Re: Skipping schema changes in publication

Peter Smith <smithpb2250@gmail.com>

From: Peter Smith <smithpb2250@gmail.com>
To: Shlok Kyal <shlok.kyal.oss@gmail.com>
Cc: shveta malik <shveta.malik@gmail.com>, Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com>, vignesh C <vignesh21@gmail.com>, "Zhijie Hou (Fujitsu)" <houzj.fnst@fujitsu.com>, YeXiu <1518981153@qq.com>, Ian Lawrence Barwick <barwick@gmail.com>, Bharath Rupireddy <bharath.rupireddyforpostgres@gmail.com>, PostgreSQL Hackers <pgsql-hackers@lists.postgresql.org>
Date: 2026-01-08T04:20:51Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers
Hi Shlok.

Some review comments for the v35-0001 patch (code)

======
src/backend/replication/pgoutput/pgoutput.c

get_rel_sync_entry:

1.
  /*
  * If this is a FOR ALL TABLES publication, pick the partition
  * root and set the ancestor level accordingly.
+ *
+ * If this is a FOR ALL TABLES publication and it has an EXCEPT
+ * TABLE list:
+ *
+ * 1. If pubviaroot is set and the relation is a partition, check
+ * whether the partition root is included in the EXCEPT TABLE
+ * list. If so, do not publish the change.
+ *
+ * 2. If pubviaroot is not set, check whether the relation itself
+ * is included in the EXCEPT TABLE list. If so, do not publish the
+ * change.
+ *
+ * This is achieved by keeping the variable "publish" set to
+ * false. And eventually, entry->pubactions will remain all false
+ * for this publication.
  */

For that last para ("This is achieved by..."), it is unclear what
"This" is referring to. I think you mean like below:

SUGGESTION
Note - "do not publish the change" is achieved by...

======
src/bin/pg_dump/pg_dump.c

getPublications:

2.
+ ntbls = PQntuples(res_tbls);
+ if (ntbls == 0)
+ continue;
+
+ for (int j = 0; j < ntbls; j++)
+ {
+ Oid prrelid;
+ TableInfo  *tbinfo;
+
+ prrelid = atooid(PQgetvalue(res_tbls, j, 0));
+
+ tbinfo = findTableByOid(prrelid);
+ if (tbinfo == NULL)
+ continue;
+
+ simple_ptr_list_append(&pubinfo[i].except_tables, tbinfo);
+ }
+
+ PQclear(res_tbls);

2a.
That first condition with 'continue' looks like it would be better
just to remove it. Otherwise, the PQclear(res_tbls) may leak. Anyway,
the loop will never iterate if ntbls is 0, so where is the harm in
removing this?

~

2b.
Also, that "if (tbinfo == NULL)" seems overkill because it is only
avoiding the final statement of the loop. It might be better to
replace this like below:

if (tblinfo != NULL)
 simple_ptr_list_append(...);

~~~

dumpPublication:

3.
+ appendPQExpBuffer(query, "ONLY %s", fmtQualifiedDumpable(tbinfo));

I think that unconditionally choosing "ONLY" here may not be the right
thing to do, particularly when the excluded table is a partitioned
table. (e.g. this is related to off-list discussions about how to
EXCEPT partition tables).

======
Kind Regards,
Peter Smith.
Fujitsu Australia



Commits

Same data as JSON: GET /api/v1/messages/:b64id/commits the thread's linked commits as JSON, with link sources. API reference →
  1. Fix miscellaneous issues in EXCEPT publication clause.

  2. Change syntax of EXCEPT TABLE clause in publication commands.

  3. Add support for EXCEPT TABLE in ALTER PUBLICATION.

  4. Allow table exclusions in publications via EXCEPT TABLE.

  5. Add wait_for_subscription_sync for TAP tests.