Re: Unexpected behavior when setting "idle_replication_slot_timeout"

On Sat, 2025-07-05 at 09:52 +0530, Amit Kapila wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 4, 2025 at 9:37 PM Laurenz Albe <laurenz.albe@cybertec.at> wrote:
> > What exactly does it mean for a replication slot to idle?
> > 
> > - Does it mean that the standby is not connected?
> 
> It means the above. The slot is used for purposes other than the
> standby as well, so we can't mention something only specific to the
> standby.
> 
> > I think we could do better here.
> 
> Sure, feel free to propose what you think makes it better.

Done in the attached patch.

> We expect the value of this variable to be in hours or, in some cases,
> days. Specifying in seconds would be inconvenient for users.

I don't buy that argument.  Specifying shared_buffers in 8kB blocks
would be quite inconvenient to most users, but I don't remember any
complaints about it.  One of the nice things about the Grand Unified
Configuration is that you can use units different from the default.

On the other hand, if the behavior is clearly documented, as I have
tried to do with my patch, it should be fine.  So I'll rest my case if
you apply my patch.

Yours,
Laurenz Albe