On Wed, 2002-09-18 at 22:24, Marc G. Fournier wrote:
> On Wed, 18 Sep 2002, Bruce Momjian wrote:
> 
> > Sorry, I don't see the logic here.  Using postgresql.conf, you set it
> > once and it remains set until you change it again.  With -X, you have to
> > use it every time.  I think that's where the votes came from.
> 
> Ah, so you are saying that you type out your full command line each and
> every time you start up the server?  I know, in my case, I have a shell
> script setup that I edit my changes in so that I don't have to remember
> ...

the effort/danger of editing a shell script can't be less than editing
postgresql.conf

> 
> > You argued that -X and GUC make sense, but why add -X when can get it
> > done at once in postgresql.conf.  Also, consider changing the location
> > does require moving the WAL files, so you already have this extra step.
> > Adding to postgresql.conf is easy.  I don't think you can just point it
> > at a random empty directory on startup.  Our goal was to reduce params
> > to postmaster/postgres in favor of GUC, not add to them.
> 
> I don't disagree that editing postgresql.conf is easy, but its not
> something that ppl would naturally thing of ... if I want to move a
> directory with most servers I run, I will generally do a man to find out
> what command options are required to do this change, and, if none are
> provided, just create a god-forsaken symlink ...

I don't know if I agree with that. Most servers (apache for instance) have
configuration variables on where files are going to live, not command line
options.

> 
> The man page for postmaster should have something in it like:
> 
> -X <directory> Specifies an alternate location for WAL files.  Superseded
>                by setting xlog_path in postmaster.conf
>

Well, as with most (all?) GUC variables, wouldn't you have the option of doing
postmaster -o "pgxlog=/dev/null" and have the same functionality as -X ?
 
> Hell, if you are going to remove -X because its 'easier to do it in
> postmaster.conf', you should be looking at removing *all* command line
> args that are better represented in the postmaster.conf file ...
> 

Generally speaking people should be looking to avoid useing command line flags
and useing whats in the postgresql.conf, IMHO.

<snip>
> 
> the GUC value should override the command line option, agreed ... but the
> ability to use the command line should not be removed just because some
> ppl aren't competent enough to adjust their startup scripts if they change
> their system ...
> 

Shouldn't this work the other way around? Use what's in the conf file unless I
explicitly state otherwise? IIRC that's how it works with -i

Robert Treat

--
LAMP :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 06:28:51 -0700 (PDT)
"Robert Treat" <xzilla@users.sourceforge.net>
Re: [HACKERS] PGXLOG variable worthwhile?
On Thu, 19 Sep 2002, Robert Treat wrote:

> I don't know if I agree with that. Most servers (apache for instance) have
> configuration variables on where files are going to live, not command line
> options.

Not where it involves *critical* files:

OPTIONS
       -R libexecdir
                   This option is only available  if  Apache  was
                   built  with the SHARED_CORE rule enabled which
                   forces the Apache core code to be placed  into
                   a  dynamic shared object (DSO) file. This file
                   is searched in a hardcoded path under  Server-
                   Root  per default. Use this option if you want
                   to override it.

> Well, as with most (all?) GUC variables, wouldn't you have the option of
> doing postmaster -o "pgxlog=/dev/null" and have the same functionality
> as -X ?

True, but then that negates the whole argument about not having a command
line option, no?  Which I believe was the whole argument on this ... no?

> Shouldn't this work the other way around? Use what's in the conf file
> unless I explicitly state otherwise? IIRC that's how it works with -i

God, I wish I had thought to note it at the time ... one of the things I
did when I dove into this was to check how various Unix daemons were doing
it, now I can't recall which I was looking at that mentioned the config
file overriding the command line options, but you are correct, the command
line should override the conf file ...



Thu, 19 Sep 2002 13:37:09 -0300 (ADT)
"Marc G. Fournier" <scrappy@hub.org>
Re: [HACKERS] PGXLOG variable worthwhile?