On 04/24/2010 08:49 PM, Robert Haas wrote:
The nodeToString format as it stands is somewhat ambiguous with respect to the type of a node member's value if one does not have access to readfuncs.c. For example, a T_BitString called foo is serialized as ':foo b1010' while a char * containing 'b1010' is also serialized as ':foo b1010'. This may just mean that _outToken needs to escape the leading 'b'. A similar problem exists for booleans ('true' as a string vs. as a boolean).I am not inclined to change this. Turning the format into something self-describing seems to me to be significant work and a significant compatibility break for a very small amount of benefit.
The funny thing is, it doesn't seem to be a compatibility break because the code in readfuncs.c that parses the node strings ignores the field names entirely because it assumes they are in a particular order. It also isn't much work to change the output because the code is, with the exception of a few weirdos, all at the top of outfuncs.c, and the weirdos are also dispersed within that file.
However, I'm no longer convinced that using a serialized node tree is the way to go for my use case, nor am I particularly sure that it even matches my use case at all anymore as I keep simplifying the goals as time goes on. I won't be able to make any compelling arguments until I figure out what I need :-)
Thanks for the feedback. -- m. tharp -- Sent via pgsql-hackers mailing list (pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-hackers
