title: What does it mean when a PostgreSQL process is "idle in transaction"?
body: <p>What does it mean when a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PostgreSQL" rel="noreferrer">PostgreSQL</a> process is "idle in transaction"?</p>
  
  <p>On a server that I'm looking at, the output of "ps ax | grep postgres" I see 9 PostgreSQL processes that look like the following:</p>
  
  <pre><code>postgres: user db 127.0.0.1(55658) idle in transaction
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Does this mean that some of the processes are hung, waiting for a transaction to be committed?  Any pointers to relevant documentation are appreciated.</p>