PgPlus AS 84R1 SP2 Release Notes 20110519get.enterprisedb.com/releasenotes/PgPlus_AS_84R1_SP2_Release_N… · Postgres(Plus(Advanced(Server(v8.4((8.4.7.20)Release(Notes(((Copyright2010(EnterpriseDB(Corporation.(All(Rights(Reserved.(

Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 (8.4.7.20) Release Notes

Copyright 2010 EnterpriseDB Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page: 1

Release Notes Postgres Plus® Advanced Server

v8.4 (8.4.7.20)

Table of Contents

I. Release Summary .............................................................................................................................................1

II. New PostgreSQL 8.4 Features .........................................................................................................................2

III. Oracle Compatibility / Capability Features .....................................................................................................5

IV. Enterprise Module Updates..........................................................................................................................12

V. Security .........................................................................................................................................................13

VI. Other New Features......................................................................................................................................15

VII. Installers........................................................................................................................................................15

VIII. StackBuilder Plus...........................................................................................................................................16

IX. Internationalization / Localization ................................................................................................................16

X. Service Pack Maintenance.............................................................................................................................17

XI. Documentation Updates...............................................................................................................................26

XII. Upgrade Paths...............................................................................................................................................27

XIII. Platform Support ..........................................................................................................................................28

XIV. System Requirements ...................................................................................................................................28

XV. Known Issues ................................................................................................................................................29

XVI. How to Report Problems ..............................................................................................................................29

I. Release Summary

EnterpriseDB continues to advance its position as the leader in delivering the innovation and low cost of open source based databases with commercial quality, compatibility, scalability, and performance in this



latest release of Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4. A major highlight of this release is the introduction of an abundance of PostgreSQL v8.4.x features.

Oracle compatibility continues to be the hallmark feature in Advanced Server. Many new Oracle Compatibility features have also been added making it easier than ever to reduce your Oracle spend by creating Postgres based reporting solutions, by deploying new Oracle compatible applications on Postgres and by faster and smoother migrations of existing Oracle applications to Postgres. Even if you don’t use Oracle, you can still use and benefit from most of the Oracle compatibility features in your own database applications.

All the enterprise modules that are part of Advanced Server like Slony and PgBouncer have been brought up to date, and a new and easier to use cross-‐platform installer technology allows silent and non-‐administrative installs.

In addition, Advanced Server now comes with StackBuilder Plus making the addition of complimentary modules to your Advanced Server installation easier than ever. New modules include: the xDB Replication Server for Oracle replication and Postgres Plus HQ for monitoring over 160 database metrics. Update Monitor will notify you and assist you in keeping your Advanced Server and StackBuilder Plus modules up to date.

Finally, maintenance fixes for issues reported by customers and discovered in the community release have been included.

II. New PostgreSQL 8.4 Features The release synchronizes Advanced Server with v 8.4.5 of PostgreSQL and contains many new features including: Parallel Database Restore, Per-‐Column Permissions, Per-‐Database Collation, Reduced Vacuum overhead with Visibility Map, ANSI SQL2003 windowing functions, common table expressions and recursive queries, and many more enhancements over v8.3. Below are some of the feature highlights grouped by functional areas of the database server:

A. SQL 1. Windowing Functions

These functions allow you to do aggregate operations, such as count, sum, and rank, over a subset of your data, and without grouping output rows. This means that multilevel reports which would have taken 3 or 4 queries (and possibly procedural code) can now be generated with a single query.

2. Common Table Expressions and Recursive Queries

This allows users to create "named subqueries" which can then be referenced in other clauses of the query to which they are attached. When used with recursive queries, you can transverse a tree



or graph structure with a single query, efficiently. This is extremely useful for the many applications which have tree-‐structured data.

B. Administration

1. Multi-‐Column GIN Indexes

GIN indexes, used for advanced indexing such as arrays and full text search, can now be created to cover multiple columns at once, removing the requirement to concatenate them before indexing.

2. Auto-‐Tuning Free Space Map

The Free Space Map is now stored on disk, not shared memory, which means it always shows all free space in your tables and resizes dynamically.

C. Security and Connections 1. Column Level Permissions

DBAs can now grant permissions (SELECT, UPDATE) on specific columns as well as on entire tables. This makes it easier to secure sensitive data in your database.

2. SSL Authentication

Users can now authenticate using SSL certificates, and DBAs can define access control for specific SSL certificates. This makes SSL-‐based authentication schemes much more flexible and secure.

D. Monitoring

1. auto_explain

Lets you automatically log select EXPLAIN plans to the PostgreSQL log for later analysis. Will help a great deal with troubleshooting slow stored procedures, as well as queries which perform differently between production and testing. Also allows logging of EXPLAIN plans for nested statements, that is, statements executed from within a function.

2. New DTrace / SystemTap Probes

43 new probes make tracing your server in real time to know what's happening inside the database engine and operating system even more informative and powerful.

E. Performance

1. Hash Methods for DISTINCT/UNION/INTERSECT/EXCEPTION queries

Previously, operations like DISTINCT would require Postgres to sort and then eliminate data to achieve the distinct results. Now PostgreSQL can use hash based methods (similar to those used for GROUP BY) to achieve these results. This should make many of these queries much faster without needing any changes.



2. Semi-‐Joins and Anti-‐Joins

This refactor of how subqueries are folded into the main query, such as IN() and EXISTS() clauses, now reliably chooses the best execution method for semantically equivalent subqueries rather than requiring the user to experiment with different query syntax. It should accelerate existing complex reporting queries by executing them more intelligently.

F. Procedures 1. Default Parameters

Permits definition of default values for stored procedure parameters not supplied by the user. This makes stored procedure change management, and porting database applications from SQL Server and Sybase, significantly easier.

2. HINT, DETAIL, and SQLSTATE in RAISE command for PL/pgSQL

Output additional error information for easier debugging of PL/pgSQL stored procedures, or enhanced error control in your application.

G. Developer Features 1. Foreign Data Wrapper support

Paving the way to a full implementation of the SQL/MED (Management of External Data) standard in the next version, it's now possible to register foreign server and users mapping, enhancing remote procedure calls security when using cross-‐database connection tools like dblink.

