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@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ |
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Developer's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for PostgreSQL |
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Last updated: Mon Mar 19 12:52:30 EDT 2007 |
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Last updated: Sat May 5 00:09:15 EDT 2007 |
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Current maintainer: Bruce Momjian (bruce@momjian.us) |
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@ -15,22 +15,23 @@ General Questions |
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1.2) What development environment is required to develop code? |
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1.3) What areas need work? |
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1.4) What do I do after choosing an item to work on? |
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1.5) I've developed a patch, what next? |
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1.6) Where can I learn more about the code? |
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1.7) How do I download/update the current source tree? |
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1.8) How do I test my changes? |
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1.9) What tools are available for developers? |
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1.10) What books are good for developers? |
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1.11) What is configure all about? |
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1.12) How do I add a new port? |
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1.13) Why don't you use threads, raw devices, async-I/O, <insert your |
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1.5) I have developed a patch, what next? |
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1.6) How is a patch reviewed? |
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1.7) Where can I learn more about the code? |
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1.8) How do I download/update the current source tree? |
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1.9) How do I test my changes? |
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1.10) What tools are available for developers? |
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1.11) What books are good for developers? |
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1.12) What is configure all about? |
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1.13) How do I add a new port? |
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1.14) Why don't you use threads, raw devices, async-I/O, <insert your |
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favorite wizz-bang feature here>? |
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1.14) How are RPM's packaged? |
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1.15) How are CVS branches handled? |
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1.16) Where can I get a copy of the SQL standards? |
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1.17) Where can I get technical assistance? |
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1.18) How do I get involved in PostgreSQL web site development? |
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1.19) Why haven't you replaced CVS with SVN, Git, Monotone, VSS, |
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1.15) How are RPM's packaged? |
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1.16) How are CVS branches handled? |
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1.17) Where can I get a copy of the SQL standards? |
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1.18) Where can I get technical assistance? |
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1.19) How do I get involved in PostgreSQL web site development? |
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1.20) Why haven't you replaced CVS with SVN, Git, Monotone, VSS, |
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<insert your favorite SCM system here>? |
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Technical Questions |
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@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ General Questions |
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1.1) How do I get involved in PostgreSQL development? |
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Download the code and have a look around. See 1.7. |
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Download the code and have a look around. See 1.8. |
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Subscribe to and read the pgsql-hackers mailing list (often termed |
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'hackers'). This is where the major contributors and core members of |
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@ -93,7 +94,7 @@ General Questions |
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http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faqs.TODO.html. |
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You can learn more about these features by consulting the archives, |
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the SQL standards and the recommend texts (see 1.10). |
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the SQL standards and the recommend texts (see 1.11). |
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1.4) What do I do after choosing an item to work on? |
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@ -113,7 +114,7 @@ General Questions |
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being kept for the next release, |
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http://momjian.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/pgpatches_hold. |
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1.5) I've developed a patch, what next? |
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1.5) I have developed a patch, what next? |
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You will need to submit the patch to pgsql-patches@postgresql.org. It |
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will be reviewed by other contributors to the project and will be |
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@ -122,7 +123,7 @@ General Questions |
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make sure your submission conforms to the following guidelines: |
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1. Ensure that your patch is generated against the most recent |
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version of the code, which for developers is CVS HEAD. For more on |
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branches in PostgreSQL, see 1.15. |
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branches in PostgreSQL, see 1.16. |
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2. Try to make your patch as readable as possible by following the |
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project's code-layout conventions. This makes it easier for the |
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reviewer, and there's no point in trying to layout things |
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@ -145,7 +146,7 @@ General Questions |
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6. If you are adding a new feature, confirm that it has been tested |
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thoroughly. Try to test the feature in all conceivable scenarios. |
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7. New feature patches should also be accompanied by documentation |
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patches. If you need help checking the SQL standard, see 1.16. |
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patches. If you need help checking the SQL standard, see 1.17. |
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8. Provide an implementation overview, preferably in code comments. |
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Following the surrounding code commenting style is usually a good |
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approach. |
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@ -162,14 +163,32 @@ General Questions |
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You will be notified via email when the patch is applied, and your |
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name will appear in the next version of the release notes. |
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1.6) Where can I learn more about the code? |
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1.6) How is a patch reviewed? |
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Patch committers check several things before applying a patch: |
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* Patch follows the SQL standard or community agreed-upon behavior |
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* Style merges seamlessly into the surrounding code |
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* Written as simply and efficiently as possible |
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* Uses the available PostgreSQL subsystems properly |
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* Contains sufficient comments |
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* Contains code that works on all supported operating systems |
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* Has proper documentation |
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* Passes all regression tests |
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* Behaves as expected, even under unusual cirumstances |
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* Contains no reliability risks |
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* Does not overly complicate the source code |
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* If performance-related, has a measureable performance benefit |
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* Is of sufficient usefulness to the average PostgreSQL user |
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* Follows existing PostgreSQL coding standards |
