Re: Release changes

Tom Lane wrote:
> Bruce Momjian <pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us> writes:
> > Here are the changes for 7.4. I am looking for any improvements. This
> > will be adjusted as we move through beta.
>
> Some notes on specific items:
>
>
> Update /tmp socket files regularly to avoid their removal (Tom)
>
> More specifically, update the file mod times.

Updated:

Update /tmp socket mod. times regularly to avoid their removal
(Tom)

>
> New client/server protocol: faster, no username length limit, allow
> clean exit
>
> "allow clean exit from failed COPY" is what's meant I think. Not sure I'd
> claim "faster", either. There are a lot of other features you could mention
> instead, such as allowing separation between SQL commands and data values.

New text is:

New client/server protocol: faster, no username length limit, allow
clean exit from COPY (Tom)

How would you explain "allowing separation between SQL commands and data
values"? Cleaner prepared statement implementation?

> Improve reverse index scan performance (Tom)

> I have no idea what this entry is talking about --- I could not find anything
> in the CVS log that seemed to match.

I know I saw it, but after looking for 20 minutes, I can't find it.
Removed.

> postgres --help-config now dumps server config variables (Tom)
>
> This was not my work, I just applied it. Please credit Aizaz Ahmed.

Updated.

> Prevent assign_session_authorization() from being confused by
> all-numeric user names (Tom)
>
> This one is already in 7.3 patch releases, should not appear here.

Removed.

> Allow ORDER BY in FROM subqueries to be honored by outer queries (Tom)
>
> "honored by"? Better wording:
> Avoid redundant sort when order of a subquery result matches outer query's needs

Updated to:

Avoid sort when subquery ORDER BY matches upper query (Tom)

> Also, this belongs under Performance, I think.

Moved.

> Print key name in foreign-key violation messages (Dmitry Tkach)
>
> Print key name and value ...

Updated.

> Allow subquery aggregates to reference upper query columns (?) (Tom)
>
> Poorly phrased. How about:
> Execute aggregates that reference outer-query values correctly per SQL spec

Updated:

Fix subquery aggregates of upper query columns to match SQL spec. (Tom)
> Allow dollar signs in identifiers, except as first character (Tom)
>
> Why is this not together with the mention that dollar signs are *not* allowed
> anymore in operator names? It might also be worth pointing out that "x=$1"
> works without spaces now.

Updated to:

Disallow dollar signs in operator names, so x=$1 works (Tom)

They are in different places because one relates to operator names
(Object Manipulation section) while the other relates to queries
(Queries section). Should they be moved into the same section?

> Allow zero-column tables (Tom)
>
> We allowed this already in 7.3, though I may have fixed a few more bugs.

Updated to:

Fix several zero-column table bugs (Tom)

> Add pg_trigger.tgenabled to disable triggers? (Neil)
>
> tgenabled was there already; the patch just caused it to be checked in more
> places.

I am removing the item --- it doesn't seem ready for publication, or we
would have added a utility to access it.

> Have parser honor foreign-key constraints if created via ALTER TABLE ADD
> COLUMN? (Tom)
>
> This was fixed in a 7.3.* release, should not be listed here.

Removed.

> Improve DOMAIN automatic type casting (Tom)
>
> I think Rod had something to do with that, too.

Added Rod.

> Object owners can allow grantees to grant privilege to others?
>
> Better "Implement GRANT OPTION privileges, per SQL spec (Peter)"

Updated:

Add WITH GRANT OPTION clause to GRANT, per SQL spec (Peter)

> Properly handle SCROLL with cursors, or report an error (Tom)
>
> Someone else (Neil I think) did the bulk of the work for scrollable cursors.

Right, Neil. Updated.

FYI, he is back and will be online in a few more days.

> Allow CLUSTER without tablename clusters all tables (Alvaro Herrera)
>
> Better worded "Allow ... to cluster all tables"

Updated.

> Reduce memory used by COPY (Tom)
>
> Better "Prevent possible memory leaks in COPY". I don't think that patch
> actually reduced normal memory consumption at all.

Updated.

> Syntax errors now reported as 'syntax error' rather than 'parse error' (Tom)
>
> Should credit the bison guys ;-) ... that was their change not ours. But
> really I see no need to list it at all --- there are vastly more wording
> changes in the error messages than just this one.

