Re: Re: backend hangs at immediate shutdown (Re: Back-branch update releases coming in a couple weeks)

Robert Haas <robertmhaas(at)gmail(dot)com> writes:
> On Fri, Jun 21, 2013 at 5:44 PM, Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us> wrote:
>> The traditional theory has been that that would be less robust, not
>> more so. Child backends are (mostly) able to carry out queries whether
>> or not the postmaster is around.

> I think that's the Tom Lane theory. The Robert Haas theory is that if
> the postmaster has died, there's no reason to suppose that it hasn't
> corrupted shared memory on the way down, or that the system isn't
> otherwise heavily fuxxored in some way.

Eh? The postmaster does its level best never to touch shared memory
(after initialization anyway).

>> True, you can't make new connections,
>> but how does killing the existing children make that better?

> It allows you to start a new postmaster in a timely fashion, instead
> of waiting for an idle connection that may not ever terminate without
> operator intervention.

There may be something in that argument, but I find the other one
completely bogus.

regards, tom lane