Re: BUG #8532: postgres fails to start with timezone-data >=2013e - Mailing list pgsql-bugs

From Aaron W. Swenson
Subject Re: BUG #8532: postgres fails to start with timezone-data >=2013e
Date
Msg-id 20140111153734.GA26055@gengoff.local.grandmasfridge.org
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: BUG #8532: postgres fails to start with timezone-data >=2013e  (Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>)
List pgsql-bugs
On 2013-11-10 20:57, Tom Lane wrote:
> Heikki Linnakangas <hlinnakangas@vmware.com> writes:
> > On 16.10.2013 13:09, timo.gurr@gmail.com wrote:
> >> # ls -la /usr/share/zoneinfo/
> >> lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root     1 Oct 16 12:06 posix ->  .
>
> > That patch conflicts with the upstream Makefile change to create the
> > "other" directory as a symlink. With the vanilla zoneinfo sources, the
> > symlink is fine, but by putting 'posix' inside 'zoneinfo' directory, the
> > Gentoo-specific patch creates that infinite recursion situation.
>
> I agree, this is an egregious packaging bug.  Programs should be able to
> enumerate the timezone database without running into infinite recursion.

I agree. This looks like it's rather recent. I'm waiting for a reply
=66rom the toolchain herd as to why they're effectively reverting that patc=
h.

> Basically, I don't think we should do anything about this.  Packaging
> the TZ database like that is completely brain-dead, and Gentoo needs
> to fix it, not tell us we're doing something wrong.  The consequences
> of their bug aren't too serious in modern PG releases anyway.  (Given
> what I know of their packaging policies, I have to wonder why they're
> still shipping 9.1 rather than the bleeding edge...)
>
>             regards, tom lane
>

Respectfully, I disagree. PostgreSQL should be able to handle cyclic
directory structures gracefully. More basic utilities, like ls and du,
won't die because of it.

And, we've been keeping pace rather well. We had 9.3.1 in the tree
before you wrote your email. :p

--
Mr. Aaron W. Swenson
Gentoo Linux Developer
PostgreSQL Herd Bull
Email : titanofold@gentoo.org
GnuPG FP : 2C00 7719 4F85 FB07 A49C 0E31 5713 AA03 D1BB FDA0
GnuPG ID : D1BBFDA0

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