The one question that gets asked the most on these lists AFAICS is:
 **can you tell me what version you're running?**

...and we just had a case of confusing the version itself (which seems
to be a reasonably easy mistake to make).

This information is not displayed at startup, even at debug5. This info
is available in the file PG_VERSION and that it is accessible using
SQL...but that is not the same thing as bringing it to the attention of
anybody reading the log, or watching startup for the first time.

Would anybody object to adding an extra line at startup that shows the
version number of the database system?

Message suggestion:
Starting PostgreSQL <Version> database system

(Nothing cheesy, just informative and neutrally welcoming...)

Comments?

Best Regards, Simon Riggs



Sat, 03 Jul 2004 11:15:17 +0100
Simon Riggs <simon@2ndquadrant.com>
Adding VERSION to startup log output
> Would anybody object to adding an extra line at startup that shows the
> version number of the database system?
> 
> Message suggestion:
> Starting PostgreSQL <Version> database system
> 
> (Nothing cheesy, just informative and neutrally welcoming...)
> 
> Comments?
> 
> Best Regards, Simon Riggs

If you do that, does it make sense to display the full version,
instead of what's stored in PG_VERSION?
(e.g. 7.3.4 vs. 7.3)

Mike



Sat, 03 Jul 2004 10:26:46 -0400
Michael Brusser <michael@synchronicity.com>
Re: Adding VERSION to startup log output
Simon Riggs <simon@2ndquadrant.com> writes:
> The one question that gets asked the most on these lists AFAICS is:
>  **can you tell me what version you're running?**

Mainly because people don't bother to say.

> Would anybody object to adding an extra line at startup that shows the
> version number of the database system?

I don't really see the point.  The log, if it's kept around at all,
would be about the most difficult place to extract the info from.
"select version()" is much easier than trying to figure out where
the postmaster's log is going.

			regards, tom lane

Sat, 03 Jul 2004 11:10:23 -0400
Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
Re: Adding VERSION to startup log output 
On Sat, 2004-07-03 at 15:26, Michael Brusser wrote:
> > Would anybody object to adding an extra line at startup that shows the
> > version number of the database system?
> > 
> > Message suggestion:
> > Starting PostgreSQL <Version> database system
> > 

> If you do that, does it make sense to display the full version,
> instead of what's stored in PG_VERSION?
> (e.g. 7.3.4 vs. 7.3)

Hmmm...I think that begs the question, from where?

...sounding less good now.

Best Regards, Simon Riggs


Mon, 05 Jul 2004 08:15:58 +0100
Simon Riggs <simon@2ndquadrant.com>
Re: Adding VERSION to startup log output
On Sat, Jul 03, 2004 at 11:10:23AM -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> 
> > Would anybody object to adding an extra line at startup that shows the
> > version number of the database system?
> 
> I don't really see the point.  The log, if it's kept around at all,
> would be about the most difficult place to extract the info from.
> "select version()" is much easier than trying to figure out where

Well, only provided you can reach the psql prompt at all. For some
cases and some types of problems, reaching the log can be easier than
getting a psql prompt.

Will the version information in log break anything?

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Honza Pazdziora | adelton@fi.muni.cz | http://www.fi.muni.cz/~adelton/
 .project: Perl, mod_perl, DBI, Oracle, large Web systems, XML/XSL, ...
		Only self-confident people can be simple.

Wed, 7 Jul 2004 09:03:39 +0200
Honza Pazdziora <adelton@informatics.muni.cz>
Re: Adding VERSION to startup log output