Re: AIX support

On Sat, Apr 20, 2024 at 12:25:47PM -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> > I can see several ways going forward:
> > 1. We revert the removal of AIX support and carry on with the status quo
> > ante. (The removal of AIX is a regression; it is timely and in scope
> > now to revert the change.)
> > 2. Like (1), but we consider that notice has been given, and we will
> > remove it early in PG18 (like August) unless the situation improves.
> > 3. We leave it out of PG17 and consider a new AIX port for PG18 on its
> > own merits.
>
> Andres has ably summarized the reasons why the status quo ante was
> getting untenable. The direct-I/O problem could have been tolerable
> on its own, but in reality it was the straw that broke the camel's
> back so far as our willingness to maintain AIX support went. There
> were just too many hacks and workarounds for too many problems,
> with too few people interested in looking for better answers.
>
> So I'm totally not in favor of #1, at least not without some hard
> commitments and follow-through on really cleaning up the mess
> (which maybe looks more like your #2). What's needed here, as
> you said, is for someone with a decent amount of expertise in
> modern AIX to review all the issues. Maybe framing that as a
> "new port" per #3 would be a good way to think about it. But
> I don't want to just revert the AIX-ectomy and continue drifting.
>
> On the whole, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if PG 17
> lacks AIX support but that comes back in PG 18. That approach would
> solve the schedule-crunch aspect and give time for considered review
> of how many of the hacks removed in 0b16bb877 really need to be put
> back, versus being obsolete or amenable to a nicer solution in
> late-model AIX. If we take a "new port" mindset then it would be
> totally reasonable to say that it only supports very recent AIX
> releases, so I'd hope at least some of the cruft could be removed.

I agree that targeting PG 18 for a new-er AIX port is the reasonable
approach. If there is huge demand, someone can create an AIX fork for
PG 17 using the reverted patches --- yeah, lots of pain there, but we
have carried the AIX pain for too long with too little support.

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

Only you can decide what is important to you.