Re: [HACKERS] pl/perl extension fails on Windows

Robert Haas <robertmhaas@gmail.com> writes:
> On Thu, Aug 10, 2017 at 8:30 AM, Ashutosh Sharma <ashu.coek88@gmail.com> wrote:
>> So, the question is should we allow the preprocessor option
>> '_USE_32BIT_TIME_T' to be defined implicitly or not in postgresql
>> provided we are using Visual C compiler version > 8.0. I think this
>> should make plperl compatible with perl binaries.

> We've got this code in MSBuildProject.pm and VCBuildProject.pm:

>         # We have to use this flag on 32 bit targets because the 32bit perls
>         # are built with it and sometimes crash if we don't.
>         my $use_32bit_time_t =
>           $self->{platform} eq 'Win32' ? '_USE_32BIT_TIME_T;' : '';

> Based on the discussion upthread, I think we now know that this was
> not really the right approach.

Yeah ... however, if that's there, then there's something wrong with
Ashutosh's explanation, because that means we *are* building with
_USE_32BIT_TIME_T in 32-bit builds.  It's just getting there in a
roundabout way.  (Or, alternatively, this code is somehow not doing
anything at all.)

> The trouble with that is that _USE_32BIT_TIME_T also affects how
> PostgreSQL code compiles.

Really?  We try to avoid touching "time_t" at all in most of the code.
I bet that we could drop the above-cited code, and compile only plperl
with _USE_32BIT_TIME_T, taken (if present) from the Perl flags, and
it'd be fine.  At least, that's my first instinct for what to try.
        regards, tom lane