Add research report on psql plugin system feasibility#17
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Add research report on psql plugin system feasibility#17
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…d historical analysis Comprehensive research into why PostgreSQL's psql client remains monolithic after 25+ years, covering: - Codebase analysis: hardcoded command dispatch (50+ if/else branches), zero hook points in main loop/query execution, no dynamic loading - Server contrast: 26+ hooks vs zero client hooks - pgsql-hackers history: no formal plugin proposal ever submitted - Case studies: \if took 17 files/2172 insertions; \crosstabview needed two commitfest cycles - Cultural factors: conservative process, "not the project" mindset - Strategic assessment for proposing upstream https://claude.ai/code/session_013B3EQeajCeqgoTKWLVMZkK
Added findings from deep mailing list search: - 2012 "Plugin For Console" thread (pgAdmin embedding, not psql extensibility) - 2017 psql variable hooks thread (internal only, Tom Lane/Verite/Frost) - Pipeline mode timeline: 4 years from libpq API to psql commands - \watch evolution across 5 major releases over 12 years - .psqlrc as the sole customization surface (2008 Momjian thread) - Key community members for psql patches (Lane, Coelho, Huinker, Verite, Stehule) - FOSDEM '21 talk on server extensibility resistance https://claude.ai/code/session_013B3EQeajCeqgoTKWLVMZkK
…alks Key additions from final research pass: - 2008 libpq Object Hooks (Merlin Moncure/Tom Lane): closest thing to a client-side extensibility proposal in PostgreSQL history. Lane called the hook-name approach "broken-by-design" - 2008 libpq pqtypes Hook API (Andrew Chernow): also not adopted - 2026 per-connection auth hooks (Karlsson/Champion): most recent client-side hook work, narrow scope - pspg as the de facto "plugin pattern" via PSQL_PAGER env var - MySQL client plugin system comparison (dlopen-based, PostgreSQL has no equivalent) - PGConf EU talks: Huinker 2017 "Getting By With Just psql", Frost 2018 "Hacking PostgreSQL" https://claude.ai/code/session_013B3EQeajCeqgoTKWLVMZkK
After 12+ targeted web searches: no formal RFC/patch/commitfest entry found, but the picture is more nuanced: - 2008 libpq hooks (Moncure) were the closest client-side proposal - Self-censorship is the likely explanation, not lack of interest - Community quotes: "getting stuff into forks/plugins is orders of magnitude easier than the kernel itself" - pgPedia documents a \set-based backslash alias workaround - Huinker's PGConf EU 2017 talk pushed psql's limits but stopped short of proposing a plugin system https://claude.ai/code/session_013B3EQeajCeqgoTKWLVMZkK
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Summary
This adds a comprehensive research document analyzing why PostgreSQL's
psqlclient lacks a plugin/extension system despite the server having 26+ hook points, and what would be required to implement one.Key Changes
research/psql-plugin-system-research.md(362 lines)\if,\crosstabview,\watch)Notable Details
exec_command()incommand.cuses a 50+ branch if/else chain with no command registry or hook pointshttps://claude.ai/code/session_013B3EQeajCeqgoTKWLVMZkK