Re: WIP patch: Improve relation size functions such as pg_relation_size() to avoid producing an error when called against a no longer visible relation

Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>

From: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
To: Robert Haas <robertmhaas@gmail.com>
Cc: Phil Sorber <phil@omniti.com>, pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org, OmniTI DBA <dba@omniti.com>
Date: 2011-12-22T18:33:53Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers
Robert Haas <robertmhaas@gmail.com> writes:
> I'm wondering if we oughta just return NULL and be done with it.

+1.  There are multiple precedents for that sort of response, which we
introduced exactly so that "SELECT some_function(oid) FROM some_catalog"
wouldn't fail just because one of the rows had gotten deleted by the
time the scan got to it.  I don't think it's necessary for the
relation-size functions to be any smarter.  Indeed, I'd assumed that's
all that Phil's patch did, since I'd not looked closer till just now.

			regards, tom lane