backend dies when a user defined type returns null
Hi,
I created myself a user defined type following the example in the
Postgres programmer's guide.
In the example in chapter 5 it shows that the input function for the
user defined type returns null when the input type doesn't match the
correct format.
I do that for input strings that don't match my strict n.n.n format ( ex
3.2.1) but it causes the backend to die.
For example, this query causes it to die:
select * from collections where version='3.2'
But this one works because it is in the correct format:
select * from collections where version='3.2.1'
Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks
Patrick
--
________________________________________
Patrick Robin
patrickr@fa.disney.com
Walt Disney Feature Animation
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank,California 91521-4817
Patrick Robin <Patrick.Robin@disney.com> writes:
In the example in chapter 5 it shows that the input function for the
user defined type returns null when the input type doesn't match the
correct format.
I do that for input strings that don't match my strict n.n.n format ( ex
3.2.1) but it causes the backend to die.
The example is out to lunch, unfortunately :-( In current releases the
only clean way for an input routine to fail is to throw elog(ERROR).
You cannot return a SQL NULL, and if you try to fake it by returning
a null pointer, you'll just cause a null-pointer-dereference crash.
7.1 has a redesigned function-call interface that allows you to return
a NULL cleanly, but for now elog is the only way.
I'll make a note to fix that example in the 7.1 docs...
regards, tom lane