Re: cutting down the TODO list thread

On Wed, Jan 11, 2023 at 02:09:56PM +0700, John Naylor wrote:
> I've come up with some revised language, including s/15/16/ and removing the
> category of "[E]" (easier to implement), since it wouldn't be here if it were
> actually easy:

I think it is still possible for a simple item to be identified as
wanted and easy, but not completed and put on the TODO list.

> WARNING for Developers: This list contains some known PostgreSQL bugs, some
> feature requests, and some things we are not even sure we want. This is not
> meant to be a resource for beginning developers to get ideas for things to work
> on. <WIP: maybe direct them to commitfest?>
>
> All of these items are hard, and some are perhaps impossible. Some of these
> items might have become unnecessary since they were added. Others might be
> desirable but:
>
> - a large amount work is required
> - the problems are subtler than they might appear
> - the desirable semantics aren't clear
> - there are tradeoffs that there's not consensus about
> - some combinations of the above
>
> If you really need a feature that is listed below, it will be worth reading the
> linked email thread if there is one, since it will often show the difficulties,
> or perhaps contain previous failed attempts to get a patch committed. If after
> that you still want to work on it, be prepared to first discuss the value of
> the feature. Do not assume that you can start coding and expect it to be
> committed. Always discuss design on the Hackers list before starting to code.
>
> Over time, it may become clear that a TODO item has become outdated or
> otherwise determined to be either too controversial or not worth the
> development effort. Such items should be retired to the Not Worth Doing page.
>
> [D] marks changes that are done, and will appear in the PostgreSQL 16 release.

I think we risk overloading people with too many words above, and they
will not read it fully. Can it be simplified? I wonder if some of this
belows in the developer's FAQ and linked to that from the TODO list.

--
Bruce Momjian <bruce(at)momjian(dot)us> https://momjian.us
EDB https://enterprisedb.com

Embrace your flaws. They make you human, rather than perfect,
which you will never be.