To whom it may concern.
Today I will retire pgchem::tigress, the PostgreSQL chemoinformatics extension based on OpenBabel, after 18 years of service. This decision is based on three main reasons:
- I have not touched the GIST-Index Code for at least eight years, but beginning with PostgreSQL 14.x it started to cause SIGSEVs when building the index on molecules, and I'm unable to find the cause.
- OpenBabel 3.x made changes in their API that would require me to rewrite functions or to disable them. And those changes are not very well documented.
- Since my recent brush with death, I have decided that there are better ways to spend my time, than chasing Signal 11s. Especially since the RDKit cartridge has come a long way, and is more powerful than pgchem::tigress ever was.
This decision was not easy, since building pgchem::tigress was a part of my life. It was the first open source ever released by Bayer AG (at least in Germany). It also is the foundation of my PhD thesis.
The code will remain public as long as there is a way to publish it.
