[OSM-dev] 0.5 API: /api/0.5/user/preferences, values truncated to 256 chars

[Stefan de Konink]

Matt Amos wrote:
> the provisional deadline discussed at the hack weekend was xmas,
> although this has probably slipped by now. the server-side code is
> almost complete, but needs testing. most of the editors are working,
> but need testing. do you think it would be motivating for all the
> volunteers working on the editor and server code if we set a deadline?

I think so; it would make people live to a date, and see something big 
happening. Would not only be good for the community not only for developers.

>> Is this problem at all addressed in 0.6? I'm quite surprised by this
>> thread because I always was under the impression k and v sizes were
>> unbounded. The choice for 256 is also very strange, 255 would have made
>> much more sense.
> 
> it is varchar(255). i see no reason why it couldn't be longer, but
> making it unbounded would mean that potentially megabytes of
> information could be stored in the values. the limit encourages terse
> tagging, which is good for everyone.

The point was that I had limited it to 255 too, until I saw my inserts 
failing. So that could be two things, XML encoding problems, or 
something else. Never the less 255 seems enough to me too.

> the exception is the note: key, which i've quite often wished were
> longer. we now have things like openstreetbugs for some of these,
> though.

Just introduce an extra table; that stores the <note></note> field?


Stefan