Re: [HACKERS] A small problem with the new inet and cidr types

On Mon, 2 Nov 1998, Tom Lane wrote:

> The Hermit Hacker <scrappy@hub.org> writes:
> >> Huh.  You have a backend crash fix, and we can't apply it until after
> >> 6.4 is out the door?
> 
> >     D'Arcy is going to release a patch for the fix on the same day as
> > the release, as it is something that only affects a very small aspect of
> > the server, and will affect very few ppl...
> 
> Of course, the other side of that argument is that D'Arcy's fix is a
> very low-risk affair for the people who won't be using the inet types.
> For the people who will be using them, it seems rather critical.
right, which is why we will be releasing a patch at the same time
as we release v6.4 ...

> I think shipping the release without this fix is a mistake.
and I think incorporating it at this late a date in the release
cycle would also be a mistake.  I'd rather a known bug with a patch then
an unknown bug created by fixing the known bug...
...for 99% of the users, they won't be using the INET/CIDR
stuff...for the 1% that will, they can easily download and install that
one patch to fix the problem...

> It sounds like D'Arcy could use a little advice/help from someone who
> knows about proper handling of null inputs to functions and operators
> (not me...).   But if someone like that will step up to the plate, I
> don't see why we can't squeeze in a solid fix.
Because we are less then 2 days away from a release, and we have
already over-shoot our release date by 1 month *because* of this feature.
In the future, as has been discussed by the core, this will not happen
again...we should never have held up the release for the INET/CIDR types.

Marc G. Fournier                                
Systems Administrator @ hub.org 
primary: scrappy@hub.org           secondary: scrappy@{freebsd|postgresql}.org