Re: proposal: fix corner use case of variadic fuctions usage

On Sat, Jan 19, 2013 at 11:58 AM, Pavel Stehule <pavel(dot)stehule(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> We introduced VARIADIC "any" function. Motivation for this kind of
> function was bypassing postgresql's coerce rules - and own rules
> implementation for requested functionality. Some builtins function
> does it internally - but it is not possible for custom functions or it
> is not possible without some change in parser. Same motivation is
> reason why "format" function is VARIADIC "any" function.

I'd just like to draw the attention of all assembled to the fact that
this is another example of the cottage industry we've created in
avoiding our own burdensome typecasting rules. I not long ago
proposed a patch that went nowhere which would have obviated the need
for this sort of nonsense in a much more principled way, which of
course went nowhere, despite the design being one which Tom himself
proposed. Is there any amount of this which will sway popular opinion
to the point of view that the problem is not with the individual
cases, but the rules themselves?

--
Robert Haas
EnterpriseDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com
The Enterprise PostgreSQL Company