2. Case Insensitive Text Data Type

This allows matching queries to match text whether it's UPPER case or lower case, which comes in very handy when managing emails for example. This does require you to use the "citext" data type.

H. Tools 1. Parallel Restore

pg_restore can now be run in parallel process mode, loading data and creating database objects in several parallel streams. Depending on your hardware and database design, this allows restore of database backup files two to eight times faster than single-‐process restore. 8.4's parallel restore can also be used to restore 8.3 or 8.2 databases.

2. pgBench with Timed Execution

You can now ask pgBench, our default micro-‐benchmark, how much PostgreSQL can do in a known amount of time, rather than how much time it'll take to do a set amount of transactions. This makes it more intuitive to compare results between runs or between servers.



I. psql Improvements

1. Function Editor

\ef <function_name> will bring up a special function editor with placeholders for the parts of a function, making it simple to maintain functions directly in psql rather than needing to use text files.

2. Improved Function Listing

Functions now clearly show when they are regular, windowing or aggregate functions so that you know how to use them.

J. New Built-‐in Functions

1. Time based generate_series() Functions

generate_series() is the swiss-‐army knife of SQL looping tricks, and now can loop between two dates rather than just two integers.

2. generate_subscripts() Function

Allows for easier array traversal. You used to be able to do this with generate_series and array_upper and array_lower, but this new version should be easier to use and faster as well.

For a complete list of all the new features and details on individual features please visit: http://www.postgresql.org/about/press/features84.html

III. Oracle Compatibility / Capability Features

A. User Defined Exceptions and RAISE Command (11466)

Users can now define custom exceptions in procedural code and execute the custom exception code using the RAISE command. This provides application developers in general more flexibility and specificity in writing their procedural code. It also provides more Oracle compatibility. A sample is demonstrated below:

edb=# DECLARE myexception EXCEPTION; BEGIN IF TO_CHAR(SYSDATE, 'DY')='MON' THEN RAISE myexception; END IF; EXCEPTION WHEN myexception THEN



DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Monday'); END; Monday EDB-SPL Procedure successfully completed

B. Named Parameter Notation Support (13247/9306)

This feature allows you to call stored procedures using the => syntax to specify parameter-‐value pairs. This allows you to call the stored procedure without having to know the correct order of arguments and call procedures with defaults assigned to some parameters during creation time, for example:

Stored procedure:

create or replace procedure test_named_params(innum IN number, inname IN varchar, indept IN varchar :='sales', insal IN number :=500) as begin dbms_output.put_line('name is '||inname); dbms_output.put_line('number is '||innum); dbms_output.put_line('sal is '||insal); dbms_output.put_line('dept is '||indept); end;

This procedure can be called in the traditional way, i.e. providing a value for each IN parameter:

exec test_named_params( 3,'Craig','mkt', 10000);

Or now using the named parameter syntax, the procedure can be called in the following ways:

exec test_named_params(inname => 'Craig', innum => 3, insal => 10000); exec test_named_params(inname => 'Craig', innum => 3);

Note that the order of the arguments is random and the arguments that were defined with defaults don’t need to have values passed in.

C. Private Synonym Support (14411)

Postgresql Plus Advanced Server has been enhanced to support private synonyms. Unlike public synonyms, which are created in public schemas, private synonyms are schema objects created in user schemas. Private synonyms are created in the first accessible schema in the search_path. Private



synonyms have the same privileges as other schema objects; the users need to have privileges on the underlying object to access the synonym.

D. Additional Collection Methods Support (13222,15789,15585)

Postgres Plus Advanced Server 8.4 supports associated array and nested table collection types, as well as the following collection methods: COUNT, FIRST, and LAST. In addition, the following new methods have been added:

1. EXISTS (index)

This returns TRUE if the nth element in a collection exists. Otherwise, EXISTS(n) returns FALSE. Mainly, you use EXISTS with DELETE to maintain sparse nested tables. You can also use EXISTS to avoid raising an exception when you reference a nonexistent element. When passed an out-‐of-‐range subscript, EXISTS returns FALSE

2. PRIOR (index)

PRIOR(n) returns the index number that precedes index n in a collection. If n has no predecessor, PRIOR(n) returns NULL.

3. NEXT (index)

NEXT(n) returns the index number that succeeds index n. If n has no successor, NEXT(n) returns NULL.

4. DELETE, DELETE (index) and DELETE(index, index)

This procedure has three forms. DELETE removes all elements from a collection. DELETE(n) removes the nth element from an associative array or nested table. If n is null, DELETE(n) does nothing. DELETE(m,n) removes all elements in the range m..n from an associative array or nested table. If m is larger than n or if m or n is null, DELETE(m,n) does nothing.

5. TRIM

TRIM -‐ deletes one element from the end of collection. TRIM(N) -‐ deletes N elements from the end of collection.

6. EXTEND

EXTEND -‐ adds one NULL element at the end of collection. EXTEND(n) -‐ adds n number of NULL elements at the end of collection. EXTEND(n,i) -‐ adds n copies of element at element at index i at the end of collection.

7. MULTISET UNION and MULTISET UNION DISTINCT

This operator combines two collections of same type and provides for retaining or discarding duplicate elements from the resultant collection.



E. Oracle GoTo Statement Support (11234)

This feature allows you to ‘jump’ to labeled sections of code within your SPL stored programs. By placing labels inside the code, you can jump to them using the GOTO statement. Labels should be uniquely identified within function or procedure scopes. For example:

declare color varchar2(10) := 'blue'; begin if color = 'blue' then goto is_blue; else goto not_blue; end if; color := 'black'; <<is_blue>> dbms_output.put_line (color||' is my favorite color too.'); goto say_goodbye; <<not_blue>> dbms_output.put_line (color||' is not blue. '); goto say_goodbye; <<say_goodbye>> dbms_output.put_line ('Thanks for sharing. Goodbye.'); end;

Output from running anonymous block:

blue is my favorite color too. Thanks for sharing. Goodbye. EDB-SPL Procedure successfully completed

F. REVERSE FOR LOOP support (500) This feature in pl/pgSQL is now exposed in the Oracle compatible stored procedure language.

