Re: JDBC 4 Compliance

> 1. Stability has to be top priority. I say this on the basis that every
> month that goes by, more and more organisations are either evaluating or
> making a switch away from proprietary databases and onto PostgreSQL. A
> great many of these are Java shops using some form of server environment
> such as Tomcat, Glassfish, WebSphere etc., so access will normally be
> via the JDBC Driver. To de-stabilise the existing driver in any way,
> shape or form, has the potential to de-rail the adoption of PostgreSQL
> in a big, big way. Do not do it!

That's why you promote the existing driver as the 'stable' driver, and
start development on a new code base.

> 2. To say that anything prior to Java7 is "dead" is ridiculous at this
> point in time, at least in a commercial environment. In one or two
> year's time however it may be different.

Which is likely the time frame to get a new driver code base up to
snuff, tested, and deemed stable.

> Yes, there may be compelling
> security reasons to upgrade from 6 to 7, but in an existing deployed
> commercial environment happily running Java 5 or 6, you are only going
> to upgrade to Java 7 if there is a very good reason to do so. I can
> recall numerous examples of a "simple" Java version upgrade breaking one
> or more production systems. I've just checked the very latest WebShere
> offering from IBM (Version 8.5.5) and that still installs Java6 by default.

Ok, so use the current driver, and let someone develop a newer one.

> 3. Yes, the current driver is not perfect, and there are several missing
> features which most people have identified as being more than just a
> nice to have.

Current users don't have to upgrade to a newer driver. The great thing
about software (and computers) is that they always do exactly what they
did the day you first started using them.

> In particular the work on getting XA support working
> correctly by Bryan Varner is something that will certainly help with
> installations running high transaction rate Glassfish or WebSphere
> installations and using the XA mode driver is a requirement.

It wasn't just me. Adam Gray and Kirk Winters also helped out immensely
with planning, review, testing, and code contributions. Thank POLARIS
Laboratories, not me.

> The big
> question is how do we get these new features and major fixes into the
> current driver without risk of destabilisation?

Why bother? If the current driver works for most people they can keep
using it.



As an aside, I think it's interesting that the longer this thread goes,
the more it proves the point that it's easier to just go do it yourself.

Regards,
-Bryan Varner