[Xapian-tickets] [Xapian] #424: Magic filter limits are a bad idea

[Xapian]

#424: Magic filter limits are a bad idea
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 Reporter:  chrisc  |       Owner:  olly
     Type:  defect  |      Status:  new 
 Priority:  normal  |   Milestone:      
Component:  Omega   |     Version:      
 Severity:  normal  |    Keywords:      
Blockedby:          |    Platform:  All 
 Blocking:          |  
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Comment(by chrisc):

 The last ditch catch is the process ulimits set before the indexer is even
 started.  If somebody is running tools without reasonable limits set
 beforehand, they should be prepared to fix the mess.

 The CPU limit is reasonable - it's a safe, fixed value on a parameter that
 scales relatively well between systems.  The problem is the memory limit,
 is magic - you're trying to discern how much memory a child task should be
 allowed to use by looking at machine state rather than just being told
 what is safe, and what isn't, and trusting the OS to do the right thing,
 or already be configured defensively.

 The fact that this issue back in 1.0.7 rendered omindex practically
 useless on Linux should have been a warning sign that you shouldn't be
 second guessing this information, but you've instead chosen to completely
 ignore the warning sign and continue with this "oh, but I know better than
 the machine owner and the OS" attitude.

 I will accept the patch isn't perfect, but giving some twiddles to the
 person setting it up is better than rendering the indexer useless because
 you presumed what was and wasn't acceptable with its runtime behavior, and
 given you haven't done the right thing yourself, I've at least given you
 something to build off of.

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Ticket URL: <http://trac.xapian.org/ticket/424#comment:2>
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