Re: Renaming of pg_xlog and pg_clog

* Tom Lane (tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us) wrote:
> Robert Haas <robertmhaas@gmail.com> writes:
> > One idea would be to rename pg_resetxlog to pg_resetwal.  I think
> > that's actually an improvement.
> 
> This would fit in as part of a general plan to s/xlog/wal/g throughout
> our user-visible names and documentation.  Which seems like a good idea
> to me; there's no need to expose two different terms for the same thing.
> 
> (I don't feel a great need to unify the terminology in the code, though.
> Just in stuff users see.)

+1 on the general change of xlog -> wal.

That said, I'd also like to see a --force or similar option or mechanism
put in place to reduce the risk of users trashing their system because
they think pg_resetwal is "safe." ("It's just gonna reset things to make
the database start again, should be fine.").

pg_destroydb almost seems like a better choice, though I suppose
'pg_clearwal' would be more acceptable.  Doesn't have quite the same
impact though.

Not sure on the best answer here, but it's definitely foot-gun that some
users have ended up using on themselves with depressing regularity.

Thanks!

Stephen