Re: BUG #5028: CASE returns ELSE value always when type is"char"

"Kevin Grittner" <Kevin(dot)Grittner(at)wicourts(dot)gov> writes:
> Jeff Davis <pgsql(at)j-davis(dot)com> wrote:
>> If I understand your question, you're comparing:
>>
>> (a) leaving a literal as "unknown" until you've finished
>> inferring types (current behavior)
>> (b) casting every unknown to text immediately, and then trying to
>> infer the types

> No, that's not it. I'm wondering why it isn't treated as text.
> Period. Full stop. Nothing to infer.

Because then we would have to provide implicit casts from text to
everything else, which would be horribly dangerous.

> In my view, it is wrong that any of those work. I would expect to
> have to code one of these:

> select now() < date '2009-01-01'; -- implicit casts should cover
> select now() < timestamp with time zone '2009-01-01 00:00:00.0';

[ shrug... ] The current design is a compromise between usability
and strictness of semantics. This proposal appears to be all strictness
and no usability. No thanks ... even without any backward-compatibility
considerations, I wouldn't find this to be an improvement.

regards, tom lane