G. Public Synonym Support for Functions, Stored Procedures (7091)

This feature extends the use of synonyms to more database objects. Now, users can create synonyms on stored procedures/functions/packages as well as Synonyms of Functions and Procedures. This provides you with the ability to use shorthand notation instead of using long object names. For example:



edb=# create or replace procedure sp_1a_say_hello edb-# as edb$# begin edb$# dbms_output.put_line('Hello there!'); edb$# end; CREATE PROCEDURE edb=# exec sp_1a_say_hello; Hello there! EDB-SPL Procedure successfully completed edb=# create public synonym greeting for sp_1a_say_hello; CREATE PUBLIC SYNONYM edb=# exec greeting; Hello there! EDB-SPL Procedure successfully completed

H. Support of Out Parameters in Functions (12784)

Fixes an issue where values assigned to OUT parameters were not working properly. Now the OUT value will be assigned and passed out correctly. Sample code:

CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE TEST_PACKAGE IS PROCEDURE test_proc; END TEST_PACKAGE; /* Package Body */ CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE BODY TEST_PACKAGE IS /* Public function/procedure */ PROCEDURE test_proc IS dat pg_database%ROWTYPE; ret BOOLEAN; BEGIN ret := test_func(dat); DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('ret: ' || ret || ', datname: ' || dat.datname); END test_proc; /* Private function/procedure */ FUNCTION test_func(dat out pg_database%ROWTYPE) RETURN BOOLEAN IS BEGIN SELECT * INTO dat FROM pg_database WHERE datname = 'edb';



RETURN TRUE; EXCEPTION WHEN OTHERS THEN DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLCODE: ' || SQLCODE); DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLERRM: ' || SQLERRM); RETURN FALSE; END test_func; END TEST_PACKAGE;

I. Support for EXCEPTION_INIT Pragma (13232)

Postgresql Plus Advanced Server now has support for PRAGMA EXCEPTION_INIT. PRAGMA EXCEPTION_INIT associates a user-‐defined error code and error message with a user defined exception. A PRAGMA EXCEPTION_INIT declaration may be included in any block, sub-‐block or package; the pragma is typically most useful in a package. This is a REDWOOD compatibility feature, EXCEPTION_INIT Pragma is only supported for user defined exceptions. Currently only error codes in the range of: -‐20000 to -‐20999 are supported.

J. Support of DETERMINISTIC keyword in SPL Functions (12788)

The DETERMINISTIC keyword indicates that the function will always return the same result given the same arguments. This is equivalent to the PostgreSQL IMMUTABLE designation. This keyword has been added to support the Oracle compatible syntax. Example:

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION test_volatility ( p_word IN VARCHAR2 ) RETURN INTEGER DETERMINISTIC AS BEGIN RETURN LENGTH(p_word); END;

K. Bulk Collect Enhancements (13225)

There are two enhancements to Bulk Collect:

1. Allowing the specification of the entire collection row in an insert statement:

test=# declare test-# type t is table of students%rowtype index by binary_integer; test$# l_data t; test$# BEGIN



test$# select * from students bulk collect into l_data; test$# test$# FORALL x in l_data.FIRST..l_data.LAST test$# INSERT into students values l_data(x) ; test$# END; EDB-SPL Procedure successfully completed test=# select * from students; name ------- craig fred sam craig fred sam (6 rows)

2. Supporting the same row specification in Dynamic SQL

test=# declare test-# TYPE t IS TABLE OF students%ROWTYPE INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER; test$# l_data t; test$# BEGIN test$# EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'SELECT * FROM STUDENTS' test$# BULK COLLECT INTO l_data ; test$# DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Bulk Collected '||l_data.COUNT||' rows using dynamic SQL with BULK COLLECT'); test$# END; Bulk Collected 3 rows using dynamic SQL with BULK COLLECT EDB-SPL Procedure successfully completed

L. Support for CURRENT_USER added to Database Links (13248) Database links now support the notion of the CURRENT_USER user assignment. This allows one to access objects over the database under the security scope of the current user instead of a hard coded default user, for example:

CREATE DATABASE LINK testlink CONNECT TO CURRENT_USER USING 'oradb';

M. Assignment of default values to IN parameters in function definitions (9895)

Postgresql Plus Advanced Server now has the ability to pass default values for stored function / procedure parameters by using the assignment operator (i.e ":="). Prior to this feature, the default



value for a parameter could only be passed using the ‘default’ keyword. With this feature, users can pass default values by using the assignment operator or the default keyword.

N. Syntax Support for PRAGMA RESTRICT REFERENCES (15556)

The following Oracle syntax is now supported:

PRAGMA RESTRICT_REFERENCES ( [function_name | DEFAULT], [RNDS | WNDS| RNPS| WNPS | TRUST] , [RNDS | WNDS| RNPS| WNPS | TRUST] ...)

O. Support for the "lengthb()" function (10461) Postgres Plus Advanced Server now support lengthb() function. The lengthb() function returns the length of the given string in bytes.

P. Additional Redwood Data Dictionary Views (11755) Three additional REDWOOD compatibility data dictionary views have been added to Postgres Plus Advanced Server related to sequences:

• DBA_sequences

• USER_sequences

• SYS_sequences

IV. Enterprise Module Updates

A. Slony The version of Slony shipped as part of Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 is: 2.0.4 - released 2010-06-24 and contains the following changes: -‐ Fixed script syntax error, bug #108 -‐ Memory corruption with large rows -‐ Memory leak fixes -‐ Various documentation updates -‐ Support for newer versions of flex -‐ Fixes to stored procedures called by CLONE NODE FINISH (bug #119) For more details, please visit: http://www.slony.info/

B. PostGIS The version of PostGIS shipped as part of Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 is: 1.5.1 released 2010-03-11.

C. PL/Java



The version of PL/Java shipped as part of Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 is: 1.4.0 - released 2008-02-01.

D. PL/Python Python has been added as an available packaged procedural language in Advanced Server and was built against ActivePython 2.6.5.12.

