On Thu, Mar 2, 2023 at 4:00 PM Amit Kapila <amit.kapil...@gmail.com> wrote: > > On Thu, Mar 2, 2023 at 7:27 AM Peter Smith <smithpb2...@gmail.com> wrote: > > ... > > IIUC most people seem to be coming down in favour of there being a > > single unified option (the existing 'binary==true/false) which would > > apply to both the COPY and the data replication parts. > > > > I also agree > > - Yes, it is simpler. > > - Yes, there are various workarounds in case the COPY part failed > > > > But, AFAICT the main question remains unanswered -- Are we happy to > > break existing applications already using binary=true. E.g. I think > > there might be cases where applications are working *only* because > > their binary=true is internally (and probably unbeknownst to the user) > > reverting to text. So if we unified everything under one 'binary' > > option then binary=true will force COPY binary so now some previously > > working applications will get COPY errors requiring workarounds. Is > > that acceptable? > > > > I think one can look at this from another angle also where users would > be expecting that when binary = true and copy_data = true, all the > data transferred between publisher and subscriber should be in binary > format. Users have a workaround to set binary=true only after the > initial sync. Also, if at all, the behaviour change would be after > major version upgrade which shouldn't be a problem. > > > TBH I am not sure anymore if the complications justify the patch. > > > > It seems we have to choose from 2 bad choices: > > - separate options = this works but would be more confusing for the user > > - unified option = this would be simpler and faster, but risks > > breaking existing applications currently using 'binary=true' > > > > I would prefer a unified option as apart from other things you and > others mentioned that will be less of a maintenance burden in the > future.
My concern was mostly just about the potential to break the behaviour of existing binary=true applications in some edge cases. If you are happy that doing so shouldn't be a problem, then I am also +1 to use the unified option. ------ Kind Regards, Peter Smith. Fujitsu Australia