Re: Mostly Harmless: Welcoming our C++ friends

Ron Mayer wrote:
> Tom Lane wrote:
>> I am, btw, still waiting for an actually plausible use-case for this.
>> AFAICS the setjmp-vs-exceptions thing puts a very serious crimp in
>> what you could hope to accomplish by importing a pile of C++ code.
>
> The one use-case I can think of that imports a pile of C++ code
> is the GEOS library that PostGIS uses (used?):

There are also quite a number of OSS algorithms, useful for query
optimization or otherwise, which are written in C++. For example, the
fully OSS implementation of annealing (potentially useful as a
replacement for GEQO) is in C++.

However, the real reason to do this is to attract C++ hackers to hack on
PostgreSQL and extend it. Most of what makes PostgreSQL cool now we got
because PostgreSQL is so easy for C geeks to hack on. Who knows what
the C++ crowd will contribute if given the opportunity? It's not the
stuff we *know* we can get which is exciting, it's the stuff we don't
know about.

(and yes, I realize this would hold true of other programming languages
as well. However, we can't support them as easily as C++)

As the Guy Who Is Obsessed With Making Our Community Grow (GWIOWMOCG), I
strongly support this goal. Although the other issues like breakage
need fixing.

--Josh