Re: [Gnumed-devel] plpython in PostgreSQL

[Karsten Hilbert]

> could you explain this a bit more
Procedural languages for PostgreSQL are used to write
functions, triggers and rules. They come in two flavours:
Trusted and untrusted. The trusted version is restricted in
functionality in order to limit its ability to do harmful
things (eg it cannot write to the file system from inside a
trigger). In return it has more access to server internals
than the untrusted version which has far fewer functional
restrictions.

With plpython there's only a trusted version right now. The
trust status is achieved by using the Python rexec mode
(restricted execution). However, this rexec mode is not
supported under Python > 2.1 anymore. Hence, the trusted
version of plpython is in danger of being dropped from
PostgreSQL unless someone makes an untrusted version or
re-implements rexec. The reasons rexec was being dropped from
Python include that it wasn't really secure after all.

For us that means: No depending on Python triggers. Darn.

Karsten
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