Re: proposal: session server side variables

>> unexpectedly, that would be missed by a PL/pgSQL analysis tool... There is
>> no miracle.
>
> No - metadata, in my design, are persistent - like tables - so you don't
> calculate so any functions can drop a variables. The deployment of secure
> variables is same like table deployment. No dynamic there.

You are missing my point: Static analysis is about proving properties. If
you need metadata to be persistent, then you should check that it is the
case, i.e. the static analysis must check that there is no metadata
changes anywhere. For instance, an analysis tool should reject a function
which contains:

GRANT UPDATE ON VARIABLE super_secret_variable TO PUBLIC;

Or does:

DROP VARIABLE super_secret;
CREATE VARIABLE super_secret ...;

If a static analysis tool is specific to one language, then it can only
checks that all is well in functions in those languages, but as there may
be functions written in other languages as well then the check is somehow
partial. This is not a bad thing, it just illustrate that you cannot check
everything. That is quality ensurance.

>> [...] Indeed, probably there exists some class of typos that may not be
>> found by some static analysis implementations on PL/pgSQL functions
>> which uses basic session variables.
>
> yes, and I would not to append any new case that cannot be covered by
> plpgsql check. Dynamic SQL and our temporal tables are enough issues
> already.

I'm not sure that I understand these sentences.

> I wrote my notes there.

Great! I restructured a little bit and tried to improve the English. I
also added questions when some statement that I think are too optimistic,
or are unclear to me.

--
Fabien.