knows about proper handling of null inputs to functions and operators
> (not me...). But if someone like that will step up to the plate, I
> don't see why we can't squeeze in a solid fix.

Because we are less then 2 days away from a release, and we have
already over-shoot our release date by 1 month *because* of this feature.
In the future, as has been discussed by the core, this will not happen
again...we should never have held up the release for the INET/CIDR types.

Marc G. Fournier
Systems Administrator @ hub.org
primary: scrappy(at)hub(dot)org secondary: scrappy(at){freebsd|postgresql}.org