Re: plpython3 - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

On Wed, 2010-01-13 at 13:06 -0700, James William Pye wrote:
> On Jan 13, 2010, at 11:08 AM, Joshua D. Drake wrote:
> > My argument would be now, what is the benefit of the James Pye version
> > over our version. James can you illustrate succinctly why we should be
> > supporting a new version?
>
>
> Doing so, succinctly, is unfortunately difficult.
> It is primarily a matter of comparing features, AFAICT. And, furthermore, some features may not be useful to some
users.
>
> It exposes additional functionality that should *not* be incrementally developed  in plpython as it would break
applications.This was the point of trying to move forward with it for Python 3. 
>
> Function Modules:
>  - Does away with the need for GD/SD (more natural Python environment).
>  - Allows tracebacks (tracebacks are useful, right?) to implemented easily.
>  - Does *not* expose a bastardized variant of the language by pretending that "modules/script files" can return and
yield.
>  - Helps to promote the Python tenet of being explicit.
>
> Native Typing:
>  - Provides PG type introspection not available in any other PL, AFAIK.
>  - Improves efficiency in some cases (conversion must be _explicitly_ called for)
>  - MD Array support.
>  - Composites are a sequence and a mapping.
>
> Other features: http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/WIP:plpython3
>
>
> Aside from function modules and native typing, many of plpython3's features could be implemented incrementally.
However,I had a chance to sprint and they are available now in a new implementation. I did so, rather than improving
plpython,because I believe that native typing and function modules are very useful. 
>
> I'm not sure this fulfills your request, but, hopefully, it's a start.

It does actually. Now, hackers... as a Python guy I can say these things
are truly useful, to a Python programmer trying to use Python as a
procedural language with PostgreSQL.

What do we think?

Joshua D. Drake





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