Is this supposed to happen? I discovered this when I was experimenting with converting a string to a number. # SELECT to_number('12,454.8-', '99G999D9S'); to_number ----------- -12454.8 (1 row) # SELECT to_number('12,454.8-', ''); pqReadData() -- backend closed the channel unexpectedly. This probably means the backend terminated abnormally before or while processing the request. The connection to the server was lost. Attempting reset: Failed. !# I am running PostgreSQL 7.0.2 on FreeBSD 3.4-STABLE (x86). Thanks, - Andrew.