Yes, but it seemed one most likely to be checked by applications, no?

> Have COMMENT ON DATABASE on non-local database generate a warning (Tom)
>
> I think that was someone else's work ... Rod maybe?

Name removed. Anyone know?

> New hostmast() function (Greg Wickham)
>
> hostmask() I think you meant?

Right, updated.

> Allow polymorphic SQL functions (Tom, Joe)
>
> I think Joe should get the bulk of the credit on this one.

Updated.

> Allow array concatenation with '||' and normal array comparisons (Joe)
>
> You already mentioned array comparisons, three or four items before.

OK, I removed "and normal array comparisons".

> Allow PREPARE/bind of utility commands like FETCH and EXPLAIN (Tom)
>
> Doesn't seem like that belongs under "data types".

Right, moved to Utility Commands.

> Honor only DateStyle setting for date entry without a four-digit year (Greg)
>
> Better "Allow only DateStyle-specified field order for dates that are not
> in unambiguous ISO format (yyyy-mm-dd)"

Updated:

Allow only DateStyle field order for date values not in ISO
format (Greg)

> 'now' will no longer work as a default, use now() (change required for prepared
> statements) (Tom)
>
> Maybe say "as a column default" there.

Good idea. Done.

> Assume NaN value to be larger than any other value in comparisons (Tom)
>
> We did this already in most places. Specify that the change is just to make
> MIN() and MAX() agree with the rest of the operations.

I should have said aggregate originally, but MIN/MAX is better anyway.

Updated to:

Assume NaN value to be larger than any other value in MIN()/MAX() (Tom)

> Prevent PL/pgSQL crash when RETURN NEXT is used on a zero-row record (Tom)
>
> Zero-column record maybe? I don't know what a zero-row record is.

When cursor returns zero rows, and you call RETURN NEXT, I think. At
least that's what I read from the commit message:

Fix coredump problem in plpgsql's RETURN NEXT. When a SELECT INTO
that's selecting into a RECORD variable returns zero rows, make it
assign an all-nulls row to the RECORD; this is consistent with what
happens when the SELECT INTO target is not a RECORD. In support of
this, tweak the SPI code so that a valid tuple descriptor is returned

Updated to:

Prevent PL/pgSQL crash when RETURN NEXT is used on a zero-row
record var. (Tom)

> Change PL/pgSQL EXECUTE INTO to CREATE TABLE AS EXECUTE? (Peter)
>
> That patch applied to the main parser's EXECUTE command, not plpgsql.
> So this is in the wrong place as well as being wrong...

I was unclear is it was plpgsql execute or prepared queries.

Moved and updated to:

Change EXECUTE INTO to CREATE TABLE AS EXECUTE (Peter)

> Allow polymorphic PL/pgSQL functions (Tom, Joe)
> Improved compiled function caching mechanism in PL/pgSQL with full
> support for polymorphism (Tom, Joe)
> Add new $0 parameter in PL/pgSQL representing the function's actual
> return type (Tom, Joe)

Updated.

> Again, Joe gets the bulk of the credit on all three of these (and all the
> credit for $0, I didn't do anything there)

Done. I just removed your name, as you mentioned earlier.
>
> New '\set autocommit off' capability (Tom)
>
> It's \set AUTOCOMMIT, might as well get the case right.

Updated.

> New '\set verbosity' to control error detail (Tom)
>
> Likewise, \set VERBOSITY

Update.

> Allow control SSL negotiation with sslmode values "disable", "allow",
> "Prefer", and "require" (Jon Jensen)
>
> There should be a mention of the new pg_hba.conf hostnossl keyword somewhere
> too (though not under libpq)

Moved to "Server Configuration":

New pg_hba.conf 'hostnossl' to prevent SSL connections (Jon
Jensen)

> Allow OpenBSD to use local indent credentials (William Ahern)
>
> local ident credentials?

Yep, sorry, now:

Allow OpenBSD to use local ident credentials (William Ahern)

> Allow read-only query plans (Tom)
>
> Better "Make query plan trees read-only to executor"

Thanks. Updated and committed.

--
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