E. pgSNMPd The version of pgSNMPd shipped as part of Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 is: 1.0 - released 2007-08-07.

F. iCache (Infinite Cache) The version of iCache shipped as part of Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 is based on memcached 1.4.5 -‐ released 2010-‐04-‐03.

G. Client Connectors 1. JDBC

The version of the Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 JDBC connector is based on pgJDBC 9.0-‐801 released on September 20, 2010. Two versions are available, one built against JDK 1.4 (edb-‐jdbc14.jar) and one built against JDK 1.6 (edb-‐jdbc16.jar).

2. ODBC The version of the Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 ODBC connector is based on psqlODBC 8.04.0200 - released 2009-12-26.

3. .NET The version of the Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 .NET connector is based on Npgsql 2.0.8-1 - released 2009-12-28.

V. Security Postgres Plus Advanced Server is the most secure open source based database out-‐of-‐the-‐box and part of that is making security tools easy to use. Version 8.4 makes our existing connection and access control more flexible and simpler to understand.

A. SQL/Protect – Protection against SQL Injection Attacks SQL/Protect is an add-‐on security module from EnterpriseDB installed with Postgres Plus Advanced Server. While Advanced Server is well known for being the most secure open source based database, there is one source of attack against any database that is not easily protected against in a centralized and standardized fashion; the wide variety of SQL code in client applications that accesses a database.



These attacks hitch a ride on the back of SQL commands to compromise or damage data. Preventing SQL/Injection is normally left up to the skills of the individual application developer, which can vary greatly between people and the projects they work on, and be compromised by tight schedules and commercial delivery pressures. SQL/Protect adds a standardized, quick to setup, and easy to use security layer on the database server that guards against SQL Injection attacks and is managed by DBAs. It provides a consistent approach against a standardized set of attack vectors and works for any application. SQL/Protect is an optionally installed module that adds an additional layer of security underneath the normal database security policies by examining inbound queries and stopping common SQL Injection profiles. SQL/Protect examines queries for the following types of attack vectors:

• Unauthorized Relations

• Utility Commands

• SQL Tautology

• Unbounded DML

See the SQL/Protect documentation for more information at: http://www.enterprisedb.com/learning/documentation.do

B. Column-‐Level Permissions DBAs can now grant permissions (SELECT, UPDATE) on specific columns as well as on entire tables. This makes it easier to secure sensitive data in your database.

C. SSL Authentication Users can now authenticate using SSL certificates, and DBAs can define access control for specific SSL certificates. This makes SSL-‐based authentication schemes much more flexible and secure.

D. TRUNCATE Privilege Administrators can now restrict users from TRUNCATE while granting them the ability to UPDATE and DELETE specific rows.

E. pg_hba.conf Name=Value Syntax Makes all authentication options use one consistent syntax for their specific settings, and pg_hba.conf access-‐control files vastly more intuitively understandable. However, this change breaks backwards-‐compatibility: users of LDAP, PAM and Ident authentication will need to re-‐write their configuration files.

F. pg_hba.conf Usermaps Allows the use of a mapping file which controls which shell or network user connects as which database user, for all authentication types instead of just IDENT.



G. Check pg_hba.conf on Reload Checks the access control file before attempting to restart the database server, which prevents downtime due to mistakes editing the file.

VI. Other New Features

A. InfiniteCache: Parallel icache Warming (11764)

InfiniteCache now supports parallel cache warming. Multiple cache warming processes can be spread over multiple cores in a machine. However this does not mean that with x cores, the warming time will come down by a factor of x. Many factors like the warming size, the storage subsystem's capabilities (we will be making concurrent and random-‐range read requests during this parallel warming), kernel cache etc. will play a part in the eventual time taken. In some measurements carried out, the warming time seemed to come down by about 50% for zero-‐kernel-‐cached straight-‐from-‐the-‐disk kinds of warming requests. Users can specify the relation to warm and the number of processes to use for the warming. The edb_icache_warm functionality was also modified to accommodate range warming.

VII. Installers

A. Updated Installer Technology Advanced Server now utilizes BitRock installer technology and provides the following new features:

• common installer technology for all platforms

• silent install option typically used by ISVs

• install options for users with limited privileges (e.g. non-‐root Linux users and non-‐administrator Windows users)

B. StackBuilder Plus Advanced Server is now distributed with StackBuilder Plus, which provides new Update Monitoring tools and a wide array of complimentary components to the core database server. See the next section for more details on StackBuilder Plus.

C. Product Keys for Localized Language Installations If you wish to install Advanced Server in localized Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese or Simplified Chinese you will need to enter a Product Key code when the installer executes. Product keys can be obtained from the primary distributors in each country as follows:

Japan:

• COMTEC Inc. http://www.ct-net.co.jp/



• SIOS Technology, Inc. http://www.sios.com/

Republic of Korea:

• Daou Tech, Inc. http://www.daou.co.kr/

People's Republic of China:

• Thunip Union Technology Co., Ltd. http://www.unistech.com.cn/

VIII. StackBuilder Plus

Postgres Plus Advanced Server now contains StackBuilder Plus. StackBuilder Plus makes it easy to install and maintain high value components that extend or compliment your Advanced Server installation. Some of the key feature highlights of StackBuilder Plus include:

A. Update Monitor

Update Monitor will signal you when new updates are available for any component you have installed including the Postgres database server, pgAdmin (a.k.a. Postgres Studio), and any StackBuilder Plus modules. You can then start StackBuilder Plus to download the component, read its release notes and install it.

Advanced Server v8.4.x will receive automatic updates from EnterpriseDB using the new Update Manager installed with v8.4 (you will see the blue elephant icon in the your desktop system tray). You will not be able to update v8.4 using the older update mechanism found in the DBA Management Console.

B. Value Added enterprise modules

Using StackBuilder Plus you can download, install and maintain replication solutions, migration tools, database metering and monitoring solutions and much more. One of the more interesting modules included in StackBuilder Plus is:

1. Postgres Plus HQ: a comprehensive database infrastructure-‐monitoring tool for Postgres Plus databases. For more details visit: http://www.enterprisedb.com/products/postgres_plus_hq.do

Or install Postgres Plus HQ and try it out!

