Regression Test Analysis for Linux/Alpha...

    I took the time today to take a close look at the regression tests
that fail when they are run on Linux/Alpha. I used the May 16th snapshot
on my RH4.0 UDB for the tests.

    There are four types of failures that I could determine....

* Error message mismatch: One error message is in the expected regression
results, but the actual results generate a different one. Though they both
have the same meaning. Though for float{4,8} the expected on some was an
underflow, and instead a zero was silently inserted. Might be due to
catching the error at different points, or due to #ifdefs. Theses occured
mainly for int2, oidint2, and float{4,8} tests. Harmless for now.

* Range mismatch: Apparently Linux/Alpha thinks that such things as int4
and oidint4 have a larger range than the expected results do. The result
is that some inserts of larger numbers that should have failed, did not,
and caused additional rows returned on selects. Probably due to 32bit
expected results vs. 64bit actual results. Needs to be fixed, but not
fatal for now.

* Complete failures: These are the tests that resulted in postgres
throwing an arthimetic trap (as reported by the kernel), and sometimes
seg faults by psql. These only happened on the time and date related
tests, such as datetime, abstime, etc... Apparently date and time are
totally broken for Linux/Alpha at this time. These are the first problems
that need to be solved.

* Cascade Effects: Simply more advanced tests that depend on lower level
tests to succed. If they don't, then these don't. This includes both
Horology and Random. Should go away if we fix the above (two, three?)
problems.

    That is about where things stand at the moment. I plan to start
looking at the date/time stuff soon, but I don't know how far I will get,
due to my limited C hacking ablities (nothing like learning by doing
though... :). Any advice/pointer/suggestions to get especially date/time
working, or on fixing any of these above problems would be greatly
apperciated. Thanks!

    PS. If anyone is just dying to fix any of these problems
themselves, then feel free to do so. :) Just tell me, so we don't
duplicate work, and make sure I get any patches you make so I can test
things on my end!

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|   "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."                     |
|                                            --- Philippians 1:21 (KJV)    |
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|  Ryan Kirkpatrick  |  Boulder, Colorado  | rkirkpat@nag.cs.colorado.edu  |
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|               http://www-ugrad.cs.colorado.edu/~rkirkpat/                |
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