An existing product called PG Orbit (a mobile PostgreSQL client)
creates a naming conflict. pg_orrery — a database orrery built from
Keplerian parameters and SQL instead of brass gears.
Build system: control file, Makefile, Dockerfile, docker init script.
C source: GUC prefix, PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1 symbol, header guards,
ereport prefixes, comments across ~30 files including vendored SGP4.
SQL: all 5 install/migration scripts, function name pg_orrery_ephemeris_info.
Tests: 9 SQL suites, 8 expected outputs, standalone DE reader test.
Documentation: CLAUDE.md, README.md, DESIGN.md, Starlight site infra,
36 MDX pages, OG renderer, logo SVG, docker-compose, agent threads.
All 13 regression suites pass. Docs site builds (37 pages).
Three independent reviews (manual, failure-mode analysis, JPL spec
cross-reference) confirmed the mathematical core is correct. This
commit addresses defensive coding and operational behavior:
- Fix header byte-offset comments (12 groups = 144 bytes, not 156)
- Add layout validation before Chebyshev interpolation (prevent
buffer underread for bodies absent from a DE edition)
- Clamp Chebyshev argument to [-1,+1] with debug assertion for
values beyond 1e-10 tolerance (catches structural normalization
errors vs normal FP boundary rounding)
- Add O_CLOEXEC to prevent FD leaks to child processes
- Change GUC from PGC_SIGHUP to PGC_BACKEND to match actual
one-shot initialization behavior
- Fix provider consistency: planet_velocity_de() now accepts a
use_de flag to match the provider used for positions (rule 7)
- Optimize eph_de_moon() to use raw geocentric Moon (center=-1)
instead of computing Earth just to subtract it back out
- Pre-compute obliquity trig constants (verified to full precision)
- Tighten canary check from 0.9-1.1 AU to 0.97-1.04 AU
- Return NAN for missing constants (0.0 was ambiguous)
- Add _Static_assert for sizeof(double) == 8
- Remove unused HDR_* macros
- Zero Datum values before setting null flags in ephemeris_info
- Replace magic numbers with DE_MOON/DE_SUN constants
All 13 regression tests pass. Zero compiler warnings.
Clean-room DE binary reader (~400 lines C) with Chebyshev/Clenshaw
evaluation — no GPL dependency on jpl_eph. Per-backend lazy
initialization preserves PARALLEL SAFE. Existing VSOP87/ELP82B
functions stay IMMUTABLE; new _de() variants are STABLE with
automatic fallback to compiled-in ephemerides on any DE failure.
Implementation:
- de_reader.c: header parse, record seek, Clenshaw recurrence
- eph_provider.c: GUC (pg_orbit.ephemeris_path), lazy init,
ICRS-to-ecliptic frame rotation, on_proc_exit cleanup
- de_funcs.c: 11 new SQL functions (_de variants + diagnostics)
- Constant chain of custody rules 6-8 (frame rotation,
same-provider, AU consistency)
Extract observe_from_geocentric() to astro_math.h for shared use
by planet_funcs.c, moon_funcs.c, and de_funcs.c.
57 → 68 functions, 11 → 12 regression test suites, all passing.
