What about the common file having an entry for each 'instance' set up on 
the system.

It could be formatted something like...

Name DataDir  ConfFile  AutoStart

then pg_ctl could be called with an Instance name and start or stop the 
instance.
the initd script could scan the file looking for instances to start 
automatically.

$0.02

mlw wrote:

>Bruce Momjian wrote:
>
>>I wonder if we should go one step further.  Should we be specifying the
>>config file on the command line _rather_ than the data directory. We
>>could then specify the data directory location in the config file.  That
>>seems like the direction we should be headed in, though I am not sure it
>>is worth the added headache of the switch.
>>
>
>That is what the patch I submitted does.
>
>In the postgresql.conf file, you can specify where the data directory
>is, as well as the pg_hba.conf file exists.
>
>The purpose I had in mind was to allow sharing of pg_hba.conf files and
>keep configuration separate from data.
>
>One huge problem I have with symlinks is an admin has to "notice" that
>two files in two separate directories, possibly on two different
>volumes, are the same file, so it is very likely the ramifications of
>editing one file are not obvious.
>
>If, in the database configuration file, pghbaconfig points to
>"/etc/pg_hba.conf" it is likely, that the global significance of the
>file is obvious.
>
>(Note: I don't nessisarily think "pghbaconfig" nor "pgdatadir" are the
>best names for the parameters, but I couldn't think of anything else at
>the time.)
>
>Symlinks are a perilous UNIX construct, yes, they make some things, that
>would otherwise be a horrible kludge, elegant, but they are also no
>substitute for a properly configurable application.
>
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Wed, 12 Dec 2001 12:22:31 -0500
"Dwayne Miller" <dmiller@espgroup.net>
Re: Explicit configuration file

It certainly can be a slippery slope.

Dwayne Miller wrote:
> 
> What about the common file having an entry for each 'instance' set up on
> the system.
> 
> It could be formatted something like...
> 
> Name DataDir  ConfFile  AutoStart
> 
> then pg_ctl could be called with an Instance name and start or stop the
> instance.
> the initd script could scan the file looking for instances to start
> automatically.
> 
> $0.02

Wed, 12 Dec 2001 12:50:54 -0500
mlw <markw@mohawksoft.com>
Re: Explicit configuration file