Re: search_path vs extensions

On Thursday 28 May 2009 21:38:29 Tom Lane wrote:
> Greg Stark <stark(at)enterprisedb(dot)com> writes:
> > I don't understand what storing them in different namespaces and then
> > putting them all in your search_path accomplishes. You end up with the
> > same mishmash of things in your namespace.
>
> +1 ... naming conflicts between different extensions are going to be a
> problem for people no matter what. Sticking them in different schemas
> doesn't really fix anything, it just means that you'll hit the problems
> later instead of sooner.

Yeah, to reiterate what I posted elsewhere, perhaps it'd be a good idea to
give up on the search path idea altogether and think more in terms of an
import facility like Python, Java, and sometimes Perl have.

In practice, I find a search path is just a tool to cause you to find the
wrong stuff at the wrong time, and it continues to be a cause of confusion and
security issues both in PostgreSQL and in Unix operating systems to this day.