Re: BUG #5028: CASE returns ELSE value always when type is"char"

"Kevin Grittner" <Kevin.Grittner@wicourts.gov> writes:
> Jeff Davis <pgsql@j-davis.com> wrote:
>> If I understand your question, you're comparing:
>> 
>> (a) leaving a literal as "unknown" until you've finished
>> inferring types (current behavior)
>> (b) casting every unknown to text immediately, and then trying to 
>> infer the types
 
> No, that's not it.  I'm wondering why it isn't treated as text. 
> Period.  Full stop.  Nothing to infer.

Because then we would have to provide implicit casts from text to
everything else, which would be horribly dangerous.

> In my view, it is wrong that any of those work.  I would expect to
> have to code one of these:
 
> select now() < date '2009-01-01';  -- implicit casts should cover
> select now() < timestamp with time zone '2009-01-01 00:00:00.0';

[ shrug... ]  The current design is a compromise between usability
and strictness of semantics.  This proposal appears to be all strictness
and no usability.  No thanks ... even without any backward-compatibility
considerations, I wouldn't find this to be an improvement.

			regards, tom lane