IX. Internationalization / Localization Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 has been localized into the following languages:

• Japanese

• Korean



• Simplified Chinese

• Traditional Chinese

X. Service Pack Maintenance

Over 500 maintenance items (bug fixes and minor enhancements) have been addressed. Some of the more interesting ones are noted below:

A. General Items

1. pg_hba.conf no longer carries wild card IP entry by default. This is a security enhancement to ensure that only specified IPs can access the database server. (14748)

2. Support for Universally Unique Identifiers is now added on the Windows platform as well. (14981)

B. Database Server 1. A performance improvement has been made for Oracle style database links. Prior to this fix,

Advanced Server was fetching all the columns from the remote server even when one column was selected in the select query. The fix is making sure that we only add the user specified column into projection list rather then fetching all the columns. (12520)

2. Support was fixed for the length modifier with the RAW data type. The length modifier for the RAW data type was not being enforced, the user could insert more data than was specified by length. The length specified in the RAW data type declaration is now being enforced. An error message will be returned when trying to insert more data then the specified length modifier. (10105)

3. RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR(SQLCODE,'Error Message') has been fixed. The data type of SQLCODE parameter in RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR procedure is changed to INTEGER for REDWOOD compatibility. The sqlcode range has also been modified, now the user can only provide the error code in the range of -‐20999 to -‐20000. Any error code outside of the range will return an error message. (7437)

4. The CONNECT BY query returning incorrect results for views has been fixed. CONNECT BY query returns incorrect results for a view that contains a column that does not exist in the parent table. If the view query contains a derived column that doesn't use any column in the parent table, the server would return an error. This issue is fixed in the AS84 release. The user is able to create a view that contains a hierarchical query and a derived column. (9801)

5. Data in Multi-‐byte character-‐sets including Japanese/Chinese characters are now accessible over backend dblinks. The fix is was to set the remote database encoding to UTF8 so we always get data in UTF8 encoding. The multi-‐byte characters retrieved over dblinks can now be viewed properly in edb-‐psql and other client application's. (13579)



6. References to a package variable created in double quotes are now case sensitive. For example, the package variable "TESTcase" will not match "testcase". Now package variable searches created in quotes are case sensitive. (10365)

7. The return type from the substrb() function has been changed from bytea to text. This change was done for Oracle compatibility. Prior to this fix, the substrb() function returned a bytea which is not compatible with Oracle. (10306)

8. The second (starting_point) parameter and third optional parameter (Length) of the substr() function have been changed from Integer to Number. This allows passing both Integer and Number data type values as the second and third parameters of the substr() function. (11463)

9. Compilation errors for Package procedures/functions defined in a Package body are now being reported at package creation time. Prior to this bug fix, the syntax and other compilation errors inside package procedures/functions were being ignored and the package body was being created successfully. After this fix, the compilation errors inside package procedure/function are being reported and package body is not created. (13389)

10. Before this fix doing a CREATE OR REPLACE on a package specification silently dropped the dependent objects. For example, if an independent object was using a package variable, the object would be silently dropped when doing a create or replace on a package specification. After this fix, if a package contains dependent objects, doing create or replace on package spec will throw an error and disallow the create or replace on the package specification. To create or replace a package with dependent objects, the dependent object need to dropped first before the package can be replaced. (11460)

11. Prior to this fix, the default values assigned to package procedure/function parameters in a package specification could not be replaced. If the user tried to do a create or replace on a package spec with default values, the user needed to drop the package if they intended to replace the package and change the procedure/function default values. After this fix, the user is able to update the default values of package variables defined in package specification. (9565)

12. Before this fix, Hierarchical Queries were not returning rows if the column names were explicitly specified in the sub-‐query. However, it did return rows, if an asterisk (*) was specified in the select target list of the sub-‐query. After this fix, hierarchical queries will work with both column names and an asterisk (*) given in select target list of the sub-‐query. (11760)

13. Postgresql Plus Advanced Server was returning the error "a predicate may reference only one outer-‐joined table" when multiple outer-‐joined table were used in a single query. This issue has been fixed. Now users may have multiple outer-‐joined table are used in a single query predicate. (11964)



14. Postgresql Plus Advanced Server has been enhanced to provide implicit casting between the name and varchar datatypes. Prior to this fix, only explicit casting between the name and varchar datatypes was permitted. (13259)

15. Prior to a fix, pg_dump and pg_dumpall contained the messages "NOTICE: [HINTS] Unrecognized Const type" when hints were used in queries associated with views. Hints were also lost when dumping/restoring a view that used the 'global hints' feature. Hints are now properly serialized, and a database dump now recognizes global hints and emits them properly. (13301)

16. The MS (micro seconds) format mask in the to_char() function was returning incorrect result when used with a timestamp without time zone data type. This has been fixed. (14116)

17. Oracle Package Support. The packages DBMS_ALERT, DBMS_OUTPUT, UTL_FILE, DBMS_PIPE and DBMS_UTILITY now use version 3.0.1 of the orafce project.

18. EDB*Loader now supports schema-‐qualified table names in the control file. Previously, this practice would throw an error when the tables were qualified with their schema names. (16281)

19. EDB*Loader has been enhanced to support the CONSTANT value keyword. The CONSTANT value is assigned to a column as part of the insert statement specified in the EDB*Loader control file. The purpose of the CONSTANT value is to insert the specified constant value for the given column. (16282)

20. The reset nls_date_format command was not functioning as desired, resulting in an error when displaying a date value. The reset nls_date_format command has been fixed to reset the parameter to the previous value. (16569)

21. A procedure call using named parameter notation used to fail if the parameter name used was the same as a local variable name. This issue is now fixed and allows the use of named parameters in procedure/function calls along with a local variable name the same as the named parameter. (16288)

22. The schema_name column in the dba_synonym view has been fixed to show the schema in which the synonym exists. Previously, the schema_name field stored the name of the schema of the synonym object. (16453)

23. The dblink_ora module wasn't able to retrieve data properly when the character set of the Oracle database was set to Chinese character set (ZHS16GBK). This issue has now been fixed. (16836)

