Re: Include Lists for Text Search - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

On Sun, 2008-03-09 at 23:03 -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> Simon Riggs <simon@2ndquadrant.com> writes:
> > I've coded a small patch to allow CaseSensitive synonyms.
>
> Applied with corrections (it'd be good if you at least pretended to test
> stuff before submitting it).

It is a frequent accusation of yours that I don't test things, which is
incorrect. Defending against that makes me a liar twice in your eyes. If
you look more closely at what happens you'll understand that your own
rigid expectations are what causes these problems.

If you thought at all you'd realise that nobody would be stupid enough
to try to sneak untested code into Postgres; all bugs would point
directly back to anybody attempting that. That isn't true just of
Postgres, its true of any group of people working together on any task,
not just software or open source software.

As Greg mentions on another thread, not all patches are *intended* to be
production quality by their authors. Many patches are shared for the
purpose of eliciting general feedback. You yourself encourage a group
development approach and specifically punish those people dropping
completely "finished" code into the queue and expecting it to be
committed as-is. So people produce patches in various states of
readiness, knowing that they may have to produce many versions before it
is finally accepted. Grabbing at a piece of code, then shouting
"unclean, unclean" just destroys the feedback process and leaves
teamwork in tatters.

My arse doesn't need wiping, thanks, nor does my bottom need smacking,
nor are you ever likely to catch me telling fibs. If you think so,
you're wrong and you should reset.

What you will find from me and others, in the past and realistically in
the future too, are patches that vary according to how near to
completion they are. Not the same thing as "completed, yet varying in
quality". If they are incomplete it is because of the idea to receive
feedback at various points. Some patches need almost none e.g. truncate
triggers (1-2 versions), some patches need almost constant feedback e.g.
async commit (24+ versions before commit). The existence of an
intermediate patch in no way signals laziness, lack of intention to
complete or any other failure to appreciate the software development
process.

If you want people to work on Postgres alongside you, I'd appreciate a
software development process that didn't roughly equate to charging at a
machine gun trench across a minefield. If you insist on following that
you should at least stop wondering why it is that the few people to have
made more than a few steps are determined and grim individuals and start
thinking about the many skilled people who have chosen non-combatant
status, and why.

--
  Simon Riggs
  2ndQuadrant  http://www.2ndQuadrant.com

  PostgreSQL UK 2008 Conference: http://www.postgresql.org.uk