Index opclass checking (was Re: Crash in PostgreSQL 7.0.b5.) - Mailing list pgsql-bugs

From Tom Lane
Subject Index opclass checking (was Re: Crash in PostgreSQL 7.0.b5.)
Date
Msg-id 1173.956600098@sss.pgh.pa.us
Whole thread Raw
Responses Re: Index opclass checking (was Re: Crash in PostgreSQL 7.0.b5.)  (Frank Mayhar <frank@exit.com>)
List pgsql-bugs
>> Wups, got it already.  It happens on the second insert, luckily (the db is
>> HUGE :-).  I've attached the offending SQL script.

> Got it, confirm seeing the crash here.  I have to do real work now :-(
> but will look into it tonight.

Actually, I don't have to look very hard:

CREATE TABLE td_products ( grp  CHAR(2), cat  CHAR(2), sub  CHAR(2), vend_code CHAR(6), manu_part CHAR(20), part_num
CHAR(15),descr  CHAR(50), cost  NUMERIC(10,2), retail  NUMERIC(10,2), qty  INT4, list_price NUMERIC(10,2), eff_date
CHAR(11),tech_fax BOOLEAN, status  CHAR(1), upc  CHAR(15)); 
[ snip ]
CREATE INDEX prodcost_idx ON td_products USING BTREE (cost bpchar_ops);
CREATE INDEX prodqty_idx ON td_products USING BTREE (qty bpchar_ops);

Since cost and qty are numeric and int4 respectively, applying bpchar
comparison ops to them is a bad idea; the crash is no doubt due to
trying to interpret an int4 value as a pointer to character string :-(.

Currently, if you specify an index opclass then the system assumes that
you know what you are doing; there is no cross-check to see if the
chosen operators will work with the column datatype.  That bothers me,
but I hesitate to insert a type-compatibility check; I wonder whether
there might be legitimate uses of comparison operators that would fail
a normal type-compatibility check against the column datatype.

The short-term answer for Frank is "don't specify index opclasses in
handwritten CREATE INDEX commands, unless you're really sure that you
need something other than the default opclass for the datatype".

In the long term, does anyone have any thoughts about whether and how
to tighten up checking of index opclass selection?

            regards, tom lane

pgsql-bugs by date:

Previous
From: Tom Lane
Date:
Subject: Re: Crash in PostgreSQL 7.0.b5.
Next
From: Frank Mayhar
Date:
Subject: Re: Index opclass checking (was Re: Crash in PostgreSQL 7.0.b5.)