Continuing instability in insert-conflict-specconflict test - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

We've seen repeated failures in the tests added by commit 43e084197:

https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=anole&dt=2020-08-23%2005%3A46%3A17
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=tern&dt=2020-08-04%2001%3A05%3A30
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=dory&dt=2020-03-14%2019%3A35%3A31
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=caiman&dt=2020-04-01%2004%3A10%3A51
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=komodoensis&dt=2020-03-10%2003%3A14%3A13
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=flaviventris&dt=2020-03-10%2011%3A01%3A49
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=flaviventris&dt=2020-03-09%2010%3A59%3A43
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=flaviventris&dt=2020-03-09%2015%3A52%3A50
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=petalura&dt=2020-03-09%2005%3A20%3A07
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=serinus&dt=2020-03-09%2003%3A00%3A15
https://buildfarm.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/show_log.pl?nm=serinus&dt=2020-03-09%2015%3A52%3A53

I dug into this a bit today, and found that I can reproduce the failure
reliably by adding a short delay in the right place, as attached.

However, after studying the test awhile I have to admit that I do not
understand why all these failures look the same, because it seems to
me that this test is a house of cards.  It *repeatedly* expects that
issuing a command to session X will result in session Y reporting
some notice before X's command terminates, even though X's command will
never meet the conditions for isolationtester to think it's blocked.
AFAICS that is nothing but wishful thinking.  Why is it that only one of
those places has failed so far?

            regards, tom lane

diff --git a/src/test/isolation/specs/insert-conflict-specconflict.spec
b/src/test/isolation/specs/insert-conflict-specconflict.spec
index 6028397491..92459047b6 100644
--- a/src/test/isolation/specs/insert-conflict-specconflict.spec
+++ b/src/test/isolation/specs/insert-conflict-specconflict.spec
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ setup
         RAISE NOTICE 'blurt_and_lock_4() called for % in session %', $1, current_setting('spec.session')::int;
         RAISE NOTICE 'acquiring advisory lock on 4';
         PERFORM pg_advisory_xact_lock(current_setting('spec.session')::int, 4);
+        PERFORM pg_sleep(0.1);
     RETURN $1;
     END;$$;