Re: SPLIT/MERGE use of is_internal=true

On Tue, Jul 7, 2026 at 9:57 PM Noah Misch <noah(at)leadboat(dot)com> wrote:
>
> commit f2e4cc4 wrote:
> > +/*
> > + * createPartitionTable:
> > + *
> > + * Create a new partition (newPartName) for the partitioned table (parent_rel).
> > + * ownerId is determined by the partition on which the operation is performed,
> > + * so it is passed separately. The new partition will inherit the access method
> > + * and persistence type from the parent table.
> > + *
> > + * Returns the created relation (locked in AccessExclusiveLock mode).
> > + */
> > +static Relation
> > +createPartitionTable(List **wqueue, RangeVar *newPartName,
> > + Relation parent_rel, Oid ownerId)
> > +{
> ...
> > + /* Create the relation. */
> > + newRelId = heap_create_with_catalog(newPartName->relname,
> > + namespaceId,
> > + parent_relform->reltablespace,
> > + InvalidOid,
> > + InvalidOid,
> > + InvalidOid,
> > + ownerId,
> > + relamId,
> > + descriptor,
> > + NIL,
> > + RELKIND_RELATION,
> > + newPartName->relpersistence,
> > + false,
> > + false,
> > + ONCOMMIT_NOOP,
> > + (Datum) 0,
> > + true,
> > + allowSystemTableMods,
> > + true,
> > + InvalidOid,
> > + NULL);
>
> This and other places in the SPLIT/MERGE patches pass is_internal=true, which
> ultimately flows to hooks with the following meaning:
>
> /*
> * If this flag is set, the user hasn't requested that the object be
> * altered, but we're doing it anyway for some internal reason.
> * Permissions-checking hooks may want to skip checks if, say, we're alter
> * the constraints of a temporary heap during CLUSTER.
> */
> bool is_internal;
>
> SPLIT/MERGE constitute user requests to create and/or drop tables, so they're
> not like a CLUSTER temporary heap. They should pass is_internal=false, like
> when the user runs CREATE/DROP directly.

Thank you for catching this. For sure, we shouldn't pass
is_internal=true here. Attached patch fixes this. I'm going to push
it if no objections.

------
Regards,
Alexander Korotkov
Supabase