Re: Ideas for easier debugging of backend problems

Martijn van Oosterhout <kleptog@svana.org> writes:
> 1. Move the test for strange memory alloc sizes to the palloc macros so
> that on error, it points at the palloc call rather than mcxt.c.

What would that accomplish other than bloating the backend?  We can't do
it anyway, because of double-evaluation risk.

> 2. Add either a GUC or a command line switch or PGOPTION switch to call
> setrlimit to set the core size to something bigger. Most places only
> soft limit the core size, not hard limit.

> 3. Add either a GUC or a command line switch or PGOPTION switch  to
> automatically invoke and attach gdb on certain types of error.
> Obviously you can only do this where stdin, stdout and stderr have not
> been redirected.

Both of these presume you have a programmer running the database, or at
least someone who's not scared of gdb.
        regards, tom lane