there are no background programs. I've done all the usual checking of `ps'
outputs looking for such.
in the test case I mailed to this list, I had created a standalone database
with one table, and run the test program directly against it.
That sounds suspiciously like you think that only background clients connected to the same database count. Actually, any other client connected to the same *postmaster* can look like an open transaction to VACUUM ...
indeed, I did think this. A completely different development project on the same server was in fact leaving a postmaster 'idle in transaction'... I didn't realize this would matter.
I had that developer kill his 'idle in transaction' process, and voila, I can vacuum my table now on the fly. I told him to fix his logic to STOP doing that, he's a SQL novice.
so, my huge apologies for wasting the buglist's time on this.
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