Re: Safe memory allocation functions - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Alvaro Herrera
Subject Re: Safe memory allocation functions
Date
Msg-id 20150116150925.GS1663@alvh.no-ip.org
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: Safe memory allocation functions  (Robert Haas <robertmhaas@gmail.com>)
Responses Re: Safe memory allocation functions
List pgsql-hackers
Robert Haas wrote:
> On Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 10:57 AM, Alvaro Herrera
> <alvherre@2ndquadrant.com> wrote:

> >> I do think that "safe" is the wrong suffix.  Maybe palloc_soft_fail()
> >> or palloc_null() or palloc_no_oom() or palloc_unsafe().
> >
> > I liked palloc_noerror() better myself FWIW.
> 
> I don't care for noerror() because it probably still will error in
> some circumstances; just not for OOM.

Yes, but that seems fine to me.  We have other functions with "noerror"
flags, and they can still fail under some circumstances -- just not if
the error is the most commonly considered scenario in which they fail.
The first example I found is LookupAggNameTypeNames(); there are many
more.  I don't think this causes any confusion in practice.

Another precendent we have is something like "missing_ok" as a flag name
in get_object_address() and other places; following that, we could have
this new function as "palloc_oom_ok" or something like that.  But it
doesn't seem an improvement to me.  (I'm pretty sure we all agree that
this must not be a flag to palloc but rather a new function.)

Of all the ones you proposed above, the one I like the most is
palloc_no_oom, but IMO palloc_noerror is still better.

-- 
Álvaro Herrera                http://www.2ndQuadrant.com/
PostgreSQL Development, 24x7 Support, Remote DBA, Training & Services



pgsql-hackers by date:

Previous
From: Robert Haas
Date:
Subject: Re: Safe memory allocation functions
Next
From: Michael Paquier
Date:
Subject: Error check always bypassed in tablefunc.c