Re: autovacuum causing numerous regression-test failures

"Matthew T. O'Connor" <matthew(at)zeut(dot)net> writes:
>> Tom Lane wrote:
>>> Not a solution for "make installcheck",

> I'm sure I'm missing some of the subtleties of make installcheck issues,
> but autovacuum can be enabled / disabled on the fly just as easily as
> stats_row_level, so I don't see the difference?

Well, "just as easily" means "edit postgresql.conf and SIGHUP", which is
not an option available to "make installcheck", even if we thought that
an invasive change of the server configuration would be acceptable for
it to do. It's conceivable that we could invent a per-database
autovac-off variable controlled by, say, ALTER DATABASE SET ... but we
haven't got one today.

My objection here is basically that this proposal passed on the
assumption that it would be very nearly zero effort to make it happen.
We are now finding out that we have a fair amount of work to do if we
want autovac to not mess up the regression tests, and I think that has
to mean that the proposal goes back on the shelf until 8.3 development
starts. We are already overcommitted in terms of the stuff that was
submitted *before* feature freeze.

regards, tom lane