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1.7) Where can I learn more about the code? |
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Other than documentation in the source tree itself, you can find some |
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papers/presentations discussing the code at |
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http://www.postgresql.org/developer. An excellent presentation is at |
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http://neilconway.org/talks/hacking/ |
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1.7) How do I download/update the current source tree? |
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1.8) How do I download/update the current source tree? |
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There are several ways to obtain the source tree. Occasional |
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developers can just get the most recent source tree snapshot from |
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@ -180,7 +199,7 @@ General Questions |
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in CVS. For details of how to obtain the source from CVS see |
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http://developer.postgresql.org/docs/postgres/cvs.html. |
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1.8) How do I test my changes? |
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1.9) How do I test my changes? |
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Basic system testing |
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@ -223,7 +242,7 @@ General Questions |
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you are using GCC you can use the --enable-depend option of configure |
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to have the compiler compute the dependencies automatically. |
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1.9) What tools are available for developers? |
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1.10) What tools are available for developers? |
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First, all the files in the src/tools directory are designed for |
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developers. |
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@ -316,7 +335,7 @@ General Questions |
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is also a script called unused_oids in pgsql/src/include/catalog that |
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shows the unused oids. |
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1.10) What books are good for developers? |
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1.11) What books are good for developers? |
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I have four good books, An Introduction to Database Systems, by C.J. |
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Date, Addison, Wesley, A Guide to the SQL Standard, by C.J. Date, et. |
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@ -326,7 +345,7 @@ General Questions |
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There is also a database performance site, with a handbook on-line |
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written by Jim Gray at http://www.benchmarkresources.com.. |
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1.11) What is configure all about? |
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1.12) What is configure all about? |
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The files configure and configure.in are part of the GNU autoconf |
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package. Configure allows us to test for various capabilities of the |
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@ -348,7 +367,7 @@ General Questions |
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removed, so you see only the file contained in the source |
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distribution. |
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1.12) How do I add a new port? |
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1.13) How do I add a new port? |
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There are a variety of places that need to be modified to add a new |
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port. First, start in the src/template directory. Add an appropriate |
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@ -365,7 +384,7 @@ General Questions |
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src/makefiles directory for port-specific Makefile handling. There is |
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a backend/port directory if you need special files for your OS. |
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1.13) Why don't you use threads, raw devices, async-I/O, <insert your |
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1.14) Why don't you use threads, raw devices, async-I/O, <insert your |
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favorite wizz-bang feature here>? |
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There is always a temptation to use the newest operating system |
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@ -391,7 +410,7 @@ General Questions |
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cautious about their adoption. The TODO list often contains links to |
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discussions showing our reasoning in these areas. |
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1.14) How are RPMs packaged? |
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1.15) How are RPMs packaged? |
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This was written by Lamar Owen and Devrim Gündüz: |
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@ -472,7 +491,7 @@ General Questions |
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As to why all these files aren't part of the source tree, well, unless |
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there was a large cry for it to happen, we don't believe it should. |
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1.15) How are CVS branches managed? |
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1.16) How are CVS branches managed? |
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This was written by Tom Lane: |
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@ -531,7 +550,7 @@ General Questions |
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tree right away after a major release --- we wait for a dot-release or |
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two, so that we won't have to double-patch the first wave of fixes. |
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1.16) Where can I get a copy of the SQL standards? |
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1.17) Where can I get a copy of the SQL standards? |
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There are three versions of the SQL standard: SQL-92, SQL:1999, and |
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SQL:2003. They are endorsed by ANSI and ISO. Draft versions can be |
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@ -548,7 +567,7 @@ General Questions |
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* http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~shadow/sql.html#syntax (SQL-92) |
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* http://dbs.uni-leipzig.de/en/lokal/standards.pdf (paper) |
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1.17) Where can I get technical assistance? |
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1.18) Where can I get technical assistance? |
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Many technical questions held by those new to the code have been |
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answered on the pgsql-hackers mailing list - the archives of which can |
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@ -561,7 +580,7 @@ General Questions |
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questions about development of new features, on IRC at |
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irc.freenode.net in the #postgresql channel. |
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1.18) How do I get involved in PostgreSQL web site development? |
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1.19) How do I get involved in PostgreSQL web site development? |
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PostgreSQL website development is discussed on the |
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pgsql-www@postgresql.org mailing list. The is a project page where the |
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@ -569,7 +588,7 @@ General Questions |
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http://gborg.postgresql.org/project/pgweb/projdisplay.php , the code |
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for the next version of the website is under the "portal" module. |
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1.19) Why haven't you replaced CVS with SVN, Git, Monotone, VSS, <insert your |
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1.20) Why haven't you replaced CVS with SVN, Git, Monotone, VSS, <insert your |
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favorite SCMS here>? |
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Currently the core developers see no SCMS that will provide enough |
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@ -745,7 +764,7 @@ typedef struct nameData |
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those structures (in particular, the files copyfuncs.c and |
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equalfuncs.c. Make sure you add support for your new field to these |
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files. Find any other places the structure might need code for your |
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new field. mkid is helpful with this (see 1.9). |
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new field. mkid is helpful with this (see 1.10). |
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2.5) Why do we use palloc() and pfree() to allocate memory? |
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Bruce Momjian
19 years ago