24. The instr function has been enhanced to work correctly with multi-‐byte characters. (16577)

25. In order to improve the performance of bulk insert, optimization has been done so that cache lookups are done only once, when a TABLE OF variable is first initialized. (16504)

26. SQL/PROTECT has now been enhanced to retain the statistics in 'edb_sql_protect_stats' between database restarts. Previously the statistics were no longer available after the database server was restarted. (15793)



27. SQL/PROTECT has been enhanced to allow a super user to remove a relation from the role's list of protected relations through the following three functions: (15679)

unprotect_rel(username, schema, relname)

unprotect_rel(username, relname)

unprotect_rel(userid OID, relid OID)

28. SQL/Protect has two new functions that allow a super user to remove the statistic information for a given role: (16558)

drop_stats(username text)

drop_stats(userid OID)

29. The edb_sql_protect_stats view definition has been updated to display the name of the protected role instead of it's OID. (16450)

30. The format of OUT parameters always came out in text even the client specified to use binary format in a PQsendQueryPreparedOut call. The issue has been resolved. Now OUT parameters results are sent in the format they are specified by the client. (17316)

31. Excess memory usage was observed when doing an insert and commit inside a loop with million iterations in a single SPL block. This has been fixed by introducing a new memory context and resetting it at SPL commit. (17246, 17143)

32. Large-‐volume inserts through JDBC caused a segment fault with edb_stmt_level_tx set on. The issue occurred due to a wrong memory context usage. It has been fixed. A large number of insert statements can now be executed successfully in a single transaction with edb_stmt_level_tx set on. (17147)

33. Enhanced DBMS_PIPE to allow users to configure the amount of memory reserved for DBMS_PIPE message with edb_gen library and dbms_pipe.total_message_buffer, a postgresql.conf custom variable. This enhancement allows users to reserve more memory for dbms_pipe.send_message when needed, and allow more messages sent before the pipe is blocked. Please add $libdir/edb_gen in shared_preload_libraries, then restart the database server after reset the total_message_buffer value in the postgresql.conf. (17006)

34. "STUFF", "DATEADD", "DATEDIFF", "ISNUMERIC", "DATEPART", and "DATENAME" were not allowed to use as SPL function names. This issue has been fixed after removed the above mentioned names from the keyword list. (17021)

35. Migration of LONG data with a size of greater than 8K resulted in "ORA-‐01406: fetched column value was truncated" error. Enhanced dblink_ora module to fetch Oracle LONG data in 256 KB chunks. Migration of LONG data with a size of greater than 8K is now successful. (16035)



36. Calling a procedure that has no argument with empty parenthesis returned an error at compiling. "EXEC fooproc();" syntax is now supported. Users can now execute a procedure that has no argument with and without empty parenthesis. (16375)

37. Using ROWNUM in where clause on a partitioned table returned inaccurate results. This issue has been resolved. ROWNUM is now evaluated at the top-‐level above the append instead of being distributed to the child nodes in an append plan. Queries with ROWNUM in where clause on partitioned tables now return correct results. (17447)

38. Pg_dump operation by a non-‐super user returned "permission denied to set parameter qrepalce_fucntion" error. The issue has been addressed by modifying pg_dump to only issue the "SET qreplace_function="" command if qrepalce_function is enabled by supersuser. (17384)

39. Increased memory usage was observed with the dblink_ora data copy function for large volume data migration from Oracle to Advanced Server with a big row size. The issue has been addressed by specifying the amount of prefetching in OCI in bytes, instead of rows. The prefetch size was set to a fixed number (1000 rows), now it can be customized by adjusting WORK_MEM setting in kilobytes. (17331)

40. The format of OUT parameters always came out in text even the client specified to use binary format in a PQsendQueryPreparedOut call. The issue has been resolved. Now OUT parameters results are sent in the format they are specified by the client. (17316)

41. TO_DATE() function was optimized to match PostgreSQL to_timestamp() performance. (17282)

42. Executing SPL programs that were restored from Advanced Server 8.3 R2 with ROWNUM in the where clause returned "No function matches" error. The issue has been addressed by accepting "ROWNUM()" as an alias for ROWNUM for backwards compatibility. (17048)

43. InfiniteCache was further modified to address the following issues (16711): • The ICACHE FAIL flag on a dirty buffer was cleared before it was successfully written to the

cache node. This might leave a stale version of the page in cache; • The ICACHE READ flag was not set when the icache get operation fails in some scenarios; • The failure counter was not updated correctly for manual offline operations in some error

scenarios;

C. Client Connectors 1. A server failure in case the WHERE clause contained a table reference for BULK INSERT has now

been fixed (10434)

2. For OCL, in case the connector identifier could not be resolved, it threw an 'Unknown error code'. The error message has been updated to be more descriptive. (12704)

3. The OCL function OCINumberFromText() has been enhanced to support comma as a separator for the number format. (12708)



4. Implementation of the API OCIInterval for OCL. (13076)

5. Enhanced SQL_NUMERIC_FUNCTIONS info type to return a list of the numeric functions supported by ODBC. (13228)

6. Fixed an issue with the IN/OUT parameter buff_size in OCIDateTimeGetTimeZoneName() function of OCL. After a call to this function, the parameter contained invalid length. (12705)

7. Fixed an issue where the JDBC driver was not fetching schemas. (13871)

8. Enhanced OCL's OCINumberToText() function to support format parameter. This enables users to format numeric values. (12916)

9. Enhanced ODBC to support server-side parameterized statements (16723)

10. A performance degradation was observed in case where a bytea data type increased in size from 940 bytes. This has been fixed. (16964)

D. DBA Management Server

The DBA Management Server is currently in a deprecated status for Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 and will be dropped in a future release. We encourage users to use Postgres Plus HQ, Postgres Studio (pgAdmin), and the StackBuilder Plus Update Manager to replace the functionality available in DBA Management Server. If you wish to install the DBA Management Server you can do so by running StackBuilder Plus and select the installer for the DBA Management Server.

1. Enhanced management server to use encrypted passwords instead of storing plain text password in enterprisedb-‐ds.xml. (6417)

2. Fixed an issue where incorrect owner was being displayed for triggers. (9646)

3. Changing server and port number resulted in a report being generated automatically. Fixed it to generate the report only upon request. (4572)

4. Enhanced query limit field to properly validate user input for query profiling. Now it only takes numbers as a query limit. (11909)

E. DBA Monitoring Console

The DBA Monitoring Console is currently in a deprecated status for Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 and will be dropped in a future release. We encourage users to use Postgres Plus HQ to replace the functionality available in the DBA Monitoring Console. If you wish to install the DBA Monitoring Console you can do so by running StackBuilder Plus and select the installer for the DBA Monitoring Console.

1. Fixed an issue where the client disconnected from the server after credentials were edited. (9535)

2. On Windows 7 and Vista, upon clicking 'View Server Processes', and error was thrown. This has now been fixed. (12405)



F. EDB*PLUS 1. In case a reference cursor variable is used as the return type, incorrect output was displayed. This

has now been fixed. (9664)

2. Multi-‐line comments in a block running on EDB*Plus were not being stored. This issue is now fixed. (12558)

3. Fixed an issue where, when using the SPOOL file command and running a script file which turns echo on, comments that appear in the script file were not being written to the SPOOL file. (12156)

4. If package body was run by using EDB*Plus on an obfuscated file created from EDB*Wrap, it wasn't stored in the database. This has now been fixed. (12207)

G. Migration Studio

1. Enhanced SQL interactive tool to support TSQL command execution against MS SQL Server. (10720)

2. In case a function with an argument is created in Postgres server, an error was thrown when user executed it. This is now fixed. (8312)

3. Enhanced data type dropdown in the 'Create Table' dialog to add various interval special data type. (9702)

4. Enhanced vacuum operation via migration studio to support simultaneous 'full' and 'freeze' options. (11729)

5. Due to a bug in JRE, various migration studio options were not working on zh_HK locale. Implemented a workaround to fix this. (12266)

6. In case user tried to click on function/procedure node for a package created through edb-‐psql, migration studio disconnected from the server. This issue is now fixed. (13867)

7. Fixed an issue where all migrated tables where not being displayed in the migration studio GUI. (13929)

8. Fixed an issue where an error was thrown while trying to edit triggers using PL editor. (11950)

9. Fixed all dialog boxes to be modal to migration studio only and allow user to continue work on other windows. (12840)

H. Migration Toolkit

1. If there is only a single partition with a MAXVALUE clause, the trigger DDL was incorrectly generated. This is fixed now. (13922)

2. Enhanced replaceNullChar to support CLOB data type. (12977)

3. Fixed an issue with loading of the dblink_ora module while dblink_ora copy during migration. (13735)

4. Migration of a schema from a MySQL instance generated an error. This has now been fixed. (14511)



5. Enhanced the toolkit to migrate reserved keywords used as identifiers by putting them in quotes. (6080)

6. Migration of timestamp data type was not successful using dblink_ora copy. This is now fixed. (10348)

7. Fixed an issue where SQL queries used to extract meta data information for constraints and indexes were not pulling information correctly from SQL Server 2000. (10551)

8. The user/roles migration is currently not supported for MySQL & Sybase. Modified MTK to ensure that the rest of the migration completes successfully. (10680)

9. Enhanced the help menu to provide guideline for listed options. (14364)

10. Enhanced the log file to include timestamp in order to facilitate tracking migration history. (10496)

11. For offline migration, tables, constraints and indexes scripts were combined in a single file. This has been enhanced to generate separate files each for constraints and indexes. (12237)

12. Enhanced migration toolkit to migrate comments on Oracle tables to Advanced Server with table definition and data. (13459)

13. Added functionality to fetch the Check Constraint and Default Clause for Sybase table.

I. xDB Replication Server (formerly Oracle Replication Server)

1. Architectural changes were made to remove the dependency on the DBA Management Server for hosting the Publication and Subscription services as well as the database schema objects needed for replication. The user is no longer required to install the DBA Management Server for Replication.

2. Replication is now available on a wide range of platforms that previously were not supported due to DBA Management Server dependencies (e.g. Mac OS, Solaris).

3. Additional replication source-‐target product combinations are now supported. The support matrix is:

Source \ Target Oracle

Postgres Plus

Standard Server

Postgres Plus Advanced Server (Oracle mode)

Postgres Plus Advanced Server (PostgreSQL

mode)

Oracle No Yes Yes Yes

Postgres Plus Standard Server No Yes Yes Yes

Postgres Plus Advanced Server

(Oracle mode) Yes No Yes No



Source \ Target Oracle

Postgres Plus

Standard Server

Postgres Plus Advanced Server (Oracle mode)

Postgres Plus Advanced Server (PostgreSQL

mode)

Postgres Plus Advanced Server

(PostgreSQL mode) No Yes Yes Yes

4. An enhancement was made to ensure that static ports are used for publication and subscription servers. This will allow users to specify the ports to match their local security policies. (12584)

5. Publication and subscription server host name size limit increased to 256 characters. (12781)

6. On changing system locale to non-‐English, 'Add/Remove tables' in Update Publication & 'view/update/remove filter clause' options did not work. This has now been fixed. (14788)

7. Fixed an issue where configured schedule for CRON expression was not displayed on rep-‐console. (14553)

8. If the publication server is stopped, restarting the db server results in invalidating management server connection and in turns the pub/sub server is not accessible. Improved the error message to reflect this. (12427)

9. Improved localized messages for Chinese, Japanese, & Korean. (12906)

10. Enhancement to include publication name in message upon successful validation by commands validatepub & printpublishedtables. (13112 & 13118)

11. An enhancement was made to allow config file path to be passed via command-‐line arguments. (14194)

12. Rep Server makes call to one of the SUN JDK propriety APIs for encrypt and decrypt operations. Replaced with Apache Commons Codec API to decrease reliance on propriety software. (14241)

13. Enhanced the publication and subscription servers to read their optional configuration settings from xdb_pubserver.conf and xdb_subserver.conf files located under "PPAS_HOME/etc" folder. Each option is specified as a name=value pair and appears on separate line in the conf file. By default all options are commented (with #) such that their default values will be used. This eliminates the need to edit pub/sub server launch scripts to specify certain configuration options to pass on as JVM options. (16427)

14. Added a fix to enable 'NaN' value migration during Postgres Plus Advanced Server to Oracle replication. (16467)

15. If the shadow table cleanup job is turned off (by default it is scheduled to run every day) and a large amount of processed transaction sets piled up in the meantime, the cleanup job fails. This has now been fixed. (16771)



16. Fixed support to configure weekly cleanup job. (16806) 17. Fixed adding views filter clause (in absence of tables filter clause) for -‐addtablesintopub option via

RepCLI. (16816)

18. When Oracle is the subscription database, the transaction replication will now always be conducted using BUP (Batch Update using PreparedStatement). This fixes the synchronize replication failure when the source (Postgres Plus Advanced Server) table contains a column of TEXT type with a value > 4000 characters, and defaultbatchupdatemode is based on plain statement i.e. BUS (instead of preparedstatement, BUP). (16495)

19. The authentication mechanism has been enhanced to correctly differentiate between publication and subscription servers, especially when they are running on different hosts. (16629)

20. A new option named "batchsize" has been provided so that users can customize batchsize through the file PPAS_HOME/etc/xdb_pubserver.conf. (16498)

21. A new option has been introduced in RepCLI for printing subscription ids for a subscription database. (16760)

J. New README files for PgBouncer & pgSNMPd

The new README files contain expanded useful information on setup, configuration, and usage.

K. SQL/Protect 1. Not able to drop 'unknown' user from drop_stats function. For users deleted from the database,

you could not remove their stats data because the user name was no longer known. This has been fixed using the drop_stats(oid) command. (16558)

2. The unprotect_rel function was working even when the protected relations list was empty. This has been fixed and now throws an error. (16557)

3. The import_sqlprotect() function incorrectly returned WARNINGS when called. This has been fixed. (16412)

4. Setting max_protected_roles = 1 threw a FATAL error and didn’t start the server. This has been fixed. (16450)

5. Should not need to restart the server to make operation illegal on table (which is created in learn mode). This has been fixed. (15697)

6. Database Server could not be started if edb_sql_protect.max_protected_roles was set > 64. This has been fixed. (16021)

7. Statistics were not kept between database server restarts. This has been fixed. (15793)

XI. Documentation Updates



A. NEW: Postgres Plus Advanced Server Installation Guide

The Installation Guide covers a number of topics including the graphical and command line install modes, the addition of StackBuilder Plus and using it to update your Advanced Server installation, performing unattended “silent” installs, and installing the software on systems with limited user permissions.

To view the new document, please visit: http://www.enterprisedb.com/learning/documentation.do

B. Updated Documentation

For the latest versions of the following Postgres Plus Advanced Server Guides, please visit: http://www.enterprisedb.com/learning/documentation.do

• Postgres Plus Advanced Server Core Documentation

• Postgres Plus Advanced Server Guide

• Postgres Plus Advanced Server Performance Guide

• Oracle Compatibility Developers Guide

• Postgres Plus Advanced Server Migration Guide

• Postgres Plus xDB Replication Server Guide

• Postgres Studio (pgAdmin)

• Postgres Plus JDBC Connector

• Postgres Plus ODBC Connector

C. PDF Documentation

Please note that PDF versions of all documentation are available to subscription holders by logging into the EnterpriseDB website and accessing the customer portal at: http://www.enterprisedb.com/myenterprisedb.do

XII. Upgrade Paths

A. v8.3R2 to v8.4 Follow the normal dump and restore routines outlined for changes between major releases of PostgreSQL (where the number after the first dot changes) at:

1. http://www.enterprisedb.com/docs/en/8.4/pg/install-‐upgrading.html

2. http://www.enterprisedb.com/docs/en/8.4/pg/migration.html



XIII. Platform Support

Postgres Plus Advanced Server v8.4 is supported on the following platforms. The Windows binaries of Advanced Server are 32 bit builds that work across both 32 bit and 64 bit environments:

1. CentOS 5.x for 32/64 bit

2. RHEL 5.x for 32/64 bit

3. openSuSE 11.x for 32 bit

4. SLES 11.x for 32/64 bit

5. Ubuntu 10.4, 9.10, 9.4 for 32 bit

6. Ubuntu 10.4, 9.10, 9.4 for 64 bit

7. Windows Server 2008 R1 for 32/64 bit

8. Windows Server 2008 R2 64 bit

9. Windows Server 2003 for 32/64 bit

10. Sun Solaris SPARC 64 v10 11. Sun Solaris x86-‐64 v10 The Solaris specific Release Notes can be found in the Solaris download archive.

The following platforms are commonly used in our labs by our development and testing groups. These platforms are not supported in a production environment.

12. Fedora 12.x, 11.x, 10.x 13. Ubuntu 8.04 14. Windows 7, Vista, XP

Postgres Plus Advanced Server supports many Linux distributions in addition to those listed. To inquire if your operating system is supported contact us by:

• Email: sales-‐[email protected] or sales-‐[email protected]

• Call: +1-‐732-‐331-‐1315 or 1-‐877-‐377-‐4352

• Visit: https://www.enterprisedb.com/company/contact_us.do

XIV. System Requirements

Minimum hardware requirements for running Postgres Plus Advanced Server are:

• 600 MHz processor

• 512 MB of RAM

• 512 MB of HDD plus space for your data



XV. Known Issues

There are no known issues at this time.

XVI. How to Report Problems

To report any issues you are having please contact EnterpriseDB’s technical support staff:

• Email: [email protected]

• Call: +1-‐732-‐331-‐1320 or 1-‐800-‐235-‐5891 (US Only)

• Submit a support ticket at: https://www.enterprisedb.com/myenterprisedb.do

Documents

PgPlus AS 84R1 SP2 Release Notes 20110519get.enterprisedb.com/releasenotes/PgPlus_AS_84R1_SP2_Release_N… · Postgres(Plus(Advanced(Server(v8.4((8.4.7.20)Release(Notes(((Copyright2010(EnterpriseDB(Corporation.(All(Rights